Despite two cases of genetic mutation in bird flu in Egypt that moderately reduced the effectiveness of oseltamivir, the most strongly recommended drug, the United Nations health agency is not changing its recommendation because the level of resistance is not yet well established and the virus has not become more easily transmissible between humans.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center analyzed the data from 22 randomized clinical trials, and have found significant differences between antihypertensive drugs. ACE-inhibitors and the newer angiotensin receptor blockers, or ARBs prevent people from getting diabetes, and the older diuretics or beta-blockers, increase the chance that a person becomes diabetic, compared to either placebo (inactive sugar-pills) or calcium channel blockers according to a study published in the January 20, 2007 issue of the Lancet.
An extensive NIH-supported study has found that low-intensity laser treatment, thought to be possibly beneficial in slowing or preventing the loss of vision from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is ineffective in preventing complications of AMD or loss of vision.
Enforced redundancies, also known as “downsizing,” boost mental health problems among those who keep their jobs, reveals research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.The researchers base their findings on prescriptions among more than 26,500 municipal workers in Finland between 1994 and 2000, after a period of redundancies, sparked by a national recession. Information was gleaned from national registers.
Two antiviral drugs, oseltamivir and zanamivir, are highly effective when given as a preventive measure to reduce the spread of the influenza virus.
A new University of Illinois study shows that tomatoes and broccoli — two vegetables known for their cancer-fighting qualities — are better at shrinking prostate tumors when both are part of the daily diet than when they’re eaten alone.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a $12 billion-a-year plan to extend health care coverage to most of California’s 6.5 million uninsured and make it the second state, behind Massachusetts, to require everyone to carry insurance. Coverage for the poorest of the poor would be free; for many others, it would be heavily subsidized.
An inexpensive blood test may identify which heart disease patients are at the highest risk of a stroke or heart attack, allowing doctors to move more aggressively to help them. “We are very good in this country at diagnosing heart disease,” said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, of the University of California-San Francisco, lead author of the study.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated the potential of a new type of therapy for patients who suffer from high cholesterol levels. The findings are in the January 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). In this study, patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a high-risk condition refractory to conventional therapy, had a remarkable 51 percent reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad cholesterol” levels.
A blood test for patients with coronary heart disease could help predict their risk for subsequent cardiovascular events or death, according to a study in the Jan_10 issue of JAMA.