Monday 31 July 2017

Air Travel May Increase The Risk Of Cardiac Arrhythmia And Heartbeat Irregularities

Air Travel May Increase The Risk Of Cardiac Arrhythmia And Heartbeat Irregularities.
Air touring could amass the risk for experiencing heartbeat irregularities amongst older individuals with a history of heart disease, a new study suggests. The decree stems from an assessment of a small group of people - some of whom had a history of heart condition - who were observed in an environment that simulated flight conditions.

She said"People never think about the fact that getting on an airplane is basically take pleasure in going from sea level to climbing a mountain of 8000 feet," said go into author Eileen McNeely, an instructor in the department of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "But that can be very stressful on the heart. Particularly for those who are older and have underlying cardiac disease".

McNeely and her rig are slated to allowance their findings Thursday at the American Heart Association's Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention annual colloquy in San Francisco. The authors illustrious that the number one cause for in-flight medical emergencies is fainting, and that feeling faint and/or dizzy has earlier been associated with high altitude exposure and heartbeat irregularity, even among elite athletes and otherwise nutritious individuals.

To assess how routine commercial air travel might affect cardiac health, McNeely and her colleagues gathered a guild of 40 men and women and placed them in a hypobaric chamber that simulated the atmospheric situation that a passenger would typically experience while flying at an altitude of 7000 feet. The run-of-the-mill age of the participants was 64, and one-third had been previously diagnosed with heart disease.

Over the way of two days, all of the participants were exposed to two five-hour sessions in the hypobaric chamber: one reflecting simulated plane conditions and the other reflecting the atmospheric conditions experienced while at sea level. Throughout the experiment, the scrutinization team monitored both respiratory and heart rhythms - in the latter precedent to specifically see whether flight conditions would prompt extra heartbeats to occur in either chamber of the heart.

Sunday 30 July 2017

The Combination Of The Two Inhalers For Asthma Greatly Reduces The Use Of Corticosteroids

The Combination Of The Two Inhalers For Asthma Greatly Reduces The Use Of Corticosteroids.
Asthma patients typically use two inhaled drugs - one a fast-acting "rescue inhaler" to control attacks and another long-lasting one to stop them. However, combining both in one inhaler may be best for some patients, two redesigned studies suggest. Patients with centre to primitive asthma who used a combination inhaler had fewer attacks than those on two separate inhalers, researchers report. Both studies tested the misnamed SMART (single maintenance and reliever therapy) protocol. "The SMART rule was more effective as a treatment for asthma than the conventional treatment, where you just use a inhaler at a unwavering maintenance dose and a short-acting inhaler for the relief of symptoms," said Dr Richard Beasley, administrator of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington and primacy researcher of one of the studies.

These drugs are a combination of a corticosteroid (such as budesonide or fluticasone) and a long-acting beta-2 agonist (such as salmeterol or formoterol) and are sold under various trade-mark names including Seretide, Symbicort and Advair. In asthma, therapy increases as the severity of the condition does. So, this syndication therapy isn't the first choice.

When the asthma is difficult to control with other methods, "we are now recommending the SMART regime. You expound the patients according to their needs. This is certainly not what you start them on - it is something you would use on let up to severe patients".

In the United States, use of these combination inhalers is also not considered first-line psychoanalysis for asthma, according to Dr Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "Patients, however, are currently using these party inhalers". If the asthma is medium to severe, then a combination inhaler is appropriate who was not involved with either new study.

Friday 28 July 2017

Malignant Brain Tumors In Children Will Soon Be Able To Be Curable

Malignant Brain Tumors In Children Will Soon Be Able To Be Curable.
A preparation office has found that a targeted treatment for medulloblastoma - the most worn out malignant brain cancer in children - may one day be able to treat drug-resistant forms of the disease. "Less than 5 percent of patients currently live medulloblastoma," said Dr Amar Gajjar, supremacy author of the study, which was presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. "Most patients customarily die 12 to 18 months after the tumor comes back".

Although this look was designed primarily to assess philosophy effects, if the drug moves through the pharmaceutical pipeline, it would be the first targeted drug aimed at a signaling pathway. Chemotherapy is the mains treatment now. The drug, known as GDC-0449, interrupts the "sonic hedgehog" pathway, which has been implicated in a slew of other cancers; it is involved in 20 percent of cases of children with medulloblastoma.

Thursday 27 July 2017

High Levels Of Blood HDL Cholesterol Protects Against Heart Disease And Reduces The Risk Of Cancer

High Levels Of Blood HDL Cholesterol Protects Against Heart Disease And Reduces The Risk Of Cancer.
Higher blood levels of HDL cholesterol, the "good" class that protects against boldness disease, are also strongly associated with a earlier jeopardy of cancer, a new review of studies suggests. "For about a 10-point increase of HDL, there is a reduced jeopardize of cancer by about one third over an average follow-up of 4,5 years," said Dr Richard Karas, government director of the Tufts Medical Center Molecular Cardiology Research Institute and wire author of a report in the June 22 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Those numbers come from an investigation of 24 randomized controlled trials, aimed at determining the impact on heart disease of lowering levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, through the use of statin drugs.

The rehash singled out trials that also recorded the incidence of cancer among the participants. The researchers backfire a 36 percent lower cancer rate for every 10 milligrams per liter (mg/dl) higher straight of HDL. But while the relationship between higher HDL and lower cancer hazard was independent of other cancer risk factors, such as smoking, obesity and age, Karas was precise to say the study does not prove cause and effect.

So "We can say that higher levels of HDL are associated with a move risk of cancer, but we can't say that one causes the other". Exactly so, said Dr Jennifer Robinson, professor of epidemiology and remedy at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, who wrote an accompanying editorial. High HDL levels may totally be a marker of the description of good traits that reduce both cardiovascular and cancer risk.

Tuesday 25 July 2017

Researchers Found The Effect Of Fatty Acids

Researchers Found The Effect Of Fatty Acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids - nutrients large anticipation to be helpful for neurological health - can furious the usually impenetrable blood-brain barrier and make their way into the brain, a new study suggests Dec 2013. The conclusion could have implications for the use of omega-3s as a treatment for diseases such as Alzheimer's, the Swedish researchers said. As published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm wanted to be taught how far in the in a tizzy system omega-3 fatty acids might travel.

And "Earlier citizens studies indicated that omega-3s can protect against Alzheimer's disease, which makes it interesting to investigate the effects of dietary supplements containing this group of fatty acids in patients who have already developed the disease," read lead author Dr Yvonne Freund-Levi said in an institute news release. The researchers said fatty acids store naturally in the central nervous practice of the fetus during gestation, and "it has been assumed that these acids are continually replaced throughout life". But whether this happens - and whether a person's sustenance makes a difference - has been unknown.

One key question: Do dietary fatty acids have the faculty to cross the brain's protective blood-brain barrier? This organically grown barrier shields the brain from harmful chemicals found elsewhere in the body, the researchers said. The delivery is particularly important for Alzheimer's disease research, because prior studies have shown that Alzheimer's patients have mark down levels of a key omega-3 fatty acid in the cerebrospinal fluid (the running that surrounds the central nervous system). In the six-month study, 18 patients with forgiving Alzheimer's disease got a daily omega-3 supplement while 15 patients received a placebo, or figure pill.

Sunday 23 July 2017

Laparoscopic Surgery Of The Colon Reduces The Risk Of Venous Thrombosis

Laparoscopic Surgery Of The Colon Reduces The Risk Of Venous Thrombosis.
Minimally invasive colon surgery reduces the imperil of blood clots in the intense veins compared with ancestral surgery, University of California, Irvine, researchers report. Deep tendency blood clots, called venous thromboembolism (VTE), occur in about a board of patients who have colorectal surgery, the researchers said. The benefits of less invasive laparoscopic surgery also subsume faster recovery time and a smaller scar, but these advantages may not be enough to bring about a widespread change from traditional surgery.

And "From the cancer perspective, this does not appear to be a game changer," said Dr Durado Brooks, big cheese of colorectal cancer at the American Cancer Society. Brooks said that amid cancer patients in the study, no significant difference in the risk of VTE was found between the two procedures.

So "In addition, cancer had been viewed as a contraindication for laparoscopic surgery. There needs to be a more focused on looking exclusively at the cancer citizenry before anyone would promote laparoscopic surgery as the way to go for cancer patients". The record was published in the June issue of the Archives of Surgery.

Tuesday 18 July 2017

Doctors Recommend Vaccination Of Children

Doctors Recommend Vaccination Of Children.
Few ancestors realize how basic the vaccines against HPV (human papillomavirus) are for preventing cervical cancer, and even fewer talk about the vaccine with their doctors, according to a evaluate of more than 1400 people. "From previous research, we know people are habitually aware of the vaccine," said Kassandra Alcaraz, director of health disparities research at the American Cancer Society, who led the study. "From this study, we lettered that people are not sure it is effective". Alcaraz and her gang used data from a US National Cancer Institute (NCI) measurement on health trends, collected in 2012 and 2013.

Those who responded were either in the age range for which the vaccine is recommended or had an proximate family member in that age bracket. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends HPV vaccination for boys and girls at lifetime 11 or 12, before they become sexually active. For older youth, a "catch-up" vaccination is recommended. The vaccines, Gardasil (for boys and girls) and Cervarix (for girls) object two HPV strains observation to cause most cervical cancers, and Gardasil targets two additional strains.

The vaccines also watch against anal and vulvar cancers. Only one of four measure respondents reported talking to a health-care provider about the vaccine, with those who graduated college most tenable to have done so. When asked about how effective the vaccine is, 70 percent did not know. According to the NCI, vaccination has been found to balk nearly 100 percent of the precancerous room changes that would have been caused by the two strains, HPV 16 and 18.

Thursday 13 July 2017

Some Pills For Heartburn Increased The Risk Of Pneumonia

Some Pills For Heartburn Increased The Risk Of Pneumonia.
Popular heartburn drugs, including proton grill inhibitors and histamine-2 receptor antagonists, may escalate the peril of pneumonia, new research finds. Researchers in Korea analyzed the results of 31 studies on heartburn drugs published between 1985 and 2009. "Our results suggest that the use of acid suppressive drugs is associated with an increased jeopardy of pneumonia," said Dr Sang Min Park of the bailiwick of subdivision medicine at Seoul National University Hospital in Korea. "Patients should be wary at overuse of acid-suppressive drugs, both high-dose and long duration".

Sales of these enormously popular drugs - the relocate best-selling category of medications worldwide - reached nearly $27 billion in the United States in 2005, according to experience information in the study, published Dec 20, 2010 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Proton examine inhibitors (PPIs) cut acid production in the stomach and are used to treat heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and gastric ulcers. They embody omeprazole (Prilosec), lansoprazole (Prevacid) and esomeprazole (Nexium).

Histamine-2 receptor antagonists, often called H2 blockers, use a abundant mechanism to reduce stomach acid and incorporate cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid) and ranitidine (Zantac). According to Consumer Reports, sales of a Nexium tout hit $4,8 billion in 2008. Yet recently, studies have raised concerns about the drugs. Several studies have linked PPIs to a higher chance of fractures and an infection with a bacterium called Clostridium difficile.

Some c whilom studies also linked heartburn drugs to a higher endanger of pneumonia, but the research has been mixed, according to the study authors. Their meta-analysis combined the results of eight observational studies that found that taking PPIs increased the chances of developing pneumonia by 27 percent, while taking H2 blockers resulted in a 22 percent increased endanger of pneumonia.

An criticism of 23 randomized clinical trials found ancestors taking H2 blockers had a 22 percent increased stake of getting hospital-acquired pneumonia. "Gastroenterologists in general have become more cognizant of the fact that these drugs can have some lesser effects," said Dr Michael Brown, a gastroenterologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. "For a lengthy time, we were very happy to suppress people's acid without thinking about the consequences. Now we are starting to get the drift some issues".

Sunday 9 July 2017

Taking Clot-Busting Drug Immediately After A Stroke Within A Few Hours Improves The Patient's Condition

Taking Clot-Busting Drug Immediately After A Stroke Within A Few Hours Improves The Patient's Condition.
Patients who get the clot-busting cure alteplase (tPA) within 4,5 hours of having a jot along better than patients who are given the drug later, Scottish doctors report. It has been known that treating a blow earlier is better than later, but this study shows for the initial time that there is significant harm done with starting tPA after 4,5 hours, the researchers noted. "The service of giving this treatment for stroke continues if we start it as late as 4,5 hours," said restraint researcher Dr Kennedy R Lees, from the University Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the Gardiner Institute at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow.

So "There is no after deductions benefit to patients if you start the therapy after 4,5 hours. But if you start treatment after 4,5 hours, you will have more patients who die. Starting at an hour is much better than starting at two hours, and that's better than three hours, and that's better than 4,5 hours".

The sake derived from near the start tPA treatment is a long-term benefit, Lees pointed out. "It's a help that we can measure three months later. So, what we are getting is long-term improved function. They are more indubitably to have no symptoms and more likely, if they do have symptoms, to be able to do things for themselves, or need less help. A well range of disability is reduced, by just starting tPA a few minutes earlier".

The report is published in the May 15 delivery of The Lancet. For the study, the research team poised data on 3670 patients in eight trials that investigated how the benefits and risks of tPA changed based on the term the drug was given after the onset of a stroke.

Saturday 8 July 2017

Flu Vaccines Approved For Next Winter, Will Protect Against Three Strains Of Influenza, Including H1N1

Flu Vaccines Approved For Next Winter, Will Protect Against Three Strains Of Influenza, Including H1N1.
The flu vaccines approved for the 2010-11 age care for against three strains of influenza, including the 2009 H1N1 pandemic swine flu strain, the United States Food and Drug Administration has announced. Because the 2009 H1N1 virus emerged after opus had started on up to date year's seasonal flu vaccine, two distinct vaccines were needed newest season to protect against seasonal flu and the 2009 H1N1 virus.

This year, persons will require only one vaccine, the FDA said. Each year, experts from the World Health Organization, the FDA, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other institutions analyze flu virus samples and patterns at ease worldwide in scale to govern which strains are most likely to cause illness during the upcoming season.

The vaccines for the 2010-11 flu occasion contain the following strains:

* A/California/7/09 (H1N1)-like virus (pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus),

Friday 7 July 2017

Lifestyle Affects Breast Cancer Risk

Lifestyle Affects Breast Cancer Risk.
Lifestyle changes such as losing weight, drinking less juice and getting more execute could lead to a substantial reduction in breast cancer cases across an continuous population, according to a new model that estimates the impact of these modifiable risk factors. Although such models are often occupied to estimate breast cancer risk, they are usually based on things that women can't change, such as a division history of breast cancer. Up to now, there have been few models based on ways women could cut their risk through changes in their lifestyle.

US National Cancer Institute researchers created the ideal using data from an Italian study that included more than 5000 women. The epitome included three modifiable risk factors (alcohol consumption, physical activity and body hoard index) and five risk factors that are difficult or impossible to modify: family history, education, drudgery activity, reproductive characteristics, and biopsy history. Benchmarks for some lifestyle factors included getting at least 2 hours of annoy a week for women 30-39 and having a body mass indicator (BMI) under 25 in women 50 and older.

The US Government Is Concerned About The Presence Of Contaminated Medicines In Pharmacies

The US Government Is Concerned About The Presence Of Contaminated Medicines In Pharmacies.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday began the modify of regulating compounding pharmacies, which originate creative drug combinations or revise drugs to suit individual patient needs. Under the Drug Quality and Security Act, signed into rule Nov 27, 2013 by President Barack Obama, these pharmacies are being encouraged to manifest with the FDA. The agency will then classify them as outsourcing pharmacies, enabling them to sell enlargement drugs to hospitals and other health-care facilities. The law was prompted by the deaths last year of 64 the crowd who received fungus-contaminated steroid medications that were given in injections to treat back and joint pain.

An additional 750 kinfolk in 20 states were sickened by the contaminated drug. The medication was made by the now-shuttered New England Compounding Center, in Framingham, Mass., according to federal robustness officials. "The or on of the law related to compounding is a step forward by creating a unusual pathway in which compounders register with FDA as an outsourcing facility," FDA commissioner Dr Margaret Hamburg said during a Monday afternoon cleave to briefing.

If a compounding pharmacy registers with the agency, hospitals and other health-care providers will be able to swallow products compounded by companies that are subject to FDA oversight. The error includes inspections and adherence to "good manufacturing practices".