Heart Disorders
Cholesterol
Lowering Cholesterol Without Medicine - [10/28/08]
Summary: Because dietary changes take only about six to eight weeks to take effect, lowering your low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is an easier way to achieve better cholesterol than taking medicines. By changing your diet, you can lower your low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol up to thirty percent, reducing the risk of coronary heart disease.
Comment: High cholesterol can lead to many other heart and health problems. Lowering it with eating, and no drugs, gives the reduced chance of side effects in those with this condition. Fewer side effects can lead to faster health improvement, helping those with high cholesterol achieve lower cholesterol quicker.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 28, 2008
Cholesterol and Risk of Alzheimer's Reduced with Statins - [10/21/08]
Summary: A new study has proved that the use of statin drugs can reduce cholesterol and potentially prevent alzheimer's disease. This study found that the ongoing use of statin drugs can reduce the risk of alzheimer's disease by 67 percent with cholesterol-lowering therapies. "Overall, the evidence, with limited exceptions, suggests that statin therapy provides some level of benefit in treating individuals with AD, and prior statin use may reduce the risk of AD later in life," said the study authors.
Comment: High cholesterol can be life threatening and dangerous. Taking statin drugs long-term may improve the effects of cholesterol and also lower cholesterol. Because cholesterol can effect other aspects of your health, this drug can overall help those with this condition.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 21, 2008
Patients Misunderstand Written Screening Tests - [10/14/08]
Summary: The majority of physicians require patients to answer written questions while in the waiting room to visit the doctor. However, a new survey has revealed the gap between doctors and patients in the process of answering the written questions. Because of the difference in literacy between patients and physicians, most patients are confused, or don't understand most of the questions. According to Dr. Master, one of the authors of this survey, the predominant reason for this is illiteracy.
Comment: Illiteracy is becoming more common in American which is causing great problems to physicians. Not only is there a problem with illiteracy but also with patients who are innumerate. By answering the surveys to the best of your abilities, you will receive better diagnosis or treatment of cholesterol.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 14, 2008
Internet Consulted More Often Than Doctors - [10/12/08]
Summary: New market research shows that over the past year more adults went to the internet to get health information than consulted a doctor. This trend may likely be the product of an increasing consumer comfort in using the web to find reliable medical information. In addition, rising costs of healthcare coverage and visits to the doctor may be adding to the preference for first looking for information online.
Comment: The impacts of this trend, as well as others, will be discussed in an online seminar entitled "Is TV Dead? How the New New Media Changes Pharmaceutical DTC Advertising". The event is scheduled for October 14th at 11am EST and October 16th at 3pm EST.
Read article - Medical News Today. October 12, 2008.
Read article - Register for the Seminar
Vitamin D Linked to Overall Health - [10/10/08]
Summary: Vitamin D has been linked to improved overall health. This vitamin affects 36 organ tissues in the body including bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and uterus tissues. It has also been linked to improving immune systems, insulin secretion, heart health, blood pressure, muscle strength, brain activity, and decreased risk of cancer. For most adults 200-600 IU of daily vitamin D is recommended, but some experts recommend up to 2000 IU daily.
Comment: Vitamin D has previously been thought to improve bone health, but this study shows that it can affect all areas of health. By increased intake of vitamin D people with high cholesterol can experience improved health.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 10, 2008
Medicare Eliminates Coverage for 10 "Reasonably Preventable" Errors - [10/02/08]
Summary: New regulations, which will take effect next Wednesday, have Medicare halting payment for 10 errors which they have deemed "conditions that could reasonably have been prevented." Expected to affect hundreds of thousands, the new rules will mostly likely not result in a major reduction in expenses.
Comment: This new decision comes on the heels of announcements by four state Medicaid organizations last year in which they eliminated 28 "never events", preventable errors, from coverage. The trend seems to be growing and could have negative ramifications for millions of Americans. Among others, healthcare professionals have begun expressing concern about the decision.
Read article - Medical News Today. October 2, 2008.
FDA Says Statins Not Linked to ALS Risk - [09/30/08]
Summary: Data analyzed from 40 clinical trials has shown that there is not a relationship between statin use and risk of ALS (also called Lou Gehrig's Disease). The FDA has stated that there is no need to change prescribing practice because risk does not exist.
Comment: This research is part of a growing trend of "data mining", a process through which data is extracted from a collection of information originally obtained for a different purpose. The method has been used increasingly to analyze trends and look for patterns in existing data sets.
Read article - Medical News Today. September 30, 2008.
Efforts to Reduce Ethnic and Racial Disparities - [09/29/08]
Summary: This article outlines current efforts are being made to reduce racial and ethnic health care disparities. These include the Respira program, which focuses on providing asthma education and outreach to Hispanic communities. Another program is a lecture that seeks to improve knowledge of blood pressure management and diabetes. Other efforts involve grants to increase levels of minority students in medical programs, and campaigns to increase medical literacy in minority communities.
Comment: Racial and ethnic disparities exist in most areas of medical care including cholesterol care. These disparities can often be dangerous to the health of minority people. These programs are aiming to close the gaps in health care, which can result in better care for people with high cholesterol.
Read article - Medical News TODAY September 29, 2008
Model of Protein-Cholesterol Interactions - [09/29/08]
Summary: In an effort to clarify the rather unknown interactions between cholesterol and neurotransmitter receptors, scientists have created a computerized model using data relating to cholesterol's interaction with proteins. The results are a new model on the behavior of a neurotransmitter involved in inflammation, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and epilepsy, among others.
Comment: Pharmacology will most likely benefit from these findings. Drugs interacting with this receptor can now be made more specifically, effectively and correctly.
Read article - Medical News Today. September 29, 2008.
Another Look at Statin Study - [09/07/08]
Summary: After reanalyzing an FDA study, its data, and a more extensive data set, the online health research tool eHealthMe.com has suggested that rhabdomyolysis and myopathy rates in patients using statins are higher than previously reported. In addition, they also noted that these rates varied between the seven different statins on which data was collected for the study.
Comment: The authors suggest further research to find a more consistently verifiable set of data. They also ask that new kids of information be made available to patients and healthcare professional so that better mediation choices may be made.
Read article - Medical News Today. September 7, 2008.
Read article - eHealthMe.com Report.