The results of a study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveal that receiving an organ transplant doubles a person s risk of developing cancer, compared to the general population.
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We may have run out of clever puns, but yet another, very large study has refuted the spurious link between cell phone use and brain cancer. Read more, here, about a team of Danish researchers findings that long-term data do not support the too-often cited link.
Treatment for HIV-infected patients is more effective than ever before, the United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS) has just reported. Thus, while the number of new HIV infections worldwide is over 20 percent lower than during the peak of the epidemic, as countries become more successful at keeping these patients alive, more people than ever are living with the virus: 34 million in 2010.
A recent study published in The Lancet finds that taking a statin to lower levels of cholesterol especially the bad type, LDL provides long-term benefits with low levels of risk. Researchers from the Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group in the U.K. randomized over 20,000 patients with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease to receive either 40 mg of simvastatin daily or a placebo over a period of about five years.
In a typically misguided effort, the organization Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), which purportedly advocates for public health, testified to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that there should be more stringent regulation of the supposedly dangerous chemicals in our environment.
Four common medications are responsible for the majority of adverse drug reactions in older Americans, a study just published in The New England Journal of Medicine has found. Blood thinners and diabetes medications were responsible for 67 percent of emergency hospitalizations in people over the age of 65.
Pfizer s exclusive right to sell the blockbuster drug Lipitor (atorvastatin) ended yesterday. With the expiration of Pfizer s patent, the door is now open for generics to enter the market. Given that Lipitor earned $13 billion at its peak, and that 3 million Americans currently take the cholesterol-lowering drug, that market is enormous.
Older chemotherapy drugs from the 1980s reduced breast cancer mortality by nearly a quarter. But a new meta-analysis of 123 randomized trials that assessed nearly 100,000 breast cancer patients over a period of 40 years shows that modern chemotherapy regimens decrease mortality by about one-third. This means that these newer drug treatments have added 17 percent of all patients to the ranks of survivors, as compared to the older regimens.
A new, large study suggests that receiving regular dental cleanings may be linked to a lower heart attack risk. Researchers have speculated about this unlikely relationship between dental health and heart disease for years, although up until now there have been few strong conclusions.
True to form, the E.U. continues down the path of hyper-caution and decided Monday to ban the use of X-ray body scanners in all European airports in order not to risk jeopardizing citizens health and safety, the European Commission stated.
In what comes as a surprise to both scientific thought and conventional wisdom, a recent study suggests that, for women ages 40 to 49, a family history of breast cancer makes no difference in their rates of invasive disease.
Yesterday, we discussed the alarming trend of clinicians who will allow parents to deviate from recommended childhood vaccination schedules. The week before, we pointed out the importance of TDaP vaccination boosters (against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) for adults as well as children.
Some scientists are expressing concern that a widely used variety of genetically modified corn plant, known as Bt corn, has grown vulnerable to the very pests it was designed to resist. Bt corn, which accounts for 65 percent of all U.S. corn acreage, was developed by Monsanto Co. and introduced in 2003. This biotech strain is created by incorporating a gene from a common soil bacterium into the plant so that it produces a toxin to ward off rootworms a pest that is particularly destructive to corn crops.
Need to find the nearest emergency room or medical center? Well, as we just learned, there s an app for that too. The Emergency Medical Center Locator (EMCL) is a free application available to iPhone users that will pinpoint the medical centers nearest to a user s location. Since the difference between life and death could come down to just a few precious minutes, we re inclined to think that the new app is worth downloading.
Because of the fresh start afforded by the new year, it s a good bet that more than a few of the 70 percent of American smokers who would like to quit will give it a go. However, according to a recent CDC study, only one in 10 of those would-be quitters will actually succeed.
What are the top ten unfounded health scares this year?
Health care providers can serve as a critical link between smokers and the resources and motivation they need to quit. But many opportunities to encourage smokers to kick the habit are missed, reports a new survey, because more than one in 10 smokers do not tell their doctors that they smoke.
In ACSH s recent publication, The Top Ten Unfounded Health Scares of 2011, hydraulic fracturing (better known as fracking) made the list. Alhough our report debunked the various unfounded accusations that this method of natural gas extraction has received, it seems as though The New York Times failed to get the message.
New Vaccine May Give Norovirus the Heave Ho
By Josh Bloom, December 9, 2011
LigoCyte, a small biotech based in Montana has been working for years on a vaccine for norovirus (the so-called stomach flu, or cruise ship virus). And it looks like they may really have something.
In a reversal of a longstanding trend, childhood obesity rates in the city of New York have finally declined, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Rates of obesity among children in kindergarten through eighth grade decreased in 2010-2011 as compared with 2006-2007.
The serendipitous result of a clinical trial shows that a drug given to breast cancer patients to maintain their bone density actually increased their survival rate. Seven years after the initial treatment, women who received an intravenous injection of the bone density drug Zometa had a significantly lower risk of death than those who received only the standard of care.
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome that has long been shrouded in misunderstanding, and sufferers of this syndrome experience symptoms particularly chronic pain that can make daily life difficult. To shed some light on the nature of this disorder, a new, large study suggests that sleep problems are associated with developing fibromyalgia.
Some good news for residents of the Big Apple: New Yorkers can expect to live longer than ever before, and longer even than our fellow Americans, on average. The life expectancy for a baby born in 2009 has risen to an impressive 80.6 years, while the national average is 78.2-years.
Although there was some concern that taking medications, such as Ritalin, for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) might increase cardiovascular risks for adults, the results of a new study should help to allay these fears. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente Northern California found that there is no increased cardiovascular risk among adults who take these medications.
It s National Influenza Vaccination Week. What many people may not realize is that thousands of people die from the flu every year. The thing is, most of these deaths can be prevented with a flu shot. So, if you ve yet to get yours, it s not too late. Do it this week contribute to your community s herd immunity!
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