New sterol spread can reduce bad cholesterol
...in the mildly to moderately high range, the spread lowered cholesterol levels at doses of 1 to 2 grams per day over a five week period, Maki says. The subjects in the study were divided into three groups. The control group followed a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet and consumed a control low-fat spread. The ...New evidence suggests reconsidering causes and treatments for schizophrenia
... significantly increased the positive symptoms and lowered negative symptoms. Interestingly, the group that received biperiden first experienced an eventual reduction in positive symptoms, while the other group did not. Tandon says this relates to coming off biperiden and may be very relevant because it sugg......o learning how cost increases can be significantly lowered by proactively managing the pharmacy benefit; some Express Scripts clients that actively manage their pharmacy benefit program have actually cut their trend in half. The Express Scripts 1999 Drug Trend Report showed that price increases were a major ...... trend in pharmaceutical expenditures. "Costs were lowered primarily through cost-shifting, with members assuming a greater percentage of the cost of the drugs they consume," said Motheral. Secondarily, plan sponsors realized savings through reduced pharmaceutical utilization and use of lower cost therapeuti...Testosterone skin patch improves sexual functioning in surgically menopausal women
...sterol, the so-called "good cholesterol," were not lowered by transdermal testosterone treatment. Testosterone levels remained low during placebo periods but rose to mid-normal and high-normal levels when women received the 150- and 300-microgram doses, respectively. The testosterone treatments had no...Drinking and drugging can be painful
...buse treatment. This latter decision considerably lowered our injury counts for substance abusers, making them conservative." Despite the conservatism of their injury findings, the researchers found a notable difference in the risk of injury between those who abused alcohol and other drugs and those who d...UT Southwestern researcher finds beta-blocking drug reduces heart failure in blacks
... used to treat heart failure. The combined therapy lowered the risk of death from any cause by 48 percent in blacks and by 30 percent in nonblacks. "It's incredibly reassuring and very much pertinent for contemporary medicine to be able to say with emphasis that this regimen works in African-American patient...Artwork can sharpen medical diagnostic skills, Yale researchers report
...sual attribute is moreimportant than another. This lowered threshold of observation has direct application to the examination of the patient."......tor, said: We knew from other studies that statins lowered bad LDL cholesterol, and reduced heart disease risk in some circumstances. But, HPS now provides the first direct evidence that cholesterol-lowering therapy cuts the risk of heart attacks and strokes by at least one third not just in people who alrea...... not only controlled severe insulin resistance and lowered triglyceride levels but also decreased fat accumulation in the liver, an abnormality for which there has been no effective therapy. Dr. Abhimanyu Garg, professor of internal medicine and chief of nutrition and metabolic diseases at UT Southwestern, a...Three-month antibiotic treatment reduces risk of future heart attack
...ation. The antibiotic clarithromycin significantly lowered risk of death or serious cardiovascular events compared to those given a placebo. Clarithromycin is typically prescribed for respiratory infections. Patients with acute heart attacks or severe angina seem to benefit from treatment with a macrolide a...New drug raises good cholesterol
...f the American Heart Association. Also, 198 people lowered their LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by 7 percent. The drug, called a CETP inhibitor, works by blocking the action of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein, which is known to lower HDL (the good cholesterol). CETP represents an important targ...Beta-blockers improve outcomes of bypass surgery
...the past, it was believed that since beta-blockers lowered heart rate and blood pressure, patients would be at greater risk during surgery. "While this study did not address the issue of the mechanism of protection, it appears that beta-blockers soak up' or neutralize the increased amount of stress hormones...Long-term safety data on Xalatan presented
...) presented no new safety concerns and effectively lowered intra-ocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG). XALATAN is the only prostaglandin analogue used in the treatment of OAG with 5-year efficacy and safety data to support its long-term use. The data show that the IOP-lowering be...Study finds intraocular pressure improved when switched to XALATAN from other monotherapy
...ange in glaucoma medication, since it consistently lowered IOP in these patients, said Dr. TJ Zimmerman, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY. A good adverse event profile may help improve patient compliance. Study participants switched to XALATAN because they or their physician were not satisfied wi...Ginseng berry extract shows promise for diabetes, obesity
...d glucose levels, improved sensitivity to insulin, lowered cholesterol levels, and decreased weight by reducing appetite and increasing activity levels in mice bred to develop diabetes. For more than 2000 years, traditional Chinese medicine has used ginseng root to treat a variety of ailments. This study ...Depressed people more likely to develop Parkinson's
... have shown that Parkinsons patients brains have a lowered level of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Low levels of serotonin play a key role in depression.Serotonin also acts to modulate the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. Because the level of dopamine activity is decreased in Parkinson...Nitric oxide crucial to respiration
... and gas concentrations. The scientists raised or lowered oxygen levels in the chambers and analyzed the response of the subjects' blood cells. From such analyses, the scientists demonstrated that nitric oxide in the blood cells is an active regulatory molecule that causes the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin mol...Skin patch technology may increase women's libido
...ower amounts of free testosterone available. These lowered levels of androgens, including free testosterone, are associated with decreased libido in postmenopausal women. The results of our study showed that patch users, in comparison to oral HRT users, have higher levels of androgens, including free testost......surgery. It was believed that since beta-blockers lowered heart rate and blood pressure, patients would be at greater risk during surgery. "Now, obviously, we are learning that the opposite is indeed true," Newman said. While many heart patients might already be taking beta-blockers in pil...