Cholesterol Drug Doesn't Live Up to Promise

The full results of a study involving the newest cholesterol fighting drug, Vytorin, surfaced on the Internet Sunday to appalled audiences because the drug failed to improve heart disease and limit complete plaque buildup in the arteries.

Millions of Americans began to consume the drug when it hit pharmacies in 2004, racking in $5 billion in sales despite limited proof of benefit.

The results show the drug had "no result-zilch. In no sub-group, in no segment, was there any added benefit," for reducing plaque, said Dr. John Kastelein, the Dutch scientist who led the study.

Even though Vytorin works as intended to reduce three key factors of heart disease by combining Zocor with Schering-Plough Corp.'s Zetia, which went on sale in 2002 and attacks cholesterol in a different way, it took drugmakers nearly two years after the study's completion to release accurate results.

Doctors urge those with clogged arteries and risk for heart disease to go back to older treatments for high cholesterol, such as diet, exercise, and drugs proven to reduce risk.

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Pitcher's Mound Height Provokes Injury

The head team physician for the Milwaukee Brewers studied 20 Major League Baseball organization's pitchers including Milwaukee-area NCAA Division I-A college teams and concluded that the height of the pitching mound influences the risk of stress-related elbow and shoulder injuries.

The height of a pitcher's mound relates to the greater amount of stress on an athlete's body and may result in injury to the shoulder including tearing of the rotator cuff or labrum, which may result in surgery and long-term rehabilitation.

"Our researchers employed a motion analysis system using eight digital cameras that recorded the three-dimensional positions of 43 reflective markers placed on the athletes' bodies," study leader Dr. William Raasch, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, said in a prepared statement. "Then we analyzed the pitching motion at mound heights of the regulation 10 inches, along with eight-inch and six-inch mounds, as well as having the athletes throw from flat ground."

The study was funded by Major League Baseball, and the study's findings were presented to health physicians associated with MLB teams during winter meetings.

A substantial amount of data was not gathered to alter the standard 10- inch mound height, but the study's findings do inform trainers of how to practice with their pitchers, on flat ground.

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Premature Birth Leads to Long Lasting Effects

Babies born prematurely have a risk of mortality after infancy and a recent study shows that these preemies may have a decreased reproductive rate or a chance of delivering prematurely.

Past studies only focused on serious risks preemies face early on, but now this study has uncovered the rate of chronic medical conditions in the long run for those young adults and adults who are were born prematurely.

"Prematurity may have caused issues that made them susceptible. We're they left with chronic lung disease? Were they left with cerebral palsy? There's a big belief that we are doing so great now, but premature births are still a big problem," said Dr. Peter Bernstein, a maternal-fetal specialist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

Premature delivery occurs before 38 weeks into a pregnancy,  sixty percent occurring 26 weeks before gestation resulting in long-term disabilities, such as chronic lung disease, blindness, deafness, and neurodevelopmental problems.

One million babies were studied between 1967 and 1988 to conclude results in 2004, proving that premature deliveries between 22 and 32 weeks before gestation, both male and female, who survived through adolescence did not escape effects of prematurity.

Expectations for premature babies today may be greater because there have been advances in the care of preemies, but those born prematurely should continue to monitor their health through adolescence into adulthood. 

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Sample Drug Users Pay More for Prescriptions

A recent study found patients who receive free drug samples end up paying more out-of-pocket costs for their perscription drugs.

This means, sample users spent about $166 on perscriptions six months before receiving samples, $244 for the six months they received samples, and $212 following the receipt of free drugs, while non-sample users only spent about $178 over the entire six month period.

"This is a curious finding because one would think, intuitively, that if you receive a free sample, one's out-of-pocket prescription cost would be lower, not higher," said lead researcher Dr. G. Caleb Alexander, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

The study, which collected data on 5,709 patients, found younger people with private insurance were more likely to receive free samples because sample receivers may tend to be sicker than patients who don't get samples and patients who receive free samples may go on to receive and fill prescriptions for the very same medicine that initially began as free samples.

There are many ways doctors and patients can work together to reduce drug costs, but giving away free samples may not be the best one, because it may end up costing the patient more in the longer-run.

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Th loss of tooth enamel is on the rise in middle school students between the ages of 10 and 14, mainly because of acidic consumption, a new study shows.

Most patients are not aware that they are suffering from the condition until the problem becomes severe, causing the teeth to become more brittle and more suseptible to pain.

"This study is important, because it confirms our suspicions of the high prevalence of dental erosion in this country and, more importantly, brings awareness to dental practitioners and patients of its prevalence, causes, prevention and treatment," study co-author Bennett T. Amaechi, an associate professor of community dentistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said in a prepared statement.

900 students were examined and 30 percent of them had the condition, thanks some types of medications, such as aspirin, certain medical conditions associated with gastric acids, and common products such as soft drinks, sports drinks, some fruit juices and herbal teas.

Loss of enamel does not cause pain or sensitivity in the early stages, so if consumption of acidic products is high, visiting the dentist to identify erosion may not be such a bad idea.

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Graduate, Live Longer

A new study shows Americans with 12 years of education or more can expect to live to 82, opposed to the life expectancy for those with less than 12 years of education, 75.


People with more education had almost a year and half of increased life expectancy and people with less education had a life expectancy increase of only six months compared to a study taken two years later that concluded the better educated saw their life expectancy increase by 1.6 years and the less educated life expectancy didn't increase at all.


"Those with less education are likely to have lower income," said lead researcher Ellen R. Meara, an assistant professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. "They're likely to live in areas that have their own health threats, either through crime or poor housing conditions. In addition, they may have worse access to health insurance coverage and health services,"



The National Longitudinal Mortality Study used death certificates, plus estimates from Census data, to create two datasets, one covering 1981 to 1988 and the other from 1990 to 2000, and found that one-fifth of the difference in mortality between well-educated and less-educated groups can be accounted for by smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer and emphysema, gender differences, income, and surroundings.



As the gap in life expectancy between the more educated and the less educated widens, the challenge to find ways to extend life expectancy for all groups in U.S society must be addressed by the American public and the U.S. government, so poverty and limited education can cease to be enemies of both opportunity and health.


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Airborne Settles $23 Million for False Advertising

The makers of Airborne, a line of popular herbal supplements that was marketed as a "miracle cold buster", decided to settle a $23 million lawsuit for false advertising Sunday, also concluding the product was invented by a school teacher and never medically tested. 

The company will reimburse customers for up to six months purchases of Airborne products and a special website has been set up to accept these claims.

"There's no credible evidence that what's in Airborne can prevent colds or protect you from a germy environment," said David Schardt, an official at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and advocacy group that helped bring the lawsuit.

Oprah Winfrey, Howard Stern, and Kevin Costner endorsed the product, weighing in on more than $100 million from sniffly consumers in 2006, while the inventor-teacher made guest appearances on popular shows such as "Live with Regis and Kelly" and "Dr. Phil," gabbing about the benefits of the product. 

Customers can get there money back on recent Airborne purchases, continue to buy the newly advertised "immune system boosting" product, or boycott the company altogether in response to the news.

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Former Hormone Users Face Cancer Risks Later

A follow-up to a momentous hormone replacement therapy (HRT) study on hormone use after menopause shows women who stopped taking the pills decreased risk of heart problems, but opened new doors for breast and lung tumors.

Some benefits for Prempro estrogen-protestin users include decreased risks for hip fractures and colorectal cancer, but the follow-up shows the hormones may have triggered new tumors or fueled the growth of existing ones in women who stopped taking hormones.


“There’s still a lot of uncertainty about the cause of the increased cancer risk,” said analysis co-author Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.


The analysis focused on participants’ health in the first two to three years after hormone pills were revoked, and during that time, those who’d taken hormones but stopped were 24 percent more likely to develop any kind of cancer than women who’d taken dummy pills during the study.


Some data suggest that U.S. breast cancer rates have declined since the study’s end and that hormones are still a very appropriate therapy for women with bad symptoms, but former hormone users need to be vigilant about getting cancer screening including mammograms.


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Substance Abuse linked to Post Dramatic Stress

In a recent German study that included 459 people seeking help for drug or alcohol reliance proved their post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequency was higher based on their dependencies. 

Researchers found that those tested with substance abuse disorder (SUD) had PTSD that predicted a more rigorous outcome for someone with SUD, such as more family problems, less employment, and more serious psychological symptoms.

"We found prevalence of PTSD that was roughly double, around 30 percent, in drug-dependent subjects than that found in alcohol-dependent subjects, at about 15 percent," said Martin Driessen, a professor of psychiatry at Ev. Hospital Bielefeld. "Although we expected this, based on previous research, we were somewhat surprised to find such a high difference between drug and alcohol dependence."

The link between PTSD and SUD's was stronger in patients with a definitive PTSD diagnosis than those with portable PTSD, which strengthens the evidence of a strong association between PTSD and substance abuse.

Doctors are recommended to examine patients with an SUD to determine if PTSD is an underlying factor.

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Sleep Deprivation Exhausts the Economy

A survery conducted by Sleep in America that polled 1,000 people across the country concluded that even though most Americans are aware that inadequate sleep combined with long working hours in unhealthy, they are not aware that the combination is bad for the economy.

Seventy million Americans are effected by sleep problems and despite knowing that the negative outcome of such patterns, two-thirds of those are not dealing with the issue.

"Economic loss from sleep deprivation or sleep disorders generally is huge," said Dr. Samir Fahmy, director of the sleep lab at Kings County Hospital in New York City. "It's not just loss of money for medical care, it's loss of money for days off the job, accidents, lawyers for accidents, doctors, hospital stays, decreased productivity. It's like a chain reaction."

Sleep deprivation can cause drowsiness at the wheel, loss of productivity and attentiveness, lack of interest in sex and other health implications in terms of heart health and more.

The wide range of questions asked to those polled outline what Americans except as a daily rountine, so look at the results and learn what is an isn't healthy in terms of sleep and work.

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