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Vaccines: They’re Not Just for Kids

February 3, 2012

Shots are never fun no matter what your age, but according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults may dread them (almost) as much as children. Each year, 45,000 Americans die from vaccine-preventable diseases. Despite that, U.S. adults are not getting the immunizations...

Eating Patterns Tend to Mimic Dining Partner's

February 3, 2012

Women adjusted their eating patterns to match those of their dining companions, researchers found.

E-Prescribing Cuts Medication Error Rates

February 2, 2012

The use of electronic prescribing systems (e-prescribing) resulted in statically significant reductions in medication errors, although the effect was limited by system-related mistakes, according to the results of a study at two Australian hospitals.

Sugar Is a Toxic Substance: UCSF

February 2, 2012

Scientists at UCSF say America's "sugar obsession" has to stop.

Is Your Birth Control Part of the Recall?

February 1, 2012

Pfizer Inc. is recalling 1 million packets of birth control pills because of a packaging error.

Pine extract to treat infections

January 31, 2012

In the 1930s, Russian forest biochemists were observing pine trees for their ability to thrive and remain evergreen through severe weather conditions. They found certain “live elements” in pine conifer needles which was the key to the pine tree’s good health and longevity and when these “live elements” were given to humans, they recovered from their illness.

Weekly challenge: check your blood pressure, on both arms

January 30, 2012

The next time you get your blood pressure checked, ask your health provider to take measurements on both arms. Having a difference in readings between arms could indicate a condition called peripheral artery disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels in the arms and legs that restricts blood flow to the heart and raises the risk of a heart attack and stroke.

Study shows how stress triggers immune system

January 30, 2012

Shedding some light on why stress might be bad for you, a new study finds that parts of your immune system ramp up when you get into personal conflicts with others.

Fake drugs given to NHS patients still untraced

January 30, 2012

Only eight people out of several thousand who received counterfeit drugs from the NHS in an incident in 2007 have been identified. Of those eight, only three have been informed about the incident, a BBC investigation has learned.

Action Plan to Help Beat Heart Disease

January 30, 2012

Heart disease is the nation’s No. 1 killer for both men and women. But what’s most astonishing is that almost 80 percent of heart disease is preventable, and even small lifestyle changes can have a big impact.

Even Mild Dehydration May Cause Emotional, Physical Problems

January 29, 2012

Even mild dehydration may affect our moods and ability to concentrate. In a new study of 25 healthy women, mild dehydration dampened moods, increased fatigue, and led to headaches.

New Once-Daily LABA Improves Lung Function in COPD

January 29, 2012

After a month of using vilanterol, an investigational long-acting beta-2-agonist (LABA) that's inhaled once a day, patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had significant improvements in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1).

Black Tea Lowers Blood Pressure in Small Trial

January 29, 2012

Black tea is a common source of flavonoids, which have been suggested to contribute to vascular health. The researchers point out that they have shown that flavonoids augment nitric-oxide status and reduce plasma concentration of endothelin-1, both of which could contribute to reductions in vascular tone and reduced blood pressure.

Iodinated Contrast Media Raises Risk for Thyroid Dysfunction

January 29, 2012

Among patients receiving iodinated contrast media (ICM) for contrast-enhanced computed tomography or cardiac catheterization, ICM exposure was associated with an increased risk for incident hyperthyroidism, as well as incident overt hyperthyroidism and incident overt hypothyroidism, according to a report published by Connie Rhee, MD, from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues in the January 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The Year That Shook the Salt

January 28, 2012

Salt hit the news a number of times in 2011, with studies reporting the hazards of both too much and too little sodium intake. This slideshow provides a quick overview of these stories as well as summaries of commentaries by experts who tried to put this news into perspective so you can advise your patients.

Predictors of benefit following pulmonary rehabilitation for interstitial lung disease

January 28, 2012

Pulmonary rehabilitation improves functional capacity and symptoms in the interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), however there is marked variation in outcomes between individuals. The aim of this study was to establish the impact of the aetiology and severity of ILD on response to pulmonary rehabilitation.

Is it Time to Automate Notification of Hospital Use to Primary Care Practices

January 28, 2012

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. (VAlbert Einstein)
The structure of much of the American healthcare delivery system gives rise to suboptimal quality of care at high cost, provided in an inefficient, fragmented, and uncoordinated manner. Specifically, it has long been accepted that hospital utilization is a potent predictor of future hospital utilization, and this fact is exemplified by the unacceptably high hospital readmission rates seen in Medicare patients

Cardiovascular disease is the enemy, not pizza, fries

January 27, 2012

Colorado currently enjoys one of the lowest childhood obesity rates in the country. Unfortunately that is rapidly changing as rates of childhood obesity are steadily increasing. More of our children are being diagnosed with diseases once only seen in older adults, including heart disease, both high cholesterol, high blood pressure and even type 2 diabetes. These trends cannot continue to be ignored

Temple’s heart and lung transplant program reactivated

January 27, 2012

Temple University Hospital has reactivated its heart, lung, and heart/lung transplant programs, effective immediately

Justin Bieber retweet raises woman’s transplant hopes

January 26, 2012

Canada’s hottest musical export is using his blockbuster status to help an Ottawa woman awaiting a lung transplant in Toronto.

Last week Helene Campbell, 20, asked her friends to help her with a twitter campaign to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation. Her ultimate goal was to reach Justin Bieber, with hopes he would re-tweet her plea for people to sign donation registries.

Blooming January

January 26, 2012

Everyone knows April showers bring May flowers, but since when did winter showers bring January flowers? This periwinkle is in bloom. Periwinkle blue is the color for esophageal and stomach cancer awareness ribbons. It is also the color for pulmonary hypertension awareness ribbons.

Prozac risk to unborn babies

January 26, 2012

Women taking antidepressants such as Prozac during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to children with life-threatening high blood pressure problems, researchers say.

Republicans’ agenda for repeal of Affordable Care Act

January 25, 2012

Ever since Republicans declared their intention to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, their agenda and rhetoric have tended to be heavy on repeal, light on replace. That’s often been to the dismay of health policy wonks, who want to hear more about not just what Republicans would do to get rid of the health reform law, but how they would fix our health care system

Doctors successfully transplant heart dropped in street

January 25, 2012

A heart that was dropped on the ground while being transported to a hospital has been successfully transplanted into a 28-year-old hair stylist.

Questionable drug trials on mentally challenged persons by doctors in Indore emphasise the need for strict enforcement of medical ethics.

January 24, 2012

IN what appears to be a page out of Robin Cook's medical thriller, government and private doctors in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, reportedly carried out clinical trials of various medicines on some 233 patients who had gone to them seeking psychiatric treatment. As in Cook's famous book Coma, in which a medical student uncovers the unethical practices in a hospital and is targeted, a resident doctor with a prominent government hospital in Indore attempted to expose the unethical trials and was removed from service. The trials, using humans as guinea pigs to test medicines produced by pharmaceutical companies, were conducted between January 2008 and October 2010 without following proper guidelines.

Prescription Drugs That Lead Double Lives

January 24, 2012

We usually view side effects as a bad thing, but sometimes they point the way to a whole new use for a drug. "We think of...drugs as being specific to [a] task," says Harvard University medical historian Jeremy Greene, MD. In fact, he says, "drugs are very complex objects."

Antidepressants Two-Fold Risk To Babies In Pregnancy

January 23, 2012

Pregnancy is when women are meant to bloom, and many do as the levels of progesterone rise. However for women who already have a history of depression and are taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Paxil and Prozac, there is mounting evidence that they should be taken with extreme caution – if at all – during pregnancy because of the health risks they pose to their unborn babies

FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to Ikaria® For Use of Inhaled Nitric Oxide in PAH

January 23, 2012

Ikaria, Inc., a critical care company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for critically ill patients, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation for the use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) with the INOpulse® DS drug-delivery system as a combination product for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). An investigational new drug application (IND) for PAH was submitted to the FDA...

Mortality Climbs With Rising PA Pressure in Heart Failure: Community-Based Study

January 22, 2012

Elevated pulmonary-artery (PA) pressures in heart-failure patients in the community are common and independently predict outcomes, suggests a prospective study.

Magnesium-Rich Diet Tied to Lower Stroke Risk

January 22, 2012

A fresh look at past research concludes that people who eat foods rich in magnesium have fewer strokes -- a finding that supports current diet guidelines.

Study Finds E-Cigarettes Affect Airways, and Quickly

January 22, 2012

The electronic cigarettes marketed as a safer alternative to the real thing produce immediate changes in users' airways, a small study suggests.

Head Trauma Victims on Blood Thinners Need Repeat CT

January 22, 2012

Even minor head injury in patients taking warfarin may require more than a single, initial CT scan to check for brain bleeds, Italian researchers urged.

Inhaling Dry Powder Mannitol Helpful in Cystic Fibrosis

January 21, 2012

Long-term inhalation therapy with dry-powder mannitol improved lung function in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) in an international phase III trial.

Yoga Therapy for AF Yields Insight Into Brain-Heart Axis

January 21, 2012

Investigation of the antiarrhythmic benefits of yoga is continuing in several different arrhythmia populations following the encouraging results of a small trial in atrial-fibrillation patients.

SSRIs in Pregnancy Linked to Lung Hypertension in Newborns

January 21, 2012

Pregnant women who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be putting their babies at heightened risk of developing persistent pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening condition that occurs in up to 2 per 1000 liveborn infants, according to new research.

Variations in CRHR1 are associated with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.

January 20, 2012

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is associated with substantial infant morbidity and mortality. Recently, genetic associations have been found in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.Results:PPHN was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with genetic variants in corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptor 1, CRHR1 and CRH-binding protein, CRHBP...

Dasatinib Could Increase Risk for Pulmonary Hypertension

January 20, 2012

The FDA has warned that dasatinib (Sprycel, Bristol-Myers Squibb) may increase the risk for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

A recent communication from the agency was prompted by 12 postmarketing surveillance reports of PAH in patients receiving the drug. According to the letter, although most of these individuals also had comorbid illnesses and were receiving concomitant medications, dasatinib “was the most likely cause” of PAH.

Studies shed new light on how nitric oxide is produced

January 20, 2012

Studies that started as part of an exploratory collaboration for Judy Aschner, M.D., took an unexpected turn and have led to a whole new understanding of how nitric oxide — an important signaling molecule in the body — is produced...

Efficacy of tadalafil in chronic hypobaric hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension: possible mechanisms.

January 19, 2012

Animal trial, read after clicking the headline.

A Review of Inhaled Nitric Oxide in the Hypoxic Newborn

January 19, 2012

Inhaled nitric oxide is a safe, effective treatment for PPHN, but it can lead to harmful side effects without proper monitoring.

Non-invasive measurements of tricuspid valve anatomy can predict severity of valve leakage

January 19, 2012

A new study finds that the anatomy of the heart's tricuspid valve can be used to predict the severity of leakage in the valve, which is a condition called tricuspid regurgitation. The study, conducted by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, found that pulmonary arterial pressure, the size of the valve opening and papillary muscle position measurements could be used to predict the severity of an individual's tricuspid regurgitation.

Plasma N-terminal Pro-brain Natriuretic Peptide: A Prognostic Marker in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

January 18, 2012

Conclusion of a Korean study: Plasma NT-proBNP levels increased significantly with disease severity, progression of chronic respiratory failure, and secondary pulmonary hypertension in patients with stable COPD. These results suggest that plasma NT-proBNP can be a useful prognostic marker to monitor COPD progression and identify cases of secondary pulmonary hypertension in patients with stable COPD.
(fulltext: click headline)

Warfarin in Systemic Sclerosis-associated and Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

January 18, 2012

OBJECTIVE:

Warfarin is recommended in systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SSc-PAH) and idiopathic PAH (IPAH) to improve survival. There is no evidence to support this in SSc-PAH and the evidence in IPAH is conflicting. We evaluated the ability of warfarin to improve survival using 2 large SSc-PAH and IPAH cohorts.
[..]

CONCLUSION:

There is a low probability that warfarin improves survival in SSc-PAH and IPAH. Given the availability of other PAH therapies with demonstrable benefits, there is little reason to use warfarin to improve survival for these patients.

Australian perspective regarding recommendations for physical activity and exercise rehabilitation in pulmonary arterial hypertension

January 18, 2012

Aim: To determine the opinion of health care professionals within Australia, regarding acceptable levels of exertion and symptoms, and referral for exercise rehabilitation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
[..]

Conclusion: In 2010, there were inconsistencies between individual health care professionals within Australia regarding appropriate levels of physical exertion and acceptable symptoms during daily activities. Almost two-thirds of the respondents reported they would refer patients for exercise rehabilitation.

Temporal variation of heart failure hospitalization: does it exist?

January 18, 2012

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the end stage of many cardiac diseases, and one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity around the world. Coronary heart disease and hypertension (either singly or together) are the main etiology for CHF. It has been reported that major acute cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, sudden death, cardiac arrest, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, pulmonary embolism, rupture/dissection of aortic aneurysms) do not occur randomly through time, but exhibit a specific temporal periodicity characterized by seasonal (winter), weekly (Monday), and circadian (morning) patterns of onset. Thus, because the major causes of CHF present a temporal pattern, in the past several years some studies have investigated the temporal variation of CHF hospitalization and mortality, with results indicating the possibility of a preference for winter months, Mondays, and nighttime, respectively.

UCSF Fresno seeks high school medical research interns

January 17, 2012

UCSF Fresno is accepting applications for its 25th Summer Biomedical Research Internship Program, which provides Central San Joaquin Valley high school students an opportunity to gain first-hand experience with careers in medicine and valuable research skills...
Last year, seven students were assigned to research projects involving pulmonary hypertension, adolescent diabetes, adrenal insufficiency, cancer screenings and asthma...

Pierre Robin Syndrome - possible cause of Pulmonary Hypertension: New Surgery could help

January 17, 2012

The exact causes of Pierre Robin syndrome are unknown. It may be part of many genetic syndromes. The lower jaw develops slowly before birth, but speeds up during the first year of life...
A new surgery could help.

U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors

January 17, 2012

To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment.

Gremlin Plays a Key Role in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Hypertension.

January 17, 2012

New findings by a team of scientist at the University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, demonstrate a central role for increased gremlin in hypoxia-induced pulmonary vascular remodeling and the increased pulmonary vascular resistance in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. High levels of basal gremlin expression in the lung may account for the unique vulnerability of the pulmonary circulation to heterozygous mutations of BMPR2 in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Most Vacuum Cleaners Release Dust, Bacteria Back Into the Air

January 15, 2012

You vacuum your house religiously to get rid of all the dust, dirt, and bacteria and make sure your indoor air is up to snuff. But new research suggests that some vacuum cleaners may actually be making things worse, not better.

Anticoagulation Patient Self-monitoring in the United States

January 15, 2012

Systematic management models such as anticoagulation clinics have emerged in order to optimize warfarin effectiveness and to minimize related complications. Most of these models are structured so that patients come to a clinic for in-person testing and evaluation, thus making this model of care difficult to access and time consuming for many patients. The emergence of portable instruments for measuring anticoagulant effect in capillary whole blood made it possible for patients receiving warfarin to self-monitor the effect of their anticoagulant therapy. Self-monitoring empowers patients, offers the advantage of more frequent monitoring, and increases patient convenience by allowing testing at home and avoiding the need for frequent laboratory and clinic visits.

FDA Issues Public Health Advisory on Certain Pain Meds

January 15, 2012

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising patients and healthcare professionals of a potential problem with opiate products manufactured and packaged for Endo Pharmaceuticals by Novartis Consumer Health at its Lincoln, Nebraska, manufacturing site.

A Good Reason to Be Nuts About Walnuts

January 15, 2012

Sprinkle some walnuts on your salad this evening. Your heart will thank you. When it comes to heart health benefits, roasted and raw walnuts rule the roost, a new study shows.

Cardiac Uses of Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors

January 14, 2012

Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5Is) improve erectile function by enhancing nitric oxide availability in the penis and its supplying vasculature, resulting in vasodilation and increased blood flow. PDE5Is might benefit cardiovascular diseases because phosphodiesterase-5 is also located elsewhere in the body, including the pulmonary and systemic vasculature and in hypertrophied myocardium.

Effect of Oral L-arginine Supplementation on Blood Pressure

January 14, 2012

Previous studies suggest that L-arginine, an amino acid and a substrate of nitric oxide synthase, may have blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect. Because some studies were performed with limited number of patients with hypertension and therefore limited statistical power with sometimes inconsistent results, we aimed to examine the effect of oral L-arginine supplementation on BP by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

Occasional Marijuana Use Not Harmful to Lung Function

January 14, 2012

Smoking marijuana on an occasional basis does not appear to produce adverse effects on pulmonary function, according to the results of a large longitudinal study spanning 20 years.

Inactivity Is a Universal Risk Factor for Heart Attack

January 14, 2012

A new analysis of the INTETHEART study, drilling down into exactly how physical activity and its different components contribute to the risk of MI, doesn't turn up any huge surprises but does confirm that inactivity is "a universal cardiovascular risk factor," lead author Dr Claes Held (Uppsala Clinical Research Center, Uppsala, Sweden) tells heartwire. Held and colleagues publish the results online January 11, 2012 in the European Heart Journal.

Heahthy Eating Jump Start 2012

January 13, 2012

Now that the holidays are over and you are back to a normal schedule, it's time to think about adopting some healthy eating habits.

Breakthrough to ease smokers' lungs

January 12, 2012

RESEARCHERS have discovered a protein that causes the lungs of patients with smoking-related diseases to become chronically inflamed, in a breakthrough that could lead to more effective treatments.

Digoxin inhibits development of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in mice.

January 11, 2012

When started after pulmonary hypertension was established, digoxin attenuated the hypoxia-induced increases in RV pressure and PASMC pH and [Ca(2+)](i). These preclinical data support a role for HIF-1 inhibitors in the treatment of HPH.

FDA Announces 10 Drugs With Severe Birth Defect Warnings

January 11, 2012

Birth Defect Settlement; a website by the Birth Defect Law Center summarizes various medications the FDA warns women against taking during different stages of pregnancy. The drugs found on this list went through multiple tests, research experiments, and survey before the FDA classified them as dangerous to babies during pregnancy.

Pulmonary hypertension in kids differs from adult PAH

January 11, 2012

A new registry of children with pulmonary hypertension is helping to differentiate the pediatric population with this disease from the adult one and will hopefully aid in improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of this condition in kids, say the authors [1].

Older Surgeons May Not Be Better Surgeons

January 11, 2012

An older, more experienced thyroid surgeon may not necessarily be the better one when it comes to avoiding postoperative complications, according to results of a multicenter study.

Complex Patients Benefit from Team Approach

January 11, 2012

A team-based approach helps improve control of diabetes, coronary heart disease, and depression in the primary care setting by modifying both patient and physician behaviors, researchers found.

Can mindfulness curb overeating?

January 10, 2012

Supersized portions and high-calorie dishes in restaurants are often blamed for contributing to America's obesity epidemic, and for good reason. People tend to carry more body fat if they eat out frequently, and they tend to consume more calories and fat in restaurants than they do when eating at home, studies

A Broken Heart Breaks Your Heart, Literally !

January 10, 2012

According to an article published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, heart attack risk after bereavement is much higher for several weeks after the loss. The day the loved one dies, the risk of a heart attack is a stunning twenty one times higher.

Pulmonary Pressure Prognostic in Heart Failure

January 10, 2012

Pulmonary artery systolic pressure is not only a strong predictor of death in heart failure patients, but also provides prognostic information independent of known predictors of outcomes, according the results of a community-based study.

Report Finds Most Errors at Hospitals Go Unreported

January 9, 2012

Hospital employees recognize and report only one out of seven errors, accidents and other events that harm Medicare patients while they are hospitalized, federal investigators say in a new report.

Use of Bosentan in Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension

January 8, 2012

The treatment options for children with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have expanded considerably over the previous decade, and include nitric oxide, prostacyclin analogues, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, and endothelin antagonists. Bosentan, the first endothelin antagonist on the market in the United States, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 20, 2001. Although not currently approved for use in children, numerous case series and small-scale studies conducted over the past decade suggest a role for bosentan in this population. This issue of Pediatric Pharmacotherapy will review these papers and provide recommendations for bosentan use in children.

Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation Improves Emphysema

January 8, 2012

Bronchoscopic thermal vapor ablation therapy (BTVA) improves lung function, quality of life, and exercise tolerance in patients with heterogeneous emphysema, two international trials have shown.

Implantable Coils Improve COPD in Pilot Study

January 8, 2012

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to heterogeneous emphysema improved significantly in a pilot study when lung volume reduction (LVR) coils were placed via bronchoscopy.

Pediatricians Back HHS on Newborn Heart Disease Screenings

January 8, 2012

Newborns should undergo pulse oximetry to screen for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD), according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Scientists Say Unreported Drug Data a Health Hazard

January 7, 2012

A series of reports in a special issue of the British Medical Journal published today show that unreported data from early trials of experimental medicines in humans can result in harm to future patients and needless costs for health systems.

Special Bike Helps Lung Disease Patients Get Around

January 7, 2012

A modernized version of the world's first bicycle could help some people with emphysema get around more easily, a small pilot study suggests.

Report Looks at Best Diets, Easiest to Follow - Experts Examine 25 Diet Plans, Rate Them Seven Different Ways

January 7, 2012

Who isn't looking for a diet this month? Whether you're resolving to lose weight, eat healthier, or manage or prevent health problems, here's help.

Heart Attack Hospital Re-Admission Rates Higher In The USA Than Abroad

January 6, 2012

A study published in the January 4 issue of JAMA shows that U.S. patients who experienced a ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a certain pattern on an electrocardiogram after a heart attack

Mice Exposed to Smoke Helped by Blood Pressure Drug: Study

January 6, 2012

FRIDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The blood pressure medicine losartan [Cozaar] helped prevent lung damage in mice that were exposed to cigarette smoke for two months, researchers say.