health
sciencetolife | May 23, 2007Scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University claim to have developed a treatment for hepatitis C that can be considered a "cure".
Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of life-threatening liver cancer and cirrhosis in the United States. An estimated 4.1 million Americans have been infected with the virus.
The researchers, who presented their findings at the 38th annual Digestive Disease Week conference in Washington, D.C, say that use of the drug peginterferon alone, or in combination with another drug ribavirin, points to a cure for hepatitis C.
The study…
sciencetolife | May 9, 2007The American Cancer Society is in search of half a million volunteers who do not currently have cancer and are willing to let researchers watch them over the next 20 years to see whether they get the disease. The idea is to try and identify the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that cause or prevent cancer. Similar studies have confirmed the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Read more here.
Technorati Tags: American Cancer Society, Cancer
sciencetolife | April 28, 2007 The latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reports that 94% of physicians in the U.S. receive gifts and benefits from pharmaceutical companies in the form of free food, drug samples and sports tickets, to name a few. Despite efforts by several organizations to regulate these relationships they appear to be quite common and may underscore doctors' professional decisions.
The authors of the study sent out a survey to which over 1500 physicians responded.
Most physicians (94%) reported some type of relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, and most of these relationships…
sciencetolife | April 26, 2007Among some of the latest stories from Science Daily comes two articles highlighting new treatment information for stroke victims.
The first article describes a potential new drug for stroke victims.
The research published in the American Journal of Hypertension confirms the safety of a drug, Lisinopril, that lowers [stroke victims'] blood pressure-without reducing the blood flow to the brain. Now a larger Leicester trial is under way to investigate the drug's benefits for victims of strokes.
The second article provides information for stroke patients in rural areas.
Stroke patients in rural…
sciencetolife | April 14, 2007In this blog post from Trusted.MD Network Keshav Chander MD asks "Why Do We Hesitate To Use Generic Drugs?" Among the responses he heard are:
-Concerns about generic drug quality
-Lower familiarity with generic drugs due to less marketing of such drugs
-Association of drug quality with drug price
According to the FDA a generic drug is identical, or bioequivalent to a brand name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics and intended use. Generic drugs are cheaper, however, because the manufacturers do not have the investment costs of…
sciencetolife | April 13, 2007There is no scientific evidence that dietary supplements (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, herbs) can improve your health.
This recent CNN Health article, for example, explains that there is no scientific evidence to show that diet supplements can slow the aging process.
Some dietary supplement manufacturers have done studies, however there is little research from independent academic professionals to provide evidence that dietary supplements can improve your health.
From the small collection of studies by independent academic scientists, the CNN article highlights several.
In one study…
sciencetolife | April 9, 2007 I was asked this question a while ago and found it quite interesting.
Can eating grilled meat cause cancer?
The idea that eating the charred part of grilled meat can increase your risk of certain cancers has been around for several years.
The science behind this is that when meat is exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time natural compounds in the meat form heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and these compounds have been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers in animal studies.
According to the American Institute for Cancer Research,…
sciencetolife | March 29, 2007Yesterday I wrote about a research team that has developed a protein to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria by boosting the immune system.
Now another research team from Rockefeller University has developed a modified viral protein called lysin to directly combat bacteria that thrive on a weakened immune system (such as that found in flu patients).
They have developed forms of lysin to target bacteria that cause middle ear infections, strep throat, pneumonia and meningitis.
The main idea here is to bypass the need to use antibiotics which run the more dangerous risk of producing antibiotic…
sciencetolife | March 28, 2007Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, aka superbugs, are a big problem in homes and hospitals everywhere.
Scientists from the University of British Columbia are tackling this problem from a different angle-by enhancing the immune system.
They have developed a small protein that, at least in mice, has been shown to boost the immune system and protect against drug-resistant bacteria. Read more.
aardvarchaeology | February 2, 2007With mounting frustration, I'm watching an attempt to secure adequate health care for an elderly relative turn into something that looks a lot like a failed foreign aid project.
My friend's grandpa lives in the old country, let's say Malaysia. The heptagenarian is getting doddery and forgetful, so the family brought him to Sweden for a month of medical checkup at a pretty stiff cost in air tickets, hospital bills and inconvenience for all involved. The Swedish doctors put him through an array of tests, some of them quite expensive, one involving the procurement of short-lived radioactive…
sciencetolife | February 2, 2007A professional acquaintance of mine recently died of a heart attack. While the death was difficult for me and my colleagues, it was far more difficult to understand WHY it happened. She was a Chinese woman in her early 40's with no known history of heart disease. She was fine all weekend and by Sunday she was dead.
Coincidently, an article entitled "Heart disease often misdiagnosed in women" has just been published by Elizabeth Cohen at CNN Health.
In the article Elizabeth explains how heart attacks in women are often not taken seriously by health professionals, are often misdiagnosed and…
sciencetolife | January 28, 2007 HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is widely known as the virus that causes cervical cancer in women.
However, researchers have found links between HPV infection and the development of certain head and neck cancers.
I wasn't aware of the connection between HPV and head and neck cancer until a co-worker, who had just attended the 2007 multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in California, informed me of it.
Head and neck cancers are the 6th most common type of cancer in the world, caused mostly by smoking. But researchers are finding that infection with a type called HPV-16 is also…
sciencetolife | January 15, 2007 The health benefits of tea have been well documented. Tea has a protective effect against cardiovascular disease and contains antioxidants which carry a cancer-protective ability.
A recent study in the January 9 online edition of the European Heart Journal explains that many people from tea-drinking countries enjoy a lower incidence of cardiac disease.
There is one tea-drinking country, however, that does not reap the cardiovascular or antioxidant benefits of tea...Can you guess which country and why? Read here for more details.
sciencetolife | January 11, 2007Got heartburn? New research shows that long-term intake of medications like Nexium, Prilosec and Zantac increase the risk of suffering a hip fracture in men and women who are 50 years or older. Christine Gorman of The Daily Rx Blog explains.