Month: May 2011

An experimental drug may slow the decline of breathing ability in a fatal lung disease, new research finds. The studies focused on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This condition causes scarring in the lungs. As the scars get worse, people can breathe in less and less air. About 4 out of 5 people die within 5 years of diagnosis. In the new studies, people were randomly divided into two groups. One group took the drug pirfenidone. The other got placebo (fake) pills. The first study lasted 72 weeks. Researchers looked at changes in a measurement of breathing called forced vital capacity. A decline of 10% is a major milestone in this disease. About 20% of people in pirfenidone group had this large decline, compared with 35% in the placebo group. The average drop in breathing ability was 8.4% in the pirfenidone group and 12.4% in the placebo group.

Children who take drugs for attention disorders don’t have a higher risk of heart problems or death, a new study concludes. The study looked at insurance records for two groups of children. More than 240,000 of them had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They took medicines to treat the condition. This group was compared with more than 965,000 children who did not take ADHD medicines. Researchers looked at records for the first 6 months after ADHD drugs were prescribed. There were no strokes or heart attacks among the children taking the medicines. Researchers calculated there would be 6 sudden deaths or cardiac arrests per 1 million children taking the medicines for a year. They estimated there would be 4 per million in the comparison group. But the numbers were very small. Therefore, they said the difference could be the result of chance.

HIV patients who get very early treatment are 96% less likely to spread the virus to a sex partner, new research has found. Results of the study were so dramatic that it was ended early so everyone could get treatment. The study included 1,763 couples on 4 continents. In each case, one partner was infected with HIV and the other was not. Those with HIV were randomly divided into two groups. One group received immediate treatment with drugs to suppress the virus. People in the other group were treated only when they reached milestones that showed the immune system was declining. All couples were urged to use condoms. An early review showed 39 new HIV infections. Of these, 28 were genetically linked to the infected partner. Only one of the 28 people infected had a partner who got early drug treatment. This was a 96% decrease in risk linked to the treatment. The U.S.

A review of research has found no convincing evidence that selenium might lower the risk of cancer. The review of 55 studies was done by the Cochrane Library. This international group specializes in reviews of medical literature. In this case, the group looked at 49 “observational” studies. Mostly, they compared cancer levels in people who had more or less selenium in their blood. The review also looked at 6 studies that followed a design considered more likely to be accurate. These are called randomized trials. The studies took people who were similar and randomly divided them into groups. One group took selenium pills and another took a fake pill (placebo) or nothing. Then researchers kept track of people’s cancer levels over time. The observational studies found a slightly lower cancer risk linked to selenium. But the randomized trials found no link.

Many people with stable heart disease don’t get drugs that might prevent the need for a procedure to open their arteries, a new study finds. This pattern persists despite a landmark 2007 study. That study showed that taking three drugs could prevent heart attacks and deaths just as well as angioplasty. The drugs were aspirin, a beta-blocker and a statin. The study was expected to change medical practice. The new study looked at data on nearly half a million people. All had balloon angioplasty — with or without a stent — to open arteries near the heart. More than one-third of the cases occurred in the 18 months before the landmark study. The rest were in the 2 years after the study. Researchers looked at how many people were taking the recommended drugs when they came into the hospital for the procedure. Before the landmark study, 43.5% of the patients were taking all three drugs.

About 1 out of 7 strokes occurs during sleep, a new study suggests. In the United States, that would equal about 58,000 strokes a year. Most of these strokes can’t be treated with clot-dissolving medicines because no one knows when symptoms started. These medicines must be given within 3 hours of the first symptoms. The new study looked at records for 1,854 people who had an ischemic stroke. This is the type caused by blockage of blood flow to the brain. All of these patients were treated at hospitals in the Cincinnati area in 2005. Out of this group, 273 people showed the first symptoms of stroke when they woke up. In this situation, it’s always best to call 911, experts told HealthDay News and USA Today. Even if clot-dissolving drugs can’t be given, other treatments may help, they said. The journal Neurology published the study May 10.