Study shows Bypass surgery better than angioplasty for diabetics
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Severe coronary heart disease can be treated with either heart bypass surgery or angioplasty with similar survival rates, according to findings of a five-year, international study published in the July 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. However, in those patients who were also treated for diabetes (20 percent of the study’s participants), bypass surgery provided significantly better survival than angioplasty, reports the authors of the largest clinical trial comparing the two procedures.
The multi-center Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI) was coordinated at the University of Pittsburgh.
Normal Weight elderly still may be at risk for developing diabetes
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Elderly men and women with normal body weight still may be at risk for developing type 2 diabetes if they have large amounts of muscle fat or visceral abdominal fat, according to a University of Pittsburgh study published in the February issue of the journal Diabetes Care.
???Our study found that, even though an elderly person may not be overweight, he or she might still be at risk for developing diabetes,??? said Bret H. Goodpaster, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh division of endocrinology and metabolism and principal investigator of the study. ???An important factor is where in the body their excess fat is stored.???
Cocoa health benefits may boost West Africa farms
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Recent discoveries that cocoa could protect against heart disease and hypertension could see incomes soar for poor West African farmers, scientists working with confectionery maker Mars said of Monday.
Scientists at a nutrition conference in Durban said evidence was growing that chemicals in cocoa could provide massive medical benefits in the battle against heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and vascular dementia.
FDA steps up action on misleading drug ads
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U.S. Food and Drug Administration warnings to drug companies over misleading advertisements have more than tripled in the last year, an agency official said on Monday.
The agency sent 17 warning letters in the 12 months ending in August compared with an average of about four to five letters in recent years, Thomas Abrams, head of FDA’s Division of Drug Marketing and Communications, told food and drug regulatory lawyers at a conference in Washington.
Experimental once-a-day asthma drug promising
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An experimental asthma drug under development by Novartis AG works quickly and lasts for 24 hours in patients with asthma and smoker’s lung, data from a study released on Monday showed.
Novartis said its indacaterol drug, formerly known as QAB149, was well-tolerated in patients and worked when administered just once a day, unlike other drugs of its kind which need twice-daily dosing.
Psychopaths could be best financial traders?
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“Wanted: psychopaths to make a killing in the markets.”
Such an advert will not be appearing in the world’s newspapers any time soon, but it may have a ring of truth after research revealed the best wheeler-dealers could well be “functional psychopaths.”
A team of U.S. scientists has found the emotionally impaired are more willing to gamble for high stakes and that people with brain damage may make good financial decisions, the Times newspaper reported Monday.
Stem cells aid spinal cord injured
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Human neural stem cells can replace damaged cells and improve function in a mouse model of spinal cord injury, according to a report released Monday.
For treating spinal cord injury, “there is hope, but we are a long way off,” said Dr. Brian J. Cummings from University of California, Irvine. “Our study improved function in mice with very controlled injuries. We did not cure these mice.”
HRT ups breast cancer risk across racial groups
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The use of estrogen-progestin hormonal therapy increases the risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women regardless of racial differences, according to results of a study of more than 55,000 American women of different racial and ethnic backgrounds reported in the International Journal of Cancer September 16th.
“The most important finding in this paper,” said Dr. Malcolm Pike of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, “is that the increased risk of breast cancer from menopausal estrogen/progestin replacement therapy is found in all ethnic groups we studied—African Americans, Hawaiians, Japanese Americans and Latinas (mainly Mexican-Americans) as well as in whites.”
Most newer schizophrenia drugs no better
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A head-to-head comparison of five schizophrenia drugs found that most newer treatments are no better than an older generic drug, despite their higher cost, a U.S. study released on Monday showed.
The lone exception, Eli Lilly and Co.‘s Zyprexa, may be better than the other medicines but users experienced dramatic weight gain and developed a higher risk of diabetes, the new study concluded. The drug is also the most expensive.
Patients unaware of waist size heart disease risk
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Patients, and even some doctors, are unaware that abdominal fat and waist circumference are important risk factors for heart disease, which kills 17 million people worldwide each year.
An international survey released on Monday showed that only a minority of patients and about 60 percent of doctors know that a bigger waist size raises their odds of having a heart attack.
“Waist circumference is a very important measure for cardiovascular risk,” said Professor Sidney Smith, of the Geneva-based World Heart Federation (WHF).
Irish pub workers breathe easier after smoking ban
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Ireland’s nationwide ban on smoking in all workplaces has not only cleaned up the air in pubs and restaurants, it has also improved the health of the people who work there, researchers said on Sunday.
Since Ireland became the first country in the world to impose the ban nationwide in March 2004, other countries and cities have followed its example.
Canadian online pharmacies a better deal for meds
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Americans could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year on brand-name prescription drugs if they use a Canadian Internet pharmacy instead of their local drug store, researchers reported Monday.
On average, their study found, Americans could save 24 percent on their prescriptions if they shopped at an online Canadian pharmacy rather than a U.S. drug chain. Depending on the type of drug and how many prescriptions a person has, the savings could add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.
Suicide rate up for male inmates in England
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Male prisoners in England and Wales have a five-fold increased risk of suicide in comparison to their peers in the general population, UK researchers report.
The findings imply a need for “improved suicide prevention in prisoners, particularly identification and treatment of mental illness in prisoners,” said study author Dr. Seena Fazel, of the University of Oxford.
Some forms of Anorexia Nervosa may be associated with lasting neurological effects
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Researchers find that anorexia is associated with altered levels and patterns of serotonin activity in the brain
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine investigators have discovered that a distinctive type of anorexia nervosa is linked to altered brain serotonin function. Their findings were published in the Sept. 5 edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Five Simple Nutrition Rules for People With Diabetes
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Book by University of Pittsburgh nutritionist for people who want to lose weight and improve diabetes control
Five simple rules can help people with diabetes lower their blood sugar, lose weight and live a healthier life, according to a recently published book called ChangeOne for Diabetes.
Using lessons learned from a study of overweight adults with Type 2 diabetes, nutritionist Pat Harper, M.S., R.D., presents a sensible and realistic program for people who want to lose weight and improve diabetes control.
