A study has failed to show whether super-low blood pressure and cholesterol levels are good for health. The study included 499 American Indians. All had diabetes and therefore a high risk of heart disease. All were given medicine to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Half aimed to reach levels recommended by current guidelines. The others were given more medicine to reach even lower levels. After three years, people who got more treatment had thinner artery walls in the neck than the other group. But rates of heart attacks and other events were similar in both groups. The study was published April 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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A study of antipsychotic medications in the treatment of young patients found more evidence that first- and second-generation drugs are not particularly effective.
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Mild cognitive impairment is considered to be the state between normal mental function and dementia. Researchers are seeking a way to diagnose the condition sooner, so that medication can be used to treat or at least manage it, to keep it from worsening.
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Most instances of infertility have a physiological cause, but the emotional and mental toll is significant, and fertility treatments can add to the stress.
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A long-term trial of schizophrenia drugs has found that newer medications are not any more effective than a first-generation drug, but questions have been raised about the parameters of the study.
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The World Health Organization found that many people worldwide are not receiving needed mental health care and services.
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In experiments on mice, suppressing a chemical linked to stress and appetite prevented the formation of abdominal fat cells, which could lead to new possibilities for weight loss drugs.
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Reports in a medical journal claim that Merck & Co. paid outside scientists to be listed as authors of articles written by ghostwriters. The articles included research on Vioxx. This drug was withdrawn from the market in 2004 because of heart and stroke risks. The new reports also say that Merck tried to minimize the death risk in two studies related to Vioxx and Alzheimer’s disease. But Merck told the Associated Press that the new reports were false and misleading. It said the listed authors were closely involved in the research. Merck said the Alzheimer’s articles were accurate. The company also said the new reports were biased because their authors had consulted for people who sued Merck over Vioxx. The reports were published April 16 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Mixed results in tests of medications for the treatment of ADHD have led to interest in neurofeedback as a possible alternative, but research into its effectiveness has not been conclusive so far.
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