EST

One in Three Heart Attack Patients Have No Chest Pains

Death Rates Higher for Those Without This Symptom. As many as one-third of patients never have chest pains prior to or during a heart attack, a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association suggests. And for women, diabetics and others who belong to groups likely to have atypical heart attack symptoms, more than half may never have such pains. The report examined symp...

Low Cholesterol Linked to Severe Depression and Violent Behavior in Men

It is not high levels of cholesterol but low levels that are making news. Recent reports are indicating that Low levels of Cholesterol maybe linked to depression and violent behavior. A new study shows that men with relatively low cholesterol levels were up to seven times more likely to report symptoms of severe depression. Edward Suarez, PhD from Duke University Medical Center in Durha...

Bypass Heart Surgery Performed Without General Anesthesia

A minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) procedure was performed at Pittsburgh while the patient was awake. The operation was done under thoracic epidural anesthesia. This approach may help in discharging the patient early from the hospital. Dr. Zenati from the team of doctors who performed the surgery said that patients who are operated in this way may not have to go t...

First Vaccine Designed for Africa Cleared for Testing in Humans

The first AIDS vaccine candidate designed specifically for Africa will enter human trials this summer. The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) announced on July 11 at the 13th International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, that the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) of the United Kingdom has approved Phase I testing of a DNA vaccine based on HIV subtype A, the most commo...

Serum Progesterone Helps Stratify Ectopic Pregnancy Risk

Measurement of serum progesterone levels may be helpful in deciding which emergency department patients with no strong clinical signs are at low risk of ectopic pregnancy, according to a report in the August issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine. They measured progesterone levels in 716 first-trimester patients who presented to an emergency department with abdominal pain or...

Laboratory Testing Can Identify Risk of Pre-Term Labor and Delivery

A test for fetal fibronectin can predict whether a pregnant woman is at risk for early labor and delivery. Those at high risk for pre-term births are women with previous pre-term deliveries, those with multiple gestation pregnancy, and those who suffer from diabetes and/or hypertension. The current approach for finding whether a woman will go into premature labor is the use of a clinical...

Long-Term Survival can be Predicted by a Simple Lung Test

Researchers have found a simple pulmonary test can predict overall long-term survival rates in both men and women. Their findings are presented in the September issue of Chest. Researchers studied survival rates based on a lung function test, called forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1).They performed the lung function test on a group of more than 550 men and more than 640 wom...

More Accurate "PROSTATE CANCER" Test can save Unnecessary Biopsies

Prostate cancer can effect men over the age of 40 years and is the second commonest cancer among men after lung cancer. Usually it goes undetected till it is advanced and beyond cure. However a lot of awareness has been created about this condition and now men over the age of 40 years can be screened regularly to detect the cancer. One of the most promising "tumour markers" in medicine...

Kidney Stones - Interesting New Research implicates bacteria as its cause

In India Kidney Stones are not uncommon problem due to the hot and often humid weather. Most of these stones are made up of Calcium, Oxalate and phosphates. The cause of stone disease is debatable, however it is well known that drinking less water is a risk factor for stone disease. New research by the National Kidney foundation suggests that the culprit is a tiny bacteria called N...

General Anesthesia Safe For Children On Ketogenic Diet Suffering From Epilepsy

Epileptic children have always been ostracized as children of a lesser God. The physical, mental, moral and social ramifications of these hapless children are beyond words. One stumbling handicap in the surgical treatment of such children was the feasibility of administering General Anesthesia to these children. In many cases the anesthesia times ranged from 1 to 10 hours with procedur...

Abstain from sex- the latest mantra of American teens

The latest fad in the United States of America is surprisingly abstinence!!!!! Shockingly enough the teen crowd, particularly below 18 years, is taking the buzzword seriously.Last year there were many public abstinence pledges with many millionaire celebrities joining the jing bang. This pledge has been taken seriously, alteast for a certain period of time, according to some analysts who...

Doctors operate upon patients in candlelight- latest from the quake scene

The latest word from Gujarat is that doctors are being stretched to their limits working on cases for hours together without a break. At times they work in candlelight when the power fails, but the work goes on. Many caesarean sections to deliver babies were conducted in open verandahs. On Jan 27th nearly 1500 patients were operated upon without a break. Many fractures were fixed without...

IMA wants members not to do sex determination tests during pregnancy

The Indian Medical Association has asked its members to refrain from conducting sex-determination tests and aiding female foeticide. No support would be extended to practitioners caught in the act, the IMA said on Sunday. "We as an organisation should warn our members against aiding in such heinous crimes", said Dr. Vinay Agarwal, joint secretary, IMA headquarters, New Delhi. He was spe...

Breast cancer treatment to be determined by gene test

Women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, may opt for mastectomy over breast-conserving lumpectomy if they test positive for a breast cancer gene mutation, researchers said California on Monday. About 5% to 10% of all breast cancers are caused by an inherited genetic susceptibility. The majority of these cancers are linked to mutations or alterations in two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. It is...

Diabetic testing gets easier

Of all the problems associated with diabetes, the most painful and bothering one is the trauma of going through the daily blood tests. The worst part according to many diabetics is the finger stick. There are unfortunate patients who use the stick up to six times a day for more than ten to twenty years or so. The main obstacle of these tests is the pain and discomfort associated with them...

Pesticide impairs male reproductive function

According to the May issue of the journal Epidemiology, high levels of DDT found in some Mexican workers suggest that pesticide can impair male reproductive function. The human body metabolises DDT to DDE. An international team of researchers took blood samples from 24 men aged 16 to 28 who had not been exposed to DDT in their work. In these men the high DDE levels correlated to low leve...

Doctors advice early anemia tests

An estimated 12 to 30% of young children are affected by iron deficiency anemia throughout the world. This is one of the common problems in childhood leading on to problems in simple developmental skills such as standing and walking. Eight-month-old infants with low levels of hemoglobin are significantly more likely to have deformities of the motor system, according to a study conducted b...

Just spice it up!!!!! Anti bacterial effects of spices unraveled in the West

The West is now sitting up and taking in the aroma of Indian cuisine. The inseparable part of Indian kitchens, the spices are now the subjects of research by scientists at the Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. Dr. Daniel Y. C. Fung and colleagues who conducted the study opine that cinnamon, apart from filling the air with its spicy aroma can also double up as an anti bacterial...

Vitamin E, the latest warrior against diabetes

Scientists are assessing research that suggests high doses of vitamin E may help fight diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world with many ravaging complications, affecting millions of people. Complications can lead to heart disease, eye damage, kidney failure, non healing ulcers all over the body and can also cause complications of the nervous system. Diabet...

Test-tube babies show no emotional problems

Babies born with the help of fertility treatment grow into emotionally and socially well-adjusted children, according to new research. The world's first study that followed in-vitro, or test tube, babies to the brink of adolescence showed that youngsters who had been conceived through fertility treatments do not suffer any more psychological problems than other children. Since L...

A better way to measure cholesterol

Measuring cholesterol levels is becoming an increasingly important part of a medical check. Generally, it is assumed that high density lipoprotein (HDL, or 'good' cholesterol) levels should be high, and low density lipoprotein (LDL, or 'bad' cholesterol) low. At Johns Hopkins University in the US, researchers believe that it is important to measure non-HDL cholesterol too...

Gene HPA-2 Met linked to cardiac arrest

Men who die early from heart disease are more likely to have a specific variant of a blood clotting gene.Researchers in Finland carried out tests on 500 men who had died suddenly, many of whom had had a cardiac arrest. They found that, in men younger than 55, a gene variant known as HPA-2 Met was 2.2 times more common than in the general population.// The gene is one of...

Estrogen lowers cancer risk

Italian scientists have found that women had about a 20 percent lower chance of developing cancer if they used oral contraceptives. This new research bolsters the theory that the female hormone estrogen might protect women from colorectal cancer. Dr. Carlo La Vecchia, who led the study said "For a while now we have suspected that estrogen in the pill could protect against bowel c...

Low testosterone levels lead to eating disorders

The researchers suspect low testosterone levels in men suffering from eating disorders. Men who suffer from eating disorders can be affected more than women with the same problems, researchers say.// Eating disorders are associated with a weakening of the bones, which become dangerously thin and brittle. This is linked to severe weight loss and lack of essential nutrients, particula...

Male infertility in relation to pesticide

Exposure to pesticides and solvents can further lower fertility among infertile men, a new report suggests.The study shows these chemicals may worsen the effect of pre-existing genetic or medical risk factors for infertility. The authors stress the findings should be treated with caution because they involved a selected population of infertile men, from a productive farming region in A...

New test for heart attack

A new test really helps detect heart problems. A test for cardiac enzymes allows doctors to spot those people with chest pain who are really having a heart attack. Only 10 to 15 per cent of those who show up in the emergency room with chest pain are actually having a heart attack. Other causes of chest pain are gastrointestinal, kidney, rib or lung problems. But this test may take several...

Genetics and cholesterol levels

According to a twin study reveals that cholesterol levels are controlled by both genes and dietary factors. People with high blood cholesterol are often advised to go on a low-fat diet - or to take cholesterol-lowering drugs. It's known that reducing fat intake can reduce cholesterol levels. But there is also a genetic condition called familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) which leads to hi...

Gene therapy restores sight

US scientists report they have successfully used gene therapy to restore sight to animals with a rare inherited form of blindness. A team of scientists led by Jean Bennett, at the University of Pennsylvania, reported their success in this month's Nature Genetics.Their experiment involved dogs with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a form of blindness, that also affects human infants and f...

Decrease in testosterone levels lead to Alzheimer's

Suppression of testosterone levels in men with testicular cancer may inadvertently increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, warn US researchers.A research team from North Carolina University has found that when circulating testosterone levels go down, a high rise in levels of amyloid – the protein implicated in Alzheimer’s disease – occurs. They suggest that this phenomenon might explain...

Elevated homocysteine levels linked to congestive heart failure risk

Researchers of the long-running Framingham Heart Study have now found a link between elevated homocysteine and heart failure. Elevated levels of homocysteine, an amino acid whose build-up has already been linked with increased risk of heart disease and dementia, increases the risk of developing congestive heart failure in women. The study involved 2,491 adults, average age 72 years, who w...

Cervicogenic headache can be identified with a fibromyalgia test

Findings from a new study presented at the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine by the Medical Director, John McFadden, MD, of the Tupelo Pain Clinic, Mississippi stated that patients with severe headache could benefit from an upper-body fibromyalgia examination to determine if the headache is potentially cervicogenic. According to Dr. McFadden many headaches of ce...

The Link Between Hepatitis B Vaccine And Multiple Sclerosis Questioned

A recent study by Harvard researchers suggests a link between the hepatitis B vaccination and multiple sclerosis. In their study, people who received the vaccine were three-times more likely to develop MS // over the next three years than those who were not vaccinated. While this finding is disturbing, the investigators emphasize the overall effect of the vaccine on the development of MS...

Treatment Options For Retinitis Pigmentosa Questioned

Retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive eye disease targeting the light-collecting cells of the retina, affects one in 4,000 people worldwide and can cause // vision loss. Researchers say for patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, the addition of docosahexaenoic acid to vitamin A therapy may not provide long-term benefits, according to a recent study. Researchers followed 221 patients...

The Link Between Pregnancy and Restless Legs Syndrome

New research shows that pregnant women are at a higher risk of developing restless legs syndrome. Restless legs syndrome is marked by // an urge to move the legs and is generally accompanied by unpleasant numbness, tingling or burning sensations. Patients also report an increase in symptoms during rest, a partial, temporary relief from symptoms through activity, and a worsening of symptom...

The Link Between Pregnancy and Restless Legs Syndrome

New research shows that pregnant women are at a higher risk of developing restless legs syndrome. Restless legs syndrome is marked by // an urge to move the legs and is generally accompanied by unpleasant numbness, tingling or burning sensations. Patients also report an increase in symptoms during rest, a partial, temporary relief from symptoms through activity, and a worsening of symptom...

Vitamin E Could Restore Sudden Hearing Loss

A new study shows vitamin E may be effective in restoring sudden onset hearing loss. Researchers say sudden hearing loss, occurs within three days or less. The cause of the sudden hearing loss can be identified in only // 10 percent to 15 percent of the cases, which includes viral and bacterial diseases, and metabolic, neurologic and immunologic sources. The rest of the cases are termed...

Almonds As Effective As Certain Drugs In Lowering Cholesterol

New research shows a diet that consists of healthy foods, including almonds, may be as effective in lowering cholesterol as certain drugs. Researchers say incorporating almonds // into one’s diet might help to moderately lower cholesterol levels. The easiest substitutions to try might include a snack of almonds instead of popcorn, pretzels or potato chips. Researchers studied a group of...

India's Hospitals Among The Best, Says Renuka Chowdhury

India's growing attraction as a medical tourism destination was the highlight of presentations made at the ongoing World Travel Mart in London. India's Minister for Tourism Renuka Chowdhury, who // inaugurated the India pavilion of the annual global tourism event, said: "Not only is India known for its hospitality, but also our hospitals, which are among the best. The Indians know how to...

New Test Can Detect Breast Cancer 8 Years Earlier

There is a new test some doctors say could change the way we treat breast cancer. The new Halo Pap Test for the breast is now available to help doctors identify breast disease // up to eight years earlier than a lesion might be found on a mammogram. Breast pap patient Amy Rhoades is taking a screening test that could potentially predict her risk for breast cancer up to eight years in ad...

Killing two birds (cholesterol and Alzheimers disease) with the same stone

Treating cholesterol can also help in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s’ disease. The study was published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry // . The research team assessed the degree of brain function loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease in 342 patients attending a memory clinic. They then monitored the progress of the disease for almost three years. The average...