Acid-blockers in pregnancy up kids’ asthma risk
Children whose mothers took stomach acid-blocking medication during pregnancy have increased odds of developing asthma, a Boston team announced here at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
The findings were presented by Dr. Elizabeth H. Yen of Children’s Hospital, Boston. Her group analyzed data from three national Swedish healthcare registries to examine acid-blocker use by pregnant women in relation to rates of asthma in their children.
Heart patients with diabetes need extra care
People hospitalized because of acute heart failure face an increased risk of dying in the hospital and in the longer term if they have diabetes or pre-diabetes, researchers report.
The finding “could help target some patients for more intensive therapy,” write Dr. John J. V. McMurray from the University of Glasgow, UK, and colleagues in the medical journal Heart.
The team studied 454 consecutive patients admitted to one university hospital for heart failure; 110 of them (24 percent) had diabetes, 60 (13 percent) had pre-diabetes indicated by high blood levels of glucose, and 284 had normal blood glucose.
EU to take another look at GSK breast cancer drug
Europe’s drugs regulators will take another look at GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s new breast cancer pill Tyverb after new data showed a small risk of higher liver enzymes during treatment with the drug.
GSK, Europe’s biggest drug maker, said on Tuesday that the European Commission had referred Tyverb, which is on sale in the United States under the name Tykerb, back to the EU’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).
CHMP recommended conditional approval for Tyverb in December, meaning it could go on sale but that additional data were required.
Doctors urged to ask heart patients about cocaine
Two standard heart attack treatments can be dangerous for people who have used cocaine, and certain patients with chest pain should be asked if they have used the drug, a leading medical group said on Monday.
Younger patients and those without obvious heart disease risk factors should be asked when they arrive at hospital emergency rooms if they have used cocaine, the American Heart Association said in a statement in its journal Circulation.
Clot-busting drugs and beta-blockers—treatments often given to patients who have suffered a heart attack—can be perilous for cocaine users, the group said.
Vegan diet may help ease rheumatoid arthritis
A gluten-free vegan diet full of nuts, sunflower seeds, fruit and vegetables appears to offer protection against heart attacks and strokes for people with rheumatoid arthritis, Swedish researchers said on Tuesday.
The diet appeared to lower cholesterol and also affect the immune system, easing some symptoms associated with the painful joint condition, they said.
The study suggested diet could play an important role for people with rheumatoid arthritis who are often more prone to heart attacks, strokes and clogged arteries, said the team from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
Frank talk about family breast cancer risk urged
Women from families who openly talk about their family history of breast cancer are more knowledgeable about genetic counseling and testing, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. That may make them more likely to get tested, they said.
Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and George Washington University Hospital undertook the study to understand why black women participate less in genetic counseling and testing for breast cancer genes than do white women.
While they were unable to pinpoint key differences between the two groups, they did find that when a woman knows her family’s breast cancer history, she is better informed about the need for testing.
HDL-Associated Protein Gene Linked to Heart Disease Risk
The gene for the HDL-associated protein paraoxonase 1 (PON1) appears to be associated with coronary artery disease and with the risk of developing adverse cardiac events, and variations in both the PON1 gene and its related enzyme activity may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease events, according to a study in the March 19 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Genetics and Genomics.
Stanley L. Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., of the Cleveland Clinic, presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Despite evidence that PON1 prevents atherosclerosis in animals, a cardio-protective role in humans has not been established. Several studies have suggested that PON1 may have antioxidant and cardio-protective properties, according to background information in the article.
Geneticist First to Connect a Gene Central to Neuron Formation to Autism
Eli Hatchwell, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at Stony Brook University Medical Center, and colleagues have found that a disruption of the Contactin 4 gene on chromosome 3 may be linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). What causes ASD, a developmental disorder of the central nervous system, is largely unknown. Dr. Hatchwell’s finding suggests that mutations affecting Contactin 4 may be relevant to ASD pathogenesis, and thus a potential biomarker for some individuals with the disorder. Details of the study are reported in the early online edition of the Journal of Medical Genetics.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of ASD in the United States may be as high as 1 in 150 children. The disorder is divided into five subtypes, including autism proper. Pathogenesis of ASD may be environmental and/or biological. Experts suspect that many genes may play a role in the etiology of ASD.
