Cholesterol drug approved for diabetics
Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday U.S. regulators have approved its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack in diabetic patients.
Pfizer said the approval is for patients with type 2, or adult onset, diabetes who have no signs of heart disease but with other risk factors for the condition.
GW Pharma says cannabis drug helps MS sufferers
GW Pharmaceuticals Plc said on Tuesday its cannabis-based medicine Sativex was effective in reducing pain-related problems for patients suffering from multiple sclerosis.
The company said a study based on 66 patients found Sativex was significantly superior to placebo in reducing pain and sleep disturbance.
Surprise vacancy at FDA worries US senators
The abrupt resignation of U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Lester Crawford last week—and the news that the man appointed to replace him temporarily plans to also keep his job as head of the National Cancer Institute—has lawmakers who were already unhappy with the agency alarmed.
Crawford, who was confirmed by the Senate only two months ago after a bruising, 5-month process, resigned Friday. In an e-mail to FDA staff, Crawford cited only his age—67—as his reason, although speculation suggests the actual reason is more likely some type of professional misconduct.
Walking improves bowel prep for colonoscopy
The value of colonoscopy for screening for colon cancer depends a lot on how well the bowel is cleared before the procedure—and now physicians in South Korea have shown that the usual cleansing process is improved by having patients simply walk.
Walking results in better colon cleansing without increasing patient discomfort and should be recommended as part of routine colonoscopic bowel preparation, the team says.
Smoking reduction can lower lung cancer risk
Even if they can’t quit, heavy smokers can decrease their risk of lung cancer if they cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke per day, investigators report in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
Dr. Nina S. Godtfredsen, from Hvidovre Hospital, and her associates in Denmark conducted a population-based study among 19,714 subjects who were followed for up to 31 years.
Obese women face greater multiple myeloma risk
The results of a new prospective study provide additional evidence that obesity may increase women’s risk of developing multiple myeloma, a type of bone-marrow cancer.
Results of studies looking into a potential link between excess weight and multiple myeloma have been inconsistent, Cindy K. Blair of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center in Minneapolis and her colleagues note in the medical journal Epidemiology.
Orange chemical hailed as a treatment for AIDS
An Australian pharmaceutical company said on Tuesday a naturally occurring chemical extracted from oranges can be used to treat HIV/AIDS, influenza, SARS and the common cold.
Citrofresh International Ltd. said Europe’s Retroscreen Virology Laboratory had found its Citrofresh bioflavanoid compound to be effective against the HIV-1 virus, the human influenza A virus including Avian influenza or bird flu, the Urbani SARS virus and the human rhinovirus.
Singapore scientists invent quick bird flu test
Scientists in Singapore said on Tuesday they have developed a test kit that can detect bird flu infections in poultry within four hours - a tool that could help health officials control the spread of the deadly virus.
In the absence of a vaccine, early identification of the virus is especially important, and current tests used by laboratories take two to three days and sometimes up to a week.
Scientists find wider uses for cholesterol drugs
Cholesterol-lowering drugs could help to prevent diabetics and people at high risk of heart disease from suffering a heart attack or stroke even if their cholesterol level is not high, scientists said on Tuesday.
Millions of patients around the world are prescribed the drugs, known as statins, to reduce their cholesterol, but an international team of researchers said an even bigger group of people would benefit from the treatment.
Indonesian children targeted in anti-polio drive
Indonesia on Tuesday kicked off the final round of a massive campaign to immunise more than 24 million children against polio in a bid to stop the spread of the virus in the world’s fourth most populous country.
Unlike a previous immunisation round where the government employed dozens of pop stars and celebrities to lure fearful mothers and their howling infants, the latest was more subdued.
Los Angeles study finds higher pollution death risk
The risk of dying in parts of traffic-clogged, polluted Los Angeles appears sharply higher than previously believed, according to a study comparing the risks of living in affluent, beachfront neighborhoods to the hazy and fast-growing inland area.
The study was a first to attempt to look at how chronic health problems are linked to the degree of pollution across the neighborhoods of a major U.S. city, lead author, Michael Jerrett said.
Some Common Diet Tips That Really Work
Losing weight is a national preoccupation. I challenge anyone to turn on the television or radio, surf online or open a magazine without finding an advertisement for a weight loss product or an endorsement for a new diet or eating plan. Everyone wants to be healthy and look their best, and for possibly the first time in the last half century, those two things happen to coincide. The current ideal of beauty is far closer to what’s attainable by a ‘real’ person than it has been in decades. Thanks to the recent popularity of actresses and singers who aren’t rail thin, coat hangers are out and healthy muscles and curves are in.
If you’ve been working toward that comfortable ideal body weight, chances are that you’ve read the same diet and weight loss tips time and time again. In some cases, it’s because someone said it and it got repeated endlessly. In others, though, it’s because the tip really works. Here are five of the most common diet tips that really work - and why.
Pomegranate juice promising for prostate cancer
Pomegranate extract may prevent prostate cancer or slow its growth, if results of lab experiments conducted at the University of Wisconsin in Madison translate to real-world benefits.
Dr. Hasan Mukhtar and his colleagues note in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition that pomegranates are high in polyphenolic compounds, making its juice higher in antioxidant activity than red wine and green tea.
‘Statin’ drugs reduce fracture risk in men
Men who take a cholesterol-lowering ‘statin’ drug (such as Lipitor or Zocor, for example) may be protecting more than their heart. A large study comprised mostly of elderly men shows that the drugs reduce the risk of suffering a bone fracture.
Previous research investigating the link between statins and fracture risk, conducted primarily among women, has yielded mixed results.
Injured players shouldn’t risk second concussion
For high school athletes who sustain a head injury, playing hurt “for the team” is more often dangerous than heroic.
That’s one of the main messages contained in Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports, a multimedia educational tool kit developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to raise awareness and help coaches of high school teams prevent concussions, spot symptoms, and know what to do should an athlete show signs of a concussion.
