Moderate alcohol use cuts risk of stroke
Alcohol consumption in moderation may reduce the risk of strokes caused by blockage of blood vessels—the most common kind—a new study suggests.
Dr. Mitchell S. V. Elkind, of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and colleagues examined whether moderate alcohol consumption has a protective effect on the risk of stroke in a mostly Hispanic population. The 3176 subjects were on average 69 years of age and were enrolled in the study between 1993 and 2001.
Few patients on steroids receive bone-saving drugs
Contrary to the guidelines of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), patients on long-term steroid treatment are often not prescribed therapy to prevent the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, according to findings from a small study.
Steroids are commonly prescribed for chronic skin diseases and “autoimmune” conditions in which the body attacks itself. “Patients receiving long-term corticosteroid therapy have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis,” said Dr. Victoria P. Werth of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Philadelphia.
Hepatitis C treatment difficult in older patients
Because of side effects, patients over the age of 60 with hepatitis C find it more difficult to stick with standard treatments than do their younger counterparts, according to a study in Japan.
Impaired heart, lung and kidney function can make older patients more susceptible to anemia induced by ribavirin, one of the drugs used for treating hepatitis C, explain Dr. Yoshiaki Iwasaki, from Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and colleagues.
Health risks rise from teens to young adulthood
During the transition from adolescence to adulthood, health risk increases and access to health care decreases across all race/ethnic groups, according to a study funded by the National institutes of Health.
The ethnically diverse National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health followed some 14,000 adolescents over time into young adulthood. Participants were first interviewed when they were 12 to 19 years of age, and then when they were 19 to 26 years old.
Falling asleep with baby on the sofa can be fatal
Despite the fact that the number of cases of babies dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) has fallen dramatically over the last two decades, it seems that the number of deaths in children while sleeping with a parent on a sofa have risen 400 percent.
Researchers at the the Royal Hospital for Children in Bristol, England, say campaigns to inform parents about SIDS, or cot deaths, have had an impact, but parents need to be aware of the danger of falling asleep with a baby on a sofa.
Caffeine before a workout can damage the heart
According to a new study, if you were thinking that a cup of coffee might make that workout at the gym easier, think again!
The researchers at University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, are suggesting that caffeine can directly damage the heart during exercise, and that includes high caffeine sports drinks.
Aspirin’s heart benefits varies by sex - study
The benefits of taking aspirin regularly differs between men and women, reducing the risk of heart attacks in men while reducing the risk of strokes in women, researchers said on Tuesday.
A review of six previous studies found regular aspirin use lowered women’s risk of suffering a stroke by 17 percent compared to nonusers, while not having any effect on their chances of having a heart attack or of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Surgery often avoidable for men with hernias
Men who experience few or no symptoms from an inguinal hernia do not require immediate surgery; instead, they can be safely followed and treated if symptoms worsen, new research shows.
If this approach catches on with surgeons throughout the US, it could markedly reduce the number of hernia repairs performed.
