"Health News - Medicine, Diet and Fitness"

Researchers have found that the probability of the breast cancer gene mutation BRCA among women with a history of breast cancer is greater when the number of older, female relatives in the family is smaller, according to a study in the June 20 issue of JAMA. This finding may challenge the accuracy of some breast cancer prediction models, which may not take family structure into account.

“Germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations significantly increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer (50 percent - 85 percent) and ovarian cancer (16 percent - 50 percent),” the authors write. “Documented efficacy of screening and risk reduction interventions provides evidence for individualized risk management advice, making genetic cancer risk assessment (GCRA) a component of medically necessary care. Identifying appropriate candidates for GCRA is challenging.”

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Botox could be used alongside chemotherapy and radiation to fight cancer, new research has suggested. The cosmetic treatment produced by Allergan, which is normally used to smooth wrinkles, was found to destroy resistant cancer cells in tests on mice.

Professor Bernard Gallez from Louvain University in Brussels injected botulinum neurotoxin type A, otherwise known as Botox, into two types of cancerous tumours in mice. After injecting the tumours they were then examined for three days. The team found it could slow the growth of the tumour and hindered the action of the neurotransmitters which the tumours rely on to grow.
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New results from a substudy of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Estrogen-Alone Trial show that younger postmenopausal women who take estrogen-alone hormone therapy have significantly less buildup of calcium plaque in their arteries compared to their peers who did not take hormone therapy. Coronary artery calcium is considered a marker for future risk of coronary artery disease.

Results of the WHI Coronary Artery Calcium Study are published in the June 21, 2007, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The WHI is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

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Treating hepatitis B patients with the drug entecavir can cause those who are also infected with HIV to become resistant to two of the most important drugs in the anti-HIV arsenal, according to a new report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Cross-resistance alarms raised earlier this year by Johns Hopkins researchers about a widely used antiviral therapy for hepatitis B liver infections have prompted swift treatment revisions by the drug’s maker and governmental agencies.

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Fast tracking new drugs could have a negative effect on patients in the longer term, a senior doctor in Britain has claimed. An article published in the British Medical Journal by consultant neurologist Abhijit Chaudhuri discusses the issues surrounding the fast tracking of new drugs.

The doctor, from the Essex centre for neurological sciences in Romford, considers fast tracking new drugs for commercial licensing. He reflects on the recent approval granted to multiple sclerosis treatment natalizumab and its subsequent withdrawal over health fears. Clinical trials of natalizumab indicated that the drug was highly effective in preventing body tissue from getting inflamed and could be used in the treatment of both multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease.
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Health care reform is at the top of California’s agenda, and everyone agrees the system is broken. It’s harder to know which problems are the most important, and easy to lose sight of what’s really at stake in the abstract policy debates.That’s why CALPIRG recently conducted an email survey of 575 of our members, to find out what kind of reforms are most important to them, and gather their stories about the health care system.
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(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Which environmental factors men are exposed to early in life may play a role in whether they develop testicular cancer.

A new report finds the risk of testicular cancer was much lower in first-generation immigrants to Denmark than in men born in Denmark to immigrant parents and Danish men with Danish parents.

The number of testicular cancer cases varies significantly worldwide for unknown reasons. Denmark has one of the highest rates in the world.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Women with at least three sites of cellular atypia in breast tissue are nearly eight times more likely than average women to develop breast cancer, according to findings of a Mayo Clinic Cancer Center-led study of women with atypical hyperplasia. The findings are published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Several previous studies have shown that atypical hyperplasia (also called atypia) in breast tissue is a major risk factor for breast cancer. Women who have a breast biopsy and are diagnosed with atypia are considered at high risk. Many are counseled to consider preventive medications such as tamoxifen or other risk-reducing approaches. However, questions remained from prior research on whether a positive family history further increases risk in women with atypia and for how long the increased risk in women with atypia lasts.

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(Ivanhoe Newswire) –Restoring blood flow (reperfusion) in heart attack victims with a blocked artery is a race against time. To get reperfusion quickly current emergency guidelines recommend that when someone is suspected of having a blocked artery heart attack (STEMI), emergency doctors immediately activate a cardiac catheterization laboratory and get the patient an angioplasty or a stent as soon as possible. The immediate activation is necessary so that laboratory personal can be in place before the doctor makes the decision about the need for a procedure rather than waiting until they see the results to call the catheterization team in.

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(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Getting back on track for good Men’s health could be as simple as a walk in the park. A new study done at the Duke University Medical Center shows that even a moderate amount of brisk walking can trim waistlines and cut disease risk factors.

The lead author of the study is Johanna Johnson, a clinical researcher at Duke Medical Center. “A person can lower their risk of MetS (metabolic syndrome) by walking just 30 minutes a day, 6 days per week. That’s about 11 miles per week, said Johnson. “And our study shows that you’ll benefit even if you don’t make any dietary changes.”

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