Long-term data needed on anti-obesity drugs
The safety and efficacy over the long term need to be documented for Xenical (known generically as orlistat), Meridia (sibutramine) and Acomplia (rimonabant) before doctors can be certain that the benefits of these anti-obesity drugs outweigh the risks, according to a commentary appearing in The Lancet medical journal.
Orlistat and sibutramine are currently approved for long-term use, while rimonabant is under review by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Orlistat reduces weight by an average of 3 kilograms, whereas sibutramine and rimonabant each reduce weight by 4 kg to 5 kg, on average, Dr. Raj S. Padwal and Dr. Sumit R. Majumdar, from the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Canada, note in their article.
Genetic variation may reduce Alzheimer’s risk
Adults with a genetic variation enabling them to express higher levels of fetal hemoglobin may have a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say.
A study of 209 families with at least two siblings with Alzheimer’s and one unaffected sibling showed that those with this genetic variation are less likely to have the disease, researchers say in Neurobiology of Aging. An estimated 25 percent of the population has the XmnI polymorphism.
Antibody therapy prevents type 1 diabetes in mice
University of Pittsburgh investigators have successfully prevented the onset of type 1 diabetes in mice prone to developing the disease using an antibody against a receptor on the surface of immune T-cells. According to the investigators, these findings, which are being published in the January issue of the journal Diabetes, have significant implications for the prevention of type 1 diabetes.
More than 700,000 Americans have type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder in which the body errantly attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, causing chronically elevated levels of sugar in the blood, leading to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and nerve damage. Previously known as juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed at a very early age, but in some cases it can be diagnosed in adulthood.
Study finds obese patients fair better than lean patients when hospitalized for acute heart failure
Researchers report that for patients hospitalized with acute heart failure, a higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with a substantially lower in-hospital mortality rate. For every 5-unit increase in body mass, the odds of risk-adjusted mortality fell 10 percent. The finding held when adjusted for age, sex, blood urea nitrogen, blood pressure, and additional prognostic factors.
IMPACT: The finding offers more insight into an observed phenomenon in chronic heart failure called the ‘obesity paradox.’ This is the first study to document that this inverse relationship with BMI holds in the setting of acute hospitalization for heart failure. Further study is required but the finding suggests that nutritional/metabolic support may have therapeutic benefit in specific patients hospitalized with heart failure.
Drugs nearing approval for mysterious pain condition
Although not all doctors are convinced that the pain and fatigue condition diagnosed as fibromyalgia is a distinct condition, drug companies are racing to win U.S. regulatory approval to serve this potentially lucrative market.
The debilitating disorder is thought to affect an estimated 2 percent to 4 percent of Americans, mainly women. Diagnosing fibromyalgia is not easy because its cause is unknown and its symptoms, which include depression, can overlap with other conditions.
Infant outcome worse with planned c-section
Newborns who are delivered via planned cesarean section are more likely to be transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit and to experience lung disorders compared with those delivered via planned vaginal delivery, according to findings published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“The appropriateness of the rising rate of cesarean delivery worldwide has been debated widely,” Dr. Toril Kolas, of Innlandet Hospital Trust, Lillehammer, Norway, and colleagues write.
Depression may quadruple stroke risk for some
People with symptoms of depression appear to be at increased risk of having a stroke or mini-stroke—but only subjects less than 65 years old—according to data from the Framingham Heart Study. The risk was not seen among individuals older than 65.
Dr. Margaret Kelly-Hayes and her associates at Boston University followed 4120 subjects in the Framingham Heart Study for up to 8 years. At the start, scores on a standard depression scale, called the CES-D, averaged 6. However, nearly 11 percent scored 16 or greater, indicating the presence of depressive symptoms.
U.S. approves new Pfizer obesity drug for dogs
U.S. health officials have approved the first obesity drug aimed at treating Americans’ increasingly plump pooches, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
The drug, Pfizer Inc’.s Slentrol, helps decrease appetite and fat absorption to help the roughly 5 percent of U.S. dogs that are obese lose weight, the FDA said. Another 20 percent to 30 percent are overweight, it added.
