Xtra

FDA Approves New Arthritis Drug, Bextra

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for treating osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a progressive deterioration in the cartilage of certain joints. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, which is an inherited autoimmune disease, osteoarthritis results from overuse of joints, and can be a byproduct of strenuous sports, obesity or aging. Pharmacia Corp. makes the drug, Bextr...

Herbal extract aids in rheumatoid arthritis

Relief from Arthirits through Chinese therapy is effective. An ancient Chinese herbal remedy helps relives the painful symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. In China, an extract from a vine known as TWHF// (short for Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F) s long been used to treat arthritis and immune system problems. Now a study by researchers for the US National Institutes of Health provides scient...

Grape seed extract helps wound healing

According to researchers grape seeds help in wound healing. An extract of grape seed heals wounds by helping new blood vessels to grow and providing a high concentration of free radicals in the damaged area.// Researchers at Ohio State University report on the first study of a natural extract on wound healing. They looked at how an extract of grape seed worked on both human skin cells and...

Geriatric heart patients benefit from extra weight

Innumerable previous studies have concluded that people who have a high Body Mass Index (BMI) or simply stated, those who are overweight, are associated with a larger risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. However a recent study by a team of Columbia researchers indicates, suprisingly, that senior patients// (i.e. patients who are 75 and over), with a BMI of 25 and above run a lower...

Extra hormone found to cut appetite by a third

Studies done previously have shown that the hormone could suppress the appetites of lean people. But researchers were worried it would not work in obese people because studies of another appetite-suppressing hormone,// leptin, had proved disappointing. "We had to do a second trial to see if obese people were as sensitive" to the hormone, said researchers. The answer: "Yes, they are. The...

Is Drinking Extra Fluids Safe When You’re Sick

A new study suggests drinking extra fluids may do more harm than good for patients with respiratory infections.// Researchers examined results from previous studies to determine if recommending patients with respiratory infections drink more fluids is safe. Previous data has shown during a respiratory infection, such as a cold or bronchitis, the body releases large amounts of a specific...

Extracts of grapefruit heals stomach ulcers

Scientists have confirmed that extracts of the grapefruit seeds contain antioxidants that help to heal// stomach ulcers. As a fruit, grapefruit had been associated with acidity and gastrointestinal irritation, the fruit actually posses healthy and helpful ingredients that have healing properties. Researchers from Poland, who had researched on the subject and presented their study findi...

Grapefruit extract effective in stomach ulcer healing

Stomach ulcers can now be healed effectively and properly by grapefruit extract revealed// a study presented at Digestive Disease Week? 2005 (DDW). The title of the study is “Role of Lipid Peroxidation, Expression, and Activity of Superoxide Dismutase and Endogenous Prostaglandins in the Acceleration of Ulcer Healing by Grapefruit Seed Extract.” This effect is due to strong ant...

Grape fruit seed extracts can heal stomach ulcers

Researchers at the University of Jagiellonian in Polish have found that the extract// prepared from grape fruit seed reduced the size of stomach ulcers in rats. Rats were chemically induced with stomach ulcers and different concentration of the seed fruit extract was given to measure its activity. The result of the study showed reduced size of the stomach ulcer in rats. The extract was al...

Yet Another Use For Green Tea Extract

Teavigo green tea extract has recently achieved GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) affirmation, giving food and beverage makers in the US a strong signal of the ingredient’s suitability in new food products. // Although Teavigo is already being used in a number of supplement products in the Japanese and US market, under brands including GNC, Vitamin Shoppe and Healthy Origins, America...

Tomato Extract Found To Reduce The Risk Of Thrombosis

Provexis, UK functional food developer has entered into an initial three-year agreement// with the registered heart health charity, Heart UK to endorse its new juice drink Sirco. The product, based on a proprietary tomato extract has been shown in trials to reduce the risk of thrombosis, a major cause of heart attack and stroke. It will carry the Heart UK logo and also ca...

Slowing Cartilage Loss In Arthritis With Fruit Extracts

A new study shows that extracts from the fruit Pomegranate have been shown to block enzymes that contribute to cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis.// Although findings are still at a preliminary stage and not yet proven in humans it is likely to encourage further consumption of pomegranate juice say researchers. A team of researchers from the Case Western Reserve University found t...

Canada May Not Permit Bextra To Reenter Market

Health Canada has announced a ban on the anti-inflammatory drug Bextra, meant for those who suffer from arthritis. The benefits derived from the drug were outweighed by the cardiovascular risks, including the possibility of // triggering strokes and heart attacks, according to an expert safety panel. The drug is also known to cause severe skin reactions which can even prove to be fat...

ARIXTRA drug for venous thromboembolism

Venous thromboembolism is a complication causing increased bleeding which occurs after an orthopedic surgery procedure. // Professor Clifford W. Colwell has reported in the Journal of Arthroplasty that by giving a dose of ARIXTRA drug to these patients who underwent orthopedic surgery the complications and amount of bleeding decreased. ARIXTRA drug which is called as FLEXTRA (Flexibili...

Mystery unfolds about the Ginkgo biloba extract!

Georgetown University Medical Centre scientists have unravelled mystery surrounding the leaf extract of Ginkgo biloba tree in reducing aggressive cancer in // animals. Anticancer Research journal (Jan-Feb) features the study. The investigators reported that treating mice with this extract before and after implanting human breast or brain (glioma) tumours decreased expression of a cell...

Extravagant Pay For Emergency Department Head Of Caboolture Hospital

It has been proposed by Caboolture Hospital management to offer a pay of nearly $500,000 to the head of its emergency department //. In response to the above proposal, the Queensland Opposition has described it as being extravagant and unconscionable. The popular Aspen Medical Group had advertised for the post of a new director for the emergency medicine department, with an attractive...

High Blood Pressure Can Be Treated With Grape Seed Extract

Grape seed extract lowered the blood pressure of patients who participated in a UC Davis study of the benefits of the supplement on people with high blood pressure. // Conducted by UC Davis cardiovascular researchers, the study was the first human clinical trial to assess the effect of grape seed extract on people with metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors that increase th...

Saw Palmetto Extract No Good In Improving Prostate Health

Herb extract of saw palmetto, commonly used for treatment of enlarged prostate is nothing more a dummy version //; argue researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The results of the present study are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Benign prostate hyperplasia or BPH as it is commonly called, i...

Greenpeace Says 93,000 Extra Cancer Deaths Due To Chernobyl Fallout

Greenpeace has rejected the UN findings that claim an extra 4,000 cancer deaths would be attributable to the radioactive fallout of the Chernobyl disaster,// which struck 20 years ago. Instead, the group says that the number of cancer deaths is closer to 93,000. Most of these victims would be in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986 was one of the w...

NHS To Take Extra Care Of The Aged

All NHS hospitals are now required to appoint a senior nurse so that the elderly are treated with dignity in the hospitals, according to new rules issued by the government. // Ministers said there would be an attitude of zero tolerance towards any abuse of the older patients in the hospitals. <brProfessor Ian Philp, the government's older people representative made it clear that hosp...

Western Australian Government Spending Extra For Mental Health Services

The Western Australian Government is spending $3 million extra on more experienced clinical staff and new therapy programs in an effort to improve mental health services in the Peel and Rockingham Kwinana area, south of Perth. // Health Minister Jim McGinty opined that the new therapy services would lessen the burden on City Hospitals. "We need a balance of all of the health clinical...

A Mushroom Extract May Impact the Body’s Immune Syste

Can the extract of a mushroom that is commonly found in the woods of North America, Asia and Europe have a beneficial impact// on the human immune system? A small study using “Turkey Tail” mushroom (Trametes versicolor) extract, has found that it may. The “Turkey Tail” mushroom is too tough to eat, but it may be ingested in the form of liquid or powdered extracts. One such extract prod...

Hospitals To Get Extra Consultants To Eliminate A&E Crisis

The Health Service Executive in Ireland is all set to offer rewards for hospitals that deal effectively with accident and emergency overcrowding.// The Irish Examiner reports that hospitals may be offered additional consultants in order to help hospitals deal with the A&E crisis, where patients are made to wait for hours together in trolleys. But hospitals must ensure that A&E patients...

Care about extra weight, even if it is an additional few pounds

Baby boomers may get a bit unnerved, for a new study has shown that even few pounds overweight entails a whole lot of health risks including premature death, as compared// to those who maintain the optimum weight. This finding was reported after a study was conducted involving 500,000 people, which took into consideration their lifestyle and health factors - smoking and chronic i...

Extra Vaginal Bleed After ‘C’ Section Can be Prevented By Contraceptive Pils

A new study finds that taking oral contraceptive pills after caesarean sections can prevent vaginal bleeding between menstrual cycles.// Researchers at the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine have announced today that oral contraceptive pills could prevent vaginal bleeding between menstrual cycles after a caesarean section. The further explained that the anatomic defects at t...

Hot Flashes Could Be Minimized By Rhubarb Extract

Researchers said that a pill containing rhubarb extract could minimize the severity of hot flashes in perimenopausal women.// Researchers studied 109 perimenopausal women to determine the usefulness of rhubarb extracts. They gave half the women 4 milligrams of the extract, while the other half took a placebo for 12 weeks. The group, which took the rhubarb extract pill, had less severe...

Red Cross and Red Crescent Go the Extra Mile to Fight HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has set the ball rolling for a new five-year program to fight// HIV/AIDS in southern Africa, to assist an estimated 11-million people in the region, known to be living with HIV. The program has requisitioned the support of the World Health Organization and Southern Africa Information Dissemination Service to help...

Inhibition of Colorectal tumor growth by Grape seed extract

Scientists have found marked inhibition of colorectal tumor growth by certain chemicals in grape juice in both cell cultures and in mice. The anti-cancer effects of this// extract in other types of tumor have previously been proven by these researchers. This study is included in the October 18 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. In this study, advanced colorectal tumors showed a reduct...

Cinnamon extract in reduction of risk of metabolic syndrome

According to the researchers in the U.S., a supplement of cinnamon extract on a daily basis helps in reduction of stress linked to metabolic syndrome, a condition associated// with increased risk of type-2 diabetes and heart disease. Metabolic syndrome causes central obesity, hypertension, and unstable glucose and insulin metabolism and affects approximately 32% of the Americans....

Research 'Extraordinaire' To Restore Vision

Stem cells have captured the imagination of the world as a 'repetoire' of immature cells that may be persuaded or cajoled into restoring or rejuvenating debilitating organs. //Research carried out by a team of UK scientists have helped to reiterate this belief, by restoring sight in mice which suffered from conditions that eventually would damage the eye. This amazing work, which was...

Skin Damages Caused by Cancer Radiation Therapy Reduced by Tea Extracts

Studies conducted by American and German researchers suggest that tea can soothe the skin damages caused by Cancer Radiation Therapy. // Studies were conducted on patients using Green Tea and Black Tea on human and rat WBC in cultures prepared in laboratory. This action is happening due to the high amounts of poly phenols, which have anti-inflammator...

Extra Funding To Fight Bird Flu

The World Bank has prepared a report in which it says, a funding of over $US1.2 - $US1.5 billion ($A1.5 to $A1.9 billion) is required to fight bird flu in the next 2 to 3// years. This report has been prepared for circulation at a conference to be held in the West African country of Mali, this week. This report also advocates that poultry farmers caught in the front line s...

Mushroom Extract Protects Poultry From Parasite Diseases

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and her South Korean colleagues have found out that a wide use of mushroom extracts //will protect poultry against a major parasitic disease. The researchers, led by immunologist Hyun Lillehoj at the ARS (U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency) Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. and her colle...

Extra Cortisol Protects Women’s Mood Under Stres

German researchers have found additional evidence that the stress hormone cortisol can have positive effects in certain situations//. Although chronic stress, which brings long-term elevations of cortisol in the bloodstream, can weaken the immune system and induce depression, this new study adds to mounting evidence that cortisol given near in time to a physical or psychological stress ma...

Science Builds Behind Pomegranate Extracts for Health

Standardised pomegranate extracts lead to increased levels of bioactive compounds in the blood and boost antioxidant levels, says new research that could see the extracts start// to rival the juice for boosting health. Consumption of pomegranate juice has been on the rise, particularly in the UK where sales have rocketed in the last year thanks to media coverage of the antioxidant-ric...

Chilli Extract may Stop Fat Cell Growth

Capsaicin, the compound that gives red pepper its heat, could inhibit the growth of fat cells, says a new laboratory study.// If the results can be replicated in further studies, the results could see a strengthening of capsaicin in the weight management supplements market, currently estimated by Euromonitor International to be worth US$0.93bn (€0.73) in Europe in 2005 and $3.93bn in...

Extra Sleep can Boost Athletic Performance

A new study suggests that getting some extra sleep before a big game could improve energy and boost athletic performance. Researcher Cheri Mah and colleagues at Stanford University observed six healthy male college basketball players. They were told to maintain their usual sleeping habits for two weeks and in the following two weeks they were instructed to get as muc...

Wheat Germ Extract Inhibits Breast Cancer in Study

CHICAGO, A fermented wheat germ extract inhibits estrogen positive and estrogen negative breast cancer tumors better than the world's best selling cancer drug, Tamoxifen, according to research published this past weekend at the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, ASCO. The compound, Avemar, has been extensively studied in many cell lines, animal tumor models,...

Natural Pine Bark Extract Reduces Heart Failure Risk

A new study by has found that Pycnogenol -natural pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree - helps prevent damage that high blood pressure causes to the heart. The study was conducted at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Elderly female mice (18 months old) were randomly divided into four groups: control mice, mice receiving Pycnogenol only, mice receiving L-NAME only (...

Extra Time for Students With Learning Disabilities Does Not Skew SAT Scores

Requests for extended time are the most common but contentious accommodation requests made by students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or AD/HD taking college entrance and licensing exams. According to a new study in Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, students given extra time respond to exams similarly to average students under normal time constraints. According to my...