Cholesterol drug hits diabetes with one-two punch, Tulane study says
|
|
Patients with type 2 diabetes may soon be able to control their glucose and their cholesterol levels with a single drug, according to a study led by Vivian A. Fonseca, professor of medicine and pharmacology at Tulane University School of Medicine and chief of the Tulane University Health Sciences Center Diabetes Program.
Results from the clinical trial demonstrated that the compound colesevelam HCl, in combination with Sulfonylurea-based therapy in patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes, achieved significantly reduced glucose levels versus those in the study taking a placebo. The study was recently presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists’ 16th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress.
FDA warns of new risks to babies with Roche drug
|
|
U.S. regulators on Thursday warned doctors of new risks to newborn babies, including death, associated with combining an antibiotic made by Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG with certain other treatments.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that the injection, called Rocephin, should not be combined with calcium or calcium-containing products, following reports of an unspecified number of cases of fatal reactions in the lungs and kidneys of newborns.
Prenatal secondhand smoke tied to mental problems
|
|
Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely than their unexposed counterparts to have children with psychological problems such as conduct disorder, attention deficits, and behavior problems, a study suggests.
While such problems are known to be more common among children whose mothers smoked while pregnant, this study is the first to find that passive smoking poses a risk as well, Drs. Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp and Theodore P. Beauchaine of the University of Washington in Seattle note in the journal Child Psychiatry and Human Development.
Children Prefer Large Portions … of Some Foods
|
|
Given the choice, Canadian fifth-graders prefer larger portions of snacks and fast foods and smaller portions of vegetables than the recommended amounts, according to researchers at Dalhousie University in Canada.
The researchers showed nearly 5,000 children a variety of portion sizes of french fries, meat, cooked vegetables and potato chips and asked them to indicate their “usual portion sizes.”
Dental assistants at risk of lung problems
|
|
Dental assistants who work with substances called methacrylates may be at risk of developing asthma or chronic respiratory symptoms, a study has found.
Methacrylates are used in dental filling materials and bonding agents, like those used to cement porcelain veneers, crowns and orthodontic brackets. Dental assistants are exposed to airborne methacrylate particles when mixing these materials or during placement or removal of dental restorations.
Being overweight ups risk of colon cancer
|
|
For men, the risk of colon cancer increases with body weight in a nearly linear manner, a study shows. For women, the risk is more variable but still trends upward, particularly for those younger than age 67.
The findings highlight the importance of weight control for colon cancer prevention, Dr. Kenneth F. Adams, of the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues conclude in a report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Triptan’ may safely prevent menstrual migraine
|
|
A drug used to treat acute migraine can be safely taken long term to prevent some of the migraines women may experience around the time of their period, research shows.
Results of the study indicate that naratriptan twice daily is well tolerated when taken for 6 continuous days per month for up to 1 year for the prevention of menstruation-related migraine.
Specific type of cell death may accelerate decompensated heart failure
|
|
Autophagy, a normal process by which cells eat their own proteins to provide needed resources to the body in times of stress, may paradoxically cause harm to hearts already weakened by disease, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
“In certain forms of heart disease, autophagy is taking place, but how much of it is occurring and whether it participates in disease pathogenesis is unknown,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Joseph Hill, chief of cardiology, reporting in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. “In our study, we found that autophagy can become harmful and lead to cellular damage.”
Wesley Research Institute study targets pharmacists to help diabetes sufferers
|
|
A new Wesley Research Institute project aims to make it much easier for people to manager their Type 2 Diabetes by using community pharmacists.
There are more than one million Australians with Type 2 Diabetes who are at an increased risk of developing serious health problems including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and blindness.
Epilepsy raises suicide risk, study finds
|
|
People newly diagnosed with epilepsy have an especially high risk of suicide and doctors should keep an eye on them, Danish researchers reported on Monday.
Patients with epilepsy had a three times higher risk of suicide, the researchers found, but the risk fell the longer someone had lived with the condition.
Healthy diet may decrease diabetes risk
|
|
Adopting a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables and fiber while cutting back on red meat and fats may reduce the risk of developing diabetes, results of a new study suggest.
“We now have some solid evidence to give dietary recommendations to help reduce risk of diabetes,” study co-author Dr. Teresa T. Fung, of Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, told Reuters Health.
Increase in Prescription Drug Cost Sharing Associated With Lower Rates of Drug Treatment, Adherence
|
|
A review of previous studies indicates that an increase in prescription drug cost sharing is associated with a decrease in drug spending and use of pharmacies; and for some chronic conditions, higher cost sharing is associated with greater use of expensive medical services, according to an article in the July 4 issue of JAMA.
“… with recent increases in pharmacy spending, pharmacy benefit managers and health plans have adopted benefit changes designed to reduce pharmaceutical use or steer patients to less-expensive alternatives. The rapid proliferation of mail-order pharmacies, mandatory generic substitution, coinsurance plans, and multitiered formularies has transformed the benefit landscape,” the authors write.
Gene linked with childhood asthma is identified, giving hope for new therapies
|
|
A gene that is strongly associated with a risk of developing childhood onset asthma is identified in new research published online today in Nature.
In a genetic study of more than 2,000 children, scientists established that genetic markers on chromosome 17 had a striking effect on the risk of asthma in children. They also found that these markers altered the levels of a new gene called ORMDL3, which was at a higher level in the blood cells of children with asthma than in those without.
Sex, age, location affect colonoscopy failures
|
|
If you’re not eager to undergo a repeat colonoscopy because the procedure could not be completed, choose a specialized medical center to have it done.
Unfortunately, other factors that make an incomplete colonoscopy more likely—being a woman and being elderly—can’t be changed so readily.
Fewer kids on SSRI antidepressants
|
|
Within 2 years after the October 2003 FDA public health advisory about the risk of suicide in children taking a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), significant reductions in rates of diagnosis and antidepressant treatment of childhood depression occurred, researchers report.
“Antidepressant use was expected to decline, consistent with effects on other drugs after warnings are issued,” Dr. Anne M. Libby of University of Colorado Health Science Center at Denver told Reuters Health.
