New stroke-prevention drug unlikely to be cost-effective except in patients at high risk of bleeding
...s with various foods and other drugs. Moreover, it doubles the risk of hemorrhage." Before Exanta, the alternative for patients unable to tolerate warfarin was aspirin, which is not nearly as good as warfarin at preventing blood clots and strokes. "Physicians would like to have a drug that's as effective as ...COX-2 inhibitor increases the risk of heart attack in elderly adults with no history of heart attack
...risk," explains Lvesque. "While the risk more than doubles for those who are taking high doses of the drug even when using aspirin." COX-2 inhibitors are commonly used to relieve the pain and inflammation caused by arthritis in the elderly. These drugs are believed to increase the 'stickiness' of blood plate...Risk of tuberculosis doubles in first year of HIV infection
The risk of tuberculosis infection doubles within one year of HIV infection, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases , now available online. Scientists previously assumed that there was no increase in tuberculosis risk within the first few ye...Heavy drinking raises the risk of early death after heart attack
... drinking or binging even intermittently, almost doubles a person's risk of dying after a heart attack, compared to that of a moderate drinker, according, to a first-of-its-kind study, reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2004. Researchers collected data from 1,835 patients in t...As obesity increases in people with diabetes, so does risk of cardiovascular disease
...0-89 range is considered "pre-hypertension," which doubles the risk of developing high blood pressure, and requires action, especially in people with diabetes. In the Look AHEAD study, control of blood sugar followed a similar pattern to blood pressure, but an increase in BMI did not appear to affect the lev...Research news from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University
...rate sports, such as leisure volleyball, golf, and doubles tennis, was also found to be associated with increased bone quality, but this effect among women was much lower than the effect of vigorous sports. Economos, who is also associate director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutritio...New data demonstrates that Benicar(R) and Benicar HCT (TM) achieve JNC 7 blood pressure goals
...t because the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) doubles with each increment of 20/10 mm Hg beginning at 115/75 mm Hg. JNC 7 guidelines also recommend a step-wise treatment approach, in which the dose of the first antihypertensive agent is titrated upwards and then additional agents added, as necessary, ...Losing a job near retirement age significantly increases risk of stroke
...st that late career involuntary job loss more than doubles the risk of subsequent stroke," said William Gallo, the senior author of the study and associate research scientist in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Medicine. The researchers used six years of data from the natio...Study identifies predictors of Alzheimer's disease longevity
...number of people with the disease at any one time) doubles every 5 years after the age of 65. By 2050, if current population trends continue and no preventive treatments become available, some 13.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease. The annual national direct and indirect costs of caring for AD...Stroke news tips for Friday, Feb. 6, 2004
...fect. 4 p.m. Abstract P310 High cholesterol doubles stroke risk in young women. A new study of young women suggests that high cholesterol levels may double their risk of stroke. In 59 Maryland and District of Columbia area hospitals, researchers identified 227 women ages 15-44 with strokes. A match...Increasing number of physician assistants handle more than 190 million patient visits in 2003
...PAs as of January 1, 2004. This estimate more than doubles the number of PAs in clinical practice ten years ago. AAPA estimates there were 23,300 PAs in clinical practice at the beginning of 1994. Approximately 192 million patient visits were made to physician assistants and 236 million medications prescrib...New vaccine tested in animals may hold hope for Alzheimer's patients
...heimer's--its prevalence in the general population doubles every five years after the age of 65--there are a number of other risk factors that might be controlled by changes in lifestyle. One prominent theory for how Alzheimer's disease develops is that it results from an imbalance in production or clearanc...Bone cells help call the shots for the blood's stem cells within
... stem cell regulation. The team found the hormone doubles the bone marrow's output of blood-forming stem cells known as hematopoietic stem cells, from which all our blood cells originate. The scientists also discovered that bone-building osteoblasts are key to the process, not just giving structure to bone...Workplace exposure a significant cause of severe respiratory disease
...s showed that exposure to various workplace toxins doubles the risk of COPD, and that workplace exposure is a contributing cause of 20 to 31 percent of the diagnosed COPD cases. Less than 20 percent of those suffering from COPD were still working half the percentage of those without COPD -- underscoring th...Anemia elevates risk of physical decline in older people
Anemia doubles the risk that an older person will develop serious physical declines that can erode the ability to live independently, according to a new epidemiological study supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and others*. It is the first longitudin...Marked improvement in heart attack care seen in 33-hospital study
...cholesterol Smoking cessation counseling (smoking doubles the long-term risk of heart attack) Diet counseling, with emphasis on low-fat diets...Emergency angioplasty OK without surgical back-up
...ng heart attack patients elsewhere for angioplasty doubles the delay before the procedure can be performed, the researchers found. "The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have specific guidelines on performing angioplasty during acute myocardial infarction, and stringent criter...Lifetime risk for heart failure: one in five
...ted that lifetime risk of developing heart failure doubles for people who have high blood pressure. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a fatal disease more common among the elderly because of accumulated heart damage. It's a syndrome in which elevated pressure inside the heart causes fluid to back up in the ...Exhaustion's effect on blood increases heart attack risk
...ical condition known as vital exhaustion more than doubles the risk of a first heart attack, but it is not yet fully understood how. Vital exhaustion is a state of excessive fatigue, irritability and hopelessness. People experiencing this condition feel that everyday activities require immense effort, and th...Drug targets brain circuits that drive appetite and body weight
... hypothalamus in mice, scientists found that d-FEN doubles the firing rate in the POMC neurons, an effect reversed by drug washout. Morover, POMC neurons depolarized in response to receiving d-FEN, serotonin, or two serotonin receptor agonists. The results support the notion that serotonin systems directly...