Health Archives

Nplate bone marrow stimulator approved to treat low platelet counts

FDA approved Amgen’s Nplate (romiplostim), the first product that directly stimulates the bone marrow to produce needed platelets in patients with a rare blood disorder ITP that can lead to serious bleeding. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Nplate (romiplostim), the first product that directly stimulates the bone marrow to produce needed platelets in patients with a rare blood disorder that can lead to serious bleeding.

Avoid grapefruit juices when taking certain drugs

Drinking grapefruit juice, orange and apple juices with certain drugs could lower their effectiveness by decreasing the absorption of drugs, potentially wiping out their beneficial effects. – Grapefruit and other common fruit juices, including orange and apple, decrease the absorption of drugs, potentially wiping out their beneficial effects.

Need to govern organ donation and transplantation

A new declaration opposes transplant commercialism, transplant tourism and organ trafficking; Governments and international organizations urged to safeguard against these unethical practices. – All countries should take steps to govern organ donation and transplantation, thereby ensuring patient safety and prohibiting unethical practices, according to an article appearing in the September 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

Xenazine approved for treatment of chorea in Huntington’s Disease

Xenazine (tetrabenazine) for the treatment of chorea i.e. jerky, involuntary movements in people with Huntington?s disease. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Xenazine (tetrabenazine) for the treatment of chorea in people with Huntington’s disease. Chorea is the jerky, involuntary movement that occurs in people with this disease.

Contraceptive pill influences partner choice

Contraceptive pills may cause change in women’s natural ability to choose a right partner, result in difficulties when trying to conceive, an increased risk of miscarriage and long intervals between pregnancies. – The contraceptive pill may disrupt women’s natural ability to choose a partner genetically dissimilar to themselves, research at the Universities of Liverpool and Newcastle has found.

India to develop HIV AIDS vaccine soon

The final results of Phase I Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA)-based AIDS vaccine trial conducted at the Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC) in Chennai are promising. – A second Phase I AIDS vaccine clinical trial in India was successfully completed, the Indian Council of Medical Research, the National AIDS Control Organization and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative announced.

Lung health action plan needed to control air pollution

A major medical report by the Canadian Medical Association is warning the number of deaths related to air pollution is set to rise in the coming decades and a strategy for lung health is needed. – The National Illness Cost of Air Pollution (ICAP) study, released by the Canadian Medical Association, is clear evidence that action is required on air pollution and that a national strategy for lung health is needed now more than ever.

Refractive errors affect vision more in Americans

Estimates based on the 1999-2004 NHANES vision examination data indicate that clinically important refractive error affects half of the US population 20 years or older. – About half of U.S. adults age 20 and older have refractive errors, or eye problems that result in less than 20/20 vision, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Erasing drug-associated memories to treat drug addiction

Erasing drug-associated memories to treat drug addiction is a new approach that has great potential. – Erasing drug-associated memories may prevent recovering drug abusers from relapsing, researchers at the University of Cambridge have discovered.

Health of never-married people is improving

A study led by Hui Liu, assistant professor of sociology, finds that the health of never-married people is improving, particularly among men. – The health of people who never marry is improving, narrowing the gap with their wedded counterparts, according to new research that suggests the practice of encouraging marriage to promote health may be misguided.

Eating fish may prevent memory loss and stroke in old age

Older adults who regularly eat fish may have a lower risk of subtle brain damage that contributes to stroke and dementia. – Eating tuna and other types of fish may help lower the risk of cognitive decline and stroke in healthy older adults, according to a study published in the August 5, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Lower cholesterol early in life

UC San Diego researchers are proposing that aggressive intervention to lower cholesterol levels as early as childhood is the best approach. – With heart disease maintaining top billing as the leading cause of death in the United States, a team of University of California, San Diego School of Medicine physician-researchers is proposing that aggressive intervention to lower cholesterol levels as early as childhood is the best approach available today to reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease.