St. John's wort amplifies effect of blood thinner Plavix
...regation, which was most significant at four hours after clopidogrel was given. From a starting aggregation rate of 90 percent, the average dropped to about 45 percent. The effect was seen using two different tests of platelet aggregation. Bates notes that the size of the study means the result needs to b...Studies underscore genetic involvement in nicotine addiction & aggressive hostility
...sed high levels of cortisol, a key stress-hormone, after taking an anti-depressant drug that makes serotoni...ailable in the brain. The authors speculate that, after being deprived of serotonin, these men's neural receptors were exquisitely sensitive and primed to o...Three anti-platelet drugs used in combination are safe
...revent restenosis (the reclogging of blood vessels after they have been cleared with percutaneous coronary ...g the efficacy of cilostazol to prevent restenosis after PCI. Earlier results from CREST showed a 35% relative risk reduction in restenosis from 34% to 22% w...Mood elevating hormone may trigger depression and heart problems
...eceptor function. The effects were more pronounced after the subjects were given a medication that blocked the action of the receptor, causing a sustained release of norepinephrine. "The subjects had a higher blood pressure response and a higher heart rate," Neumeister said. "They were perfectly normal pe...New trials for counseling caregivers and patients with Alzheimer's begin
...nts, and the effects were evident even three years after counseling. Even when spouse caregivers have supportive networks, there can still be communication difficulties within families that require counseling to resolve. Dr. Mittelman's landmark study was only for spouse caregivers. A new study, a replic...Three out of the four million newborn babies who die each year could be saved
... malaria, which are important causes of death, but after the first month of life. Lead author Dr Joy Lawn (Saving Newborn Lives/Save the Children) comments: "Every year, 4 million babies still die in their first 4 weeks of life, most from preventable causes. This number is double the deaths due to HIV/AID...MRI better than current standard in assessing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer
...contrast agent gadolinium and therefore be visible after chemotherapy. Our study found that MRI is not perf...5% of the time, overestimating the amount of tumor after chemotherapy in 13% and underestimating the amount of tumor in 52% of the cases. Clinical examinatio...York study tests enhanced care for depression patients
...one as the principal means of contact, though only after an initial face-to-face meeting. Professor Richards added: "Case managers will help patients to manage their medication and give low-intensity psychological help. Treatment will be much more structured than counselling. Telephone contact will allow c...Study examines racial differences among children to environmental tobacco smoke exposure
...ed to white children. This pattern held true even after taking into account tobacco smoke exposure, size of home and other sociodemographic characteristics, according to Dr. Wilson. "These differences in cotinine could provide clues to the racial differences in tobacco-associate morbidity and mortality," ......meeting and publicized at www.dentalresearch.org after the meeting. Jack Hein Public Service Award - Lind...meeting and publicized at www.dentalresearch.org after the meeting. NIDCR Bloc Travel Grant Winners - Dominick Alongi, Thomas Bingham, Andrea Bu...Meditation may reduce heart disease risk
...ry, the main artery that feeds the arm, before and after a blood pressure cuff was inflated for two minutes... difference in the ability of that vessel to relax after stress in either group at four months. But by eight months, EDAD or endothelial-dependent arterial d...Ten-minute emergency room intervention for problem drinkers
...oners who were trained passed the proficiency exam after the first try. Between March 2002 and August 2003 a total of 250 patients were counseled in the new procedure. Co-authors are Michael Pantalon, Linda Degutis, David Fiellin, M.D., and Patrick O'Connor, M.D....Job satisfaction? Not much for Britain's hard slog 'robot' workers
...n also fell in West Germany between 1984 and 1997, after which it recovered slightly until 2000. Immediately after re-unification, East Germans had very much lower job satisfaction than workers in West Germany, but ...$4 million grant boosts University of Michigan campaign for a new children's hospital
...Awarded by the Board of Trustees of the foundation after a formal application by the U-M Health System, the new grant moves Mott closer to the creation of a new state-of-the-art hospital that will provide patients in Michigan, the United States and across the globe with even greater access to U-M's world-c...Brain tumor with dismal prognosis in infants can be cured in older children
...ve radiation therapy followed by tandem (given one after the other) cycles of high-dose chemotherapy. This ...; OS, 17 percent). Event-free survival is the time after treatment that a person remains free of severe treatment side effects, recurrence or progression of ...American Thoracic Society Journal news tips for March 2005 (first issue)
...d shortness of breath, typically begin 2 to 7 days after symptoms onset. The average time from exposure to...o uncover risk factors for pulmonary complications after elective nonthoracic surgery. According to the authors, pulmonary complications after nonthoracic s...Other highlights in the March 2 JNCI
...and does not diminish through 5 years of follow-up after the treatment ends. Anthony J. Swerdlow, D.Sc., of...ty was a strong risk factor for breast cancer even after taking into account reproductive and hormonal risk factors. The authors conclude that a component of...'Artery clearing' system does not provide benefit for patients undergoing PCI
... and undergoing primary PCI or rescue intervention after failed thrombolysis. The patients were randomized between May 20, 2002, and November 21, 2003 to receive PCI with a balloon occlusion and aspiration (removal by suction of dislodged debris) distal microcirculatory protection system vs. angioplasty wi...Folic acid and vitamin B12 decrease risk of hip fracture in stroke patients
Patients who took folic acid and vitamin B12 after their stroke had a reduced risk of hip fracture compared to patients who took placebo, according to an article in the March 2 issue of JAMA. According to background information in the article, stroke patients have a two to four times greater risk of ...Exercise tolerance is good screening test for chest pain patients
...e, primarily because of the high rate of admission after equivocal or abnormal results from stress imaging studies," said Dr. Gibbons. Other authors of the study include: Gautam Ramakrishna, M.D.; Alan Zinsmeister, Ph.D.; Thomas Allison, Ph.D.; and Peter Smars, M.D., of Mayo Clinic. James Milavetz, M.D., i...