Category: news-perspectives

Obesity surgery may cure diabetes for most obese patients, a study suggests. The Australian study included 55 patients. Just over half had stomach band surgery. A band is put around the upper stomach to limit eating. This was the first study to randomly assign obese diabetics to surgery or standard care. The 29 surgery patients lost much more weight than the others. In 22 of them, diabetes disappeared. This happened in only 4 of the 26 who did not have surgery. The Associated Press wrote about the study January 23. It was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

New labels will strengthen a blood clot warning for the birth control patch Ortho Evra. They will say that the patch leads to a higher risk of blood clots than birth control pills. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered the change January 18. It was prompted by a study that showed a higher risk of clots in women ages 15 to 44 who used the patch. The Associated Press reported on the decision.

About one-third of research studies on depression drugs were not published, a new analysis has found. And the unpublished findings overall showed less benefit than those that were published. The authors looked at studies submitted to U.S. drug regulators between 1987 and 2004. They found that 38 studies showed a benefit from depression drugs. Of these, 37 were published. But 36 other studies showed less benefit or none. Only 14 were published. The New York Times wrote about the new analysis on January 17. The article was in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Statin drugs do not prevent Alzheimer’s disease, a study suggests. The study included 929 priests, brothers and nuns who were 75 or older. In a 12-year period, 191 developed Alzheimer’s. This included 16 who had taken statins to reduce cholesterol. Rates of Alzheimer’s were similar between those who took statins and those who did not. Autopsies also showed no differences in the brain. Reuters Health news service wrote about the study January 16. It was published in the journal Neurology.

Men over age 60 who have low levels of testosterone may be more likely to break a bone, a study has found. Researchers in Australia studied 609 older men for up to 16 years. In that time, 113 men broke bones in falls from standing height or less. This occurred more often among men who had low levels of testosterone in their blood. The study was published January 14 in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

A newer drug to reduce cholesterol does not slow the growth of plaque in arteries, a new study has found. The study used the newer drug Zetia as part of a two-drug pill called Vytorin. Vytorin contains Zetia and an older drug, a statin called Zocor. Both Zetia and Zocor reduce LDL cholesterol. The two-year study included 720 people. They were given either Vytorin (the two-pill combo) or Zocor alone. People actually had slightly more plaque growth with Vytorin than with Zocor. Merck and Schering-Plough sell the drug. They announced the study results January 14. The New York Times and USA Today reported on the story.

People should wear a helmet for winter sports. So says the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Helmets can help prevent head injuries, the group says. It also offers other safety tips. Winter sports caused more than 20,000 head injuries in 2006. Skiing and snowmobiling caused the worst injuries. They also caused the most deaths. HealthDay News wrote about the issue January 12.

Three elderly men have died of an infection linked to tainted milk from a small Massachusetts dairy. A pregnant woman who got sick lost her baby. The infection was listeriosis. It is caused by bacteria. State health officials said they had traced the infection to pasteurized milk from Whittier Farms in central Massachusetts. The New York Times News Service reported on the story January 8.

One type of abnormal heartbeat may raise the risk of severe heart disease later, a study suggests. The Italian study used data on 12,550 athletes. In Italy, athletes are screened for potential heart problems. Of the large group, 81 had an abnormal heart pattern called “diffusely distributed and deeply inverted T waves.” Five of them developed severe heart disease before age 50. One died suddenly at age 24. HealthDay News reported on the study January 9. It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Child vaccines used to have a preservative called thimerosol. It contains mercury. It was removed from vaccines in 2001. But autism cases in California have kept growing, a study has found. Researchers said this is more evidence that vaccines don’t cause autism. The Associated Press wrote about the study January 8. It is in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.