High-dose flu vaccines appear to safely boost immunity in elderly
High-dose influenza vaccines may increase elderly patients' immune response without significant adverse effects, offering this vulnerable population additional protection against the flu, according to an article in the May 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Vaccines containing inactivated influenza virus have been available for 50 years to prevent...Experimental RNA-based drug kills prostate cancer cells effectively and safely
Acting as a genetic Trojan horse, an experimental RNA-based drug -- the first of its kind -- tricks its way into prostate cancer cells and then springs into action to destroy them, while leaving normal cells unarmed. The drug, developed at Duke University Medical Center, uses one type of genetic material, called targeting RNA, to enter cancer cells, and another type, called silencing RNA,...HIV infected patients can travel safely abroad
Many HIV infected patients, apart from suffering the social neglect and being unwanted even by near and dear ones have this major handicap - they just can’t travel like the other people - wherever they want and whenever they want. Some people just avoid having HIV infected co passengers. Others are just indifferent. Leaving the ethical issues aside, it is very difficult for these victims...Higher Statin Dose Safely Reduces Stroke and Cardiac Arrest
Research shows that lowering LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) to below 100 milligrams per deciliter by increasing the dosage of a // cholesterol-lowering drug is safe and results in fewer cardiovascular events. The study included 10,000 heart disease patients. They initially took 10 milligrams of atorvastatin (Lipitor) a day to get their LDL-cholesterol levels down to 130 milligrams...Elderly people with chronic pain can use narcotics safely
Scientists have reported that use of narcotics for chronic pain in elderly works, as they are less likely to //ask for increasing the dose. On the other hand, the use of the drug for younger adults may lead to constant increase in the dosage with serious health repercussions. The drugs in question are opioid pain medications like morphine, methadone and oxycodone. Opioid drugs are us...Laparoscopic surgery can be safely employed for radical resection of cancer
According to the randomized trial published in Lancet Oncology, laparoscopic surgery// could be safely employed for radical resection of cancer in the right, left, and sigmoid colon. The multicenter COLOR (COlon cancer Laparoscopic or Open Resection) trial had explored the short-term benefits of laparoscopic colectomy for cancer as against open surgery. 627 patients had been assigned...Researchers Begin Study To Find Out If Angioplasty Can Be Safely Done In Smaller Hospitals
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have launched a nationwide study in USA to see if the procedures of angioplasty can be safely performed in smaller hospitals. The study will enroll of more than 16,000 patients to see if a potentially life-saving angioplasty //can be safely performed in smaller, community hospitals, easing access to the therapy for patients. Researchers expect to enroll th...