The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a suite of Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for ginkgo biloba, one of the most popular dietary supplements in the marketplace, with annual worldwide sales estimated at $1 billion.
Women have a ?female advantage? when it comes to chronic kidney disease. When compared to men, they have fewer and less severe episodes of this disorder throughout most of their lives. That advantage disappears, however, when the woman is diabetic. For reasons still unclear, diabetic women ? regardless of age ? are diagnosed with kidney and heart diseases almost as frequently as men.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to buy or eat three red yeast rice products promoted and sold on Web sites. The products may contain an unauthorized drug that could be harmful to health. The products are promoted as dietary supplements for treating high cholesterol.
For decades, older women have taken hormone replacements to replenish estrogen and progesterone levels lost to aging. More recently, testosterone (the most important male hormone) supplements have been used by aging men to improve their muscle mass, bone strength, libido and quality of life.
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have jointly released revised Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Unstable Angina (UA)/Non-ST- Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI).
Over the past several decades, the incidence of melanoma ? the most serious form of skin cancer ? has steadily increased in the United States. From 1995 to 2004, melanoma has increased by more than 1 percent per year in this country ? in sharp contrast to overall cancer rates that have steadily decreased by 0.6 percent per year during this time.
Blood clots are a leading cause of disability and death in patients following surgery, despite medical advances in their prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
In a review article to appear in the July 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Michael Holick, an internationally recognized expert in vitamin D, provides an overview of his pioneering work that expounds on the important role vitamin D plays in a wide variety of chronic health conditions, as well as suggesting strategies for the prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency.
Dr. Philippe De Wals of Universit? Laval?s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine publishes a study clearly indicating that the addition of folic acid to flours has led to a 46% drop in the incidence of congenital neural tube deformation (mainly anencephaly and spina bifida) in Canada.
Selenium, an antioxidant included in multivitamin tablets thought to have a possible protective effect against the development of type 2 diabetes, may actually increase the risk of developing the disease, an analysis by researchers at the University at Buffalo has shown.