Anxiety over pregnancy linked to premature birth
Women who are particularly anxious about their pregnancy may be at increased risk of premature delivery, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among 1,820 pregnant women, those with the greatest concerns about their pregnancy were nearly three times more likely than those with the least anxiety to deliver prematurely. The findings are published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
Dutch stroke study urges greater anticoagulant use
Dutch doctors called on Sunday for greater use of oral anticoagulants to prevent strokes in people with a common heart arrhythmia.
Atrial fibrillation (AF), a heart flutter, is dangerous because blood pools in the heart, forming clots that can lead to deadly strokes.
Marker of aggressive prostate cancer identified
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have identified a protein “biomarker” of aggressive prostate cancer. The protein, known as B7-H3, plays a role in the functioning of the immune system.
Based on their studies to date, Dr. Timothy J. Roth and associates believe that B7-H3 is a promising marker that may eventually help doctors better diagnose prostate cancer and assess prognosis. It may also represent a good target for new prostate cancer drugs.
Combo blood pressure pill cuts deaths in diabetics
Giving people with type 2 diabetes a combination pill to lower blood pressure cuts their risk of heart attack or death, regardless of what their blood pressure was before treatment, scientists said on Sunday.
Those taking the combined angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and diuretic medicine were 18 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than patients on placebo, according to a four-year study involving 11,000 patients.
Tutu slams S. Africa’s efforts to fight HIV/AIDS
Archbishop Desmond Tutu berated South Africa’s government on Friday over delays in introducing an HIV/AIDS drug treatment plan and said its leaders’ unorthodox views had led to unnecessary deaths.
Recalling fallen anti-apartheid heroes, the Nobel peace laureate said they would be shocked by the devastation caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which he said was killing 900 people every day in the country.
Intensive diabetes therapy may lower heart rate
Intensive control of blood sugar (glucose) in patients with type 1 diabetes is associated with a lower resting heart rate, according to a report in Diabetes Care.
“This effect may partially explain why the intensive insulin treatment has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease in those with type 1 diabetes,” Dr. Andrew D. Paterson of the University of Toronto, Canada told Reuters Health.
