One of the nation’s leading cardiovascular medical researchers has issued a call for less aggressive direct-to-consumer advertising and better safety assurances of medications in a special article posted online today by JAMA because of its relevance to the recent withdrawals and warning labels on the pain-relieving drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors. The article will be published in a print edition of JAMA in early 2005.
Eric J. Topol, M.D., from the Cleveland Clinic Foundatio
A new Mayo Clinic study has for the first time established rates of restless legs syndrome in children, finding that almost 6 percent of children seen in Mayo”s sleep clinic have the disease. The study, published in this month’s issue of Annals of Neurology, also notes that the most common risk factors for the disease in kids are family history of restless legs syndrome and iron deficiency.
“Restless legs syndrome is underdiagnosed in kids,” says Suresh Kotagal, M.D., chai
The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women, produces a wide variety of body changes with both physical and emotional implications for sufferers.
Many women with PCOS are found to have insulin resistance, a condition that allows excessive levels of insulin to circulate in the blood and increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. PCOS is also the leading cause of androgen excess in women. Althoug
An inexpensive, non-narcotic medication has been identified as an important step in treating acute migraine headaches, according to a study performed by University of Alberta researchers in collaboration with other emergency physicians.
Researchers from the University of Alberta, University of Cambridge, Michigan State University and British Columbia’s St. Paul’s Hospital are recommending metoclopramide be considered a primary step in treating migraine sufferers who v
People with a history of migraines and other headaches lasting at least four hours are more likely to report suffering from the chest pain doctors call angina than people who do not experience such headaches, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study concludes. That is especially true for those who also experience “aura” around the time of their headaches — seeing what appear to be spots or lines before their eyes.
The study, led by Dr. Kathryn M. Rose, research as
Women who have their breast cancers detected by physical examinations are at least twice as likely to undergo toxic treatments than those who have their cancer detected by mammography—regardless of the age of the woman, a new study shows.
The study reviewed 992 women with invasive breast cancer—460 of them had their cancer detected on screening mammography and 532 on physical examination, said the lead author of the study, Richard J. Barth, Jr., MD, Chief of the Division of Su
MDCT angiography can potentially help determine which patients with narrowed carotid arteries are at greater risk of having a stroke, a new study shows. This information could help identify which patients need surgery and which can be treated with less invasive procedures.
The study reviewed 31 patients who had greater than 60% carotid artery stenosis—18 had symptoms of carotid artery disease, including a transient or permanent brief episode s of neurologic dysfunction, while
Both ibuprofen and acetaminophen are safe and effective for treating migraine headaches in children and adolescents, according to the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society, whose new practice guideline is published in the December 28 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The guideline has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Headache Society.
Among adolescents, sumatriptan nasal spray
Longer and more intense physical activity may help people maintain their cognitive skills as they age, according to a 10-year study of elderly men published in the December 28, 2004 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study reviewed the data of 295 men, born between 1900 and 1920, from the Finland, Italy and Netherlands Elderly (FINE) Study. Beginning in 1990, researchers measured the duration and intensity of physical activities su
Among women in their child-bearing years, even minimal amounts of unwanted hair in male-type patterns – especially in the presence of other subtle changes – may be a sign of a hormonal imbalance linked to a variety of serious side effects and medical conditions, according to the December 2004 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
In a study of 188 women conducted by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB
Researchers at McMaster University have developed the first assessment tool of its kind for evaluating risks faced by Canadians suffering from a rare and often fatal bleeding disorder.
Their detailed bleeding questionnaire helps discriminate between patients – often in the same family – affected by a puzzling and rare condition known as Quebec Platelet Disorder (QPD) and those who are not.
The new tool for detecting different symptoms and complications was developed in
If you want to avoid allergies or asthma, scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School suggest you start paying more attention to what’s in your gut.
In the January 2005 issue of Infection & Immunity, U-M researchers report new evidence suggesting that changes in the normal mixture of microflora – bacteria and fungi in the gastrointestinal tract – can intensify the immune system’s reaction to common allergens, like pollen or animal dander, in the lung and increase the
Breast implants after mastectomy to treat breast cancer do not reduce the long-term survival of patients, reveals the first study on the long-term effects of breast implants, published today in Breast Cancer Research.
Previous studies have shown that breast implants do not have adverse health effects for cancer patients in the short term, but no representative study has addressed the question in the long term.
Gem Le from the Northern California Cancer Centre and col
A new option for non-invasive colorectal cancer testing may encourage some people who avoid screening for the deadly disease to be tested.
A study published in the December 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reports that a non-invasive test for DNA mutations present in stool has an encouraging rate of detecting colorectal cancer compared to the standard non-invasive method — fecal occult (hidden) blood stool testing, although neither approached the detection rate of
Sudden cardiac death from emotional stress may be triggered by uneven signals from the brain to the heart, according to a study by University College London (UCL) scientists published in the January issue of Brain.
UCL researchers have discovered that a system which normally coordinates signalling from the brain to different parts of the heart may be disrupted in some people, making them vulnerable to potentially fatal abnormal heart rhythms during mentally taxing tasks or emotiona
The biggest research project ever sponsored by the EU in the seafood sector will help to meet the consumer demand for more healthy products.
With the support of 14.4 million euros of EU funding under the ’food quality and safety’ priority of the current Framework Funding programme (FP6), SEAFOODplus aims to satisfy the growing consumer demands for healthy, safe products that are produced using sustainable, environmentally friendly methods and processed using state of the
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