MedsNews

A new study from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine has found that, when delivered via ultrasound, the natural enzyme plasmin is more effective at dissolving stroke-causing clots than the standard of care, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA). The novel delivery method involved trapping plasmin into bubble-like liposomes, delivering them to the clot intravenously and bursting it via ultrasound...

Statins, the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, are often suggested to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in individuals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of medical disorders including excess body fat and/or high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and/or cholesterol. However, University of Missouri researchers found that simvastatin, a generic type of statin previously sold under the brand name "Zocor," hindered the positive effects of exercise for obese and overweight adults...

When the brain's primary "learning center" is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for the lost function, say life scientists from UCLA and Australia who have pinpointed the regions of the brain involved in creating those alternate pathways - often far from the damaged site...

Academic researchers have found that breathing motor vehicle emissions triggers a change in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, altering its cardiovascular protective qualities so that it actually contributes to clogged arteries. In addition to changing HDL from "good" to "bad," the inhalation of emissions activates other components of oxidation, the early cell and tissue damage that causes inflammation, leading to hardening of the arteries, according to the research team, which included scientists from UCLA and other institutions...

A recent study by a team of researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas found that risky sexual behavior can be predicted by cultural, socioeconomic and individual mores in conjunction with how one views themselves. Katherine Hertlein of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas will present her team's findings at the 63rd annual International Communication Association conference in London. Hertlein and colleagues surveyed over 800 participants and evaluated elements of the likelihood of one's engagement in high-risk sexual behavior...

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have developed a website that walks healthcare providers through the challenging transition from the current International Classification of Diseases -- ICD-9 -- to the new ICD-10. Doctors, hospitals and all other healthcare providers have until October 2014 to switch to the new coding system, used to classify every disease or condition and in every aspect of healthcare from ordering supplies to insurance reimbursement. The switch won't be easy -- the number of codes has grown from 14,000 to 68,000...

The majority of cancer doctors, patients, and members of the general public support cutting health care costs by refusing to pay for drugs that don't improve survival or quality of life, according to results of a new study that will be presented by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago in early June (Abstract #6518)...

In the largest clinical trial to date to examine the efficacy of PARP inhibitor therapy in BRCA 1/2 carriers with diseases other than breast and ovarian cancer, the oral drug olaparib was found to be effective against advanced pancreatic and prostate cancers. Results of the study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel, will be presented during the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago in early June (Abstract #11024)...

Death rates associated with patients with refractory angina, or chronic chest pain, are lower than previously considered; therefore, physicians should focus on relieving the chest pain symptoms and improving the quality of life in these patients according to an article published online in the European Heart Journal. Refractory angina patients endure ongoing chest pain despite optimal medical management and for them, standard revascularization techniques, such as surgery or stenting, is no longer an option...

Men often suffer from more severe cases of psoriasis than women, which may explain why the cost of care for men is higher. This is the conclusion of researchers at Sweden's Umea University in a new study. It is known that psoriasis affects about as many women as men. However, it has been shown, both in Sweden and internationally, that men receive more frequent and more expensive care for their disease, compared to women...

A national survey finds that a large majority of adults in the US voluntarily apply smoke-free rules in their homes or vehicles. Yet despite this, millions of Americans, many of them children, continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in these environments, say researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who write about their findings in a study published online in the CDC journal Preventing Chronic Disease this week...

Depression doubles the risk of having a stroke in middle-aged women, according to a new study in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. The research, a 12-year examination of 10,547 Australian females between the ages of 47 and 52 years old, showed that depressed women had a 2.4 times higher likelihood of stroke than those who were not suffering from depression. After adjusting for factors known to increase stroke risks, results showed that depressed women were still 1.9 times more likely to experience a stroke. Study author Caroline Jackson, Ph.D...

Administering high-frequency electrical noise to the brain can actually boost math skills up to six months later, according to a small study at the University of Oxford. The finding was published in the journal Current Biology and outlines a technique that consists of placing electrodes on the scalp of the head and administering random electrical noise to stimulate parts of the brain - causing nerve cells to fire. During this study, the electrodes were placed on the head to aim at hitting regions of the brain known to be involved in doing math...

Dysfunctional mitochondria in brain cells can result in learning disabilities, according to a new study in Molecular Cell. The association between dysfunctional mitochondria and Parkinson's disease has been known, but this new study, led by neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken of VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and KU Leuven, has revealed that it is also present in other disorders of the brain. Patrik Verstreken (VIB / KU Leuven) said: "This discovery shows that energy production in brain cells is the basis of various brain disorders...

E. coli bacteria are present in over half of all public swimming pools, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. E. coli (Escherichia coli), a fecal indicator was found in 58% of pool samples, the CDC informed. Fecal material (poop material) can get into a pool during a formed or diarrheal fecal incident in the water or washing off of swimmers bodies. In other words, pool water can become contaminated if people don't shower beforehand or poop while in the pool...

Xofigo (radium Ra 223 dichloride) has been approved by the US FDA for symptomatic late-stage (metastatic) castration-resistant prostate cancer that has reached bones but not other organs, i.e. with no known visceral metastatic disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Xifogo under the priority review program, three months ahead of schedule. According to an online FDA communiqué published this week, Xofigo is aimed at male patients whose prostate cancer metastasized despite receiving medical or surgical interventions to reduce testosterone levels...

Regulations brought in by the UK to reduce the volume of television advertising of unhealthy foods to children appear to have little impact on the advertising around programmes children actually watch, according to research presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK. The research is by Dr Emma Boyland and Professor Jason Halford, University of Liverpool, UK, and colleagues. The authors did an analysis of food advertising on television in the UK in 2008 (when some regulation was in place) compared to 2010 (when new regulations had fully taken effect)...

New research presented as the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Liverpool, UK, shows that very young children appear to reject story book characters who are overweight, but not those who are disabled. The research is by Professor Andrew Hill, Dr Sarah Harrison, and Dr Maddie Rowlinson, University of Leeds, UK. Previous research has suggested that, far from improving over time, the attitudes and perceptions of children to obesity may have deteriorated since the 1960s...

New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Liverpool, UK, shows that while the FTO genetic variation predicts weight gain over 10 years in men, a different variation on the MMP2 gene predicts weight gain in women. The research is by Freek G Bouwman, Nutrition and Toxicology Research, Institute Maastricht (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Netherlands, and Dr Jolanda Boer, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands, and colleagues...

New research published at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) shows that abrupt cessation after long-term use of the anti-obesity drug phentermine does not induce amphetamine-like withdrawal symptoms. The research is by Dr Ed Hendricks, Center for Weight Management*, Sacramento & Roseville, California, USA, and was funded by the American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP). Phentermine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class, with pharmacology similar to amphetamine...