Asthma risk increased by early use of antibiotics
Researchers suggest that when children are exposed to antibiotics in the first year of life it may increase the risk of them developing asthma later in childhood.
They suspect too that there may be an even higher risk with each additional course of antibiotics.
They do however say they cannot exclude the possibility of “reverse causation” in which the presence of asthma leads to more frequent respiratory tract infections, which in turn increases the rate of antibiotic use.
FDA chief says unique generics get priority
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to eliminate a backlog of more than 800 pending generic drug applications by focusing on those offering the first cheaper alternative therapy, the agency’s acting chief told Congress on Tuesday.
Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach defended efforts to bring cheaper drugs on the market by telling lawmakers the agency aimed to ensure “that there’s at least one generic available” for most conditions, giving preference to the first one submitted.
‘Glycemic index’ questioned as diet tool
Weight- and health-conscious eaters may not find much help in following the so-called low-GI diet, a new study suggests.
In recent years, researchers have taken to classifying carbohydrates based on their GI, or glycemic index—a measure of the effects of a given food on blood sugar levels. High-GI foods, like white bread and potatoes, tend to produce a quick surge in blood sugar, and some studies have suggested that diets heavy in such foods can contribute to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease.
Books and Web sites espousing “low-GI” diets have followed suit.
Drug trial goes wrong and six end up intensive care
After taking part in a clinical trial of a new drug six men are now seriously ill in a north London hospital in the UK.
Health officials say the volunteers became ill after taking a drug being developed to treat chronic inflammatory conditions and leukaemia.
Relatives are apparently at the bedside of the patients who apparently suffered multiple organ failure. Some lives are said to be in danger.
Asthma risk increased in women with high levels of fat tissue inflammatory protein
Women with high levels of an inflammatory protein produced by fat tissue are at significantly increased risk of asthma, finds research in published ahead of print in Thorax.
The findings are based on almost 6,000 adults taking part in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Study, which assessed the health and nutrition of US citizens.
Cells in Mucus from Lungs of Patients Can Predict Tumor Development
In a group of high-risk patients, a test that examined DNA from cells expelled in sputum for evidence of “silenced” genes correctly identified the majority of patients who were later diagnosed with lung cancer, say researchers in a study published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research. As such, the sputum test potentially represents a unique, non-invasive, and cost-effective screening method that could lead to earlier treatment of lung cancer.
“Short of repeatedly X-raying a person’s lungs to look for emerging tumors, there is no way now to screen people at high risk for lung cancer, much less predict who will be diagnosed with the cancer at a later date,” said the study’s senior author, Steven Belinsky, Ph.D., director of the Lung Cancer Program at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, N.M.
Pepper Component Hot Enough to Trigger Suicide in Prostate Cancer Cells
Capsaicin, the stuff that turns up the heat in jalapen~os, not only causes the tongue to burn, it also drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to studies published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research.
According to a team of researchers from the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in collaboration with colleagues from UCLA, the pepper component caused human prostate cancer cells to undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis.
Growth of Hypertension Poses Challenges In Training And Research
A looming shortage of specialists, and the need for research focusing on prevention as well as treatment, are two of the most important challenges in managing an inexorable growth in the incidence of hypertension, according to two dozen experts who attended the Seventh Annual Winter Conference of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH).
The day-long January 13th meeting in Coconut Grove, Florida was convened by ASH president Thomas D. Giles, MD, professor of medicine at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, as a forum to address “The Future of Hypertension Training and Research in Academic Medicine.” It was attended by twenty four of the nation’s foremost experts in hypertension, representing eighteen schools of medicine and academic medical centers, two government institutions devoted to healthcare research, and two of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies.
