A new obesity pill that helps to control blood sugar levels could treat patients with type 2 diabetes, researchers say. They found that the Sanofi-Aventis drug Acomplia, which is also known as rimonabant, also reduced risk factors for heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes who had not responded to standard treatments.
“We’ve got an exaggerated expectation of what vaccines can actually do,” said study author Dr. Tom Jefferson, coordinator of the Cochrane Vaccines Field in Rome, Italy. “I’m hoping American and European taxpayers will be alerted and will start asking questions.”
A class of painkillers which includes ibuprofen can increase the risk of heart attacks if taken over long periods. The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has written to every doctor in the UK warning them that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – which are routinely taken by arthritis and back pain sufferers – “may be associated with a small risk of heart attack or stroke” when used for long-term treatment.
Dr. Kathryn King, a University of Calgary researcher developed the new compression bra as a result of complaints from women who experience numbness, tingling and shooting sensations in their breasts after heart surgery. King’s design stops the weight of the breast from putting pressure on the surgical wound and also allows women to wear a bra immediately after the operation, instead of three or four days later.
Ottawa will invest $8.4-million over the next two years to develop a new heart health strategy, the Health Minister says. The money will initially be used to determine the extent of cardiovascular disease in Canada, and hypertension in particular, and then to shape a plan of attack, Tony Clement said.
Although moderate alcohol intake is associated with lower risk for myocardial infarction (MI), guidelines generally suggest that adults seek other lifestyle measures to reduce cardiovascular risk. Physical activity, smoking, and diet, moderate alcohol intake is associated with lower risk for MI.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and Flamel Technologies (NASDAQ:FLML) announced FDA approval of once-a-day Coreg CR (carvedilol phosphate) extended-release capsules, for the treatment of three cardiovascular conditions: 1. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension. 2. A heart attack that has reduced how well the heart pumps (known medically as post-myocardial infarction left ventricular dysfunction). 3. Mild to severe heart failure.
Researchers have uncovered partial causes for dilated cardiomyopathy, a form of potentially fatal child heart disease that often goes undetected. DCM means the heart fails to pump properly and the condition can often lead to heart failure. The US research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found heart inflammation is the most common cause.
A trend for children and adolescents to stay up later and sleep less may be linked to rising levels of obesity, according to a review of existing research published on Thursday.
Surgery outperformed the use of stents in a French trial of patients who had warning symptoms of stroke because of blockage of the carotid arteries, the main blood vessels to the brain. Indeed, the trial was cut short “for reasons of both safety and futility,” said a report in the Oct. 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The incidence of stroke or death in the 30 days and six months after a procedure was about twice as high for patients given a stent, a tube-like device to keep an artery open, than for those who had the surgery called endarterectomy.