Heavy Coffee Drinkers May Have Reduced Risk For Prostate Cancer
Nicole Ostrow writing in Bloomberg News reported that men who consumed “six or more” cups of regular or decaffeinated coffee also had a “60 percent lower risk of developing deadly metastatic prostate cancer,” and one to three cups “cut the risk of lethal prostate cancer by 30 percent.” The findings suggest “non-caffeine elements in coffee” may provide the benefit. Coffee contains “compounds that can reduce inflammation,” the study authors noted. According to Steven Reinberg in Healthday, lead researcher Kathryn Wilson, PhD, pointed out that coffee is a “major source of antioxidants that might have anti-cancer effects,”
Older Residents In Rural Areas More Likely To Have Certain Surgeries Than People In Cities.
Lindsey Tanner writing for the Associated Press reported, “A surprising study of nearly 46 million Medicare patients says older residents in rural areas are more likely to have any of nine common surgeries than people in cities.” The study, published in the Archives of Surgery, found that “back surgery, hip and knee replacements, and prostate removal were among the operations performed more often in rural Medicare patients.” The findings “seem to challenge the idea that city dwellers have better access to medical care, but experts say the research raises more questions than it answers.”
Increasing Milk Intake Will Not Significantly Reduce Risk For Hip Fracture.
Laura Dean writing in Medwire reported that, according to a study in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, increasing milk intake will not significantly cut a person’s risk for hip fracture. The study looking at both men and women found no correlation between milk intake and reduced risk for fractures of the hip.
John Martens writing in Bloomberg News reported, “Ablynx NV, the developer of drugs based on the antibodies found in llamas, said an experimental rheumatoid-arthritis medicine licensed to Pfizer was found effective in a mid-stage clinical study. Ablynx said in a statement that injections with “80 milligrams of ozoralizumab every four weeks reduced the incidence of swollen joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis after 16 weeks compared with placebo.”
Experts Note Lack Of Research On Pregnant Women With Physical Disabilities.
The Associated Press reported that “while the vast majority of women with disabling conditions appear to have healthy babies, specialists say far too little is known about moms’ risks of complications, their special needs and barriers to good care.” Over one “million women of childbearing age have a physical disability – meaning they report needing some sort of assistance with daily living because of such conditions as MS, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal cord injuries or cerebral palsy, says a recent report in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.” However, “when the National Institutes of Health convened experts to examine the issue, they couldn’t even find a good estimate of how many of those women give birth each year.”
Megan Brooks writing in Medscape Medical News reported “In patients with prior heart attack, most non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), even when taken for as little as one week, are associated with an increased risk for death and recurrent MI, new observational data indicate. Use of NSAIDs was associated with a 45 percent increased risk for death or recurrent heart attack in the first seven days of treatment and a 55 percent increased risk if treatment continued to three months. The findings were published in Circulation. “We found that short-term treatment with most NSAIDs was associated with increased and instantaneous cardiovascular risk,” stated first author Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen, MB, from Copenhagen University in Hellerup, Denmark.
RA Treatment With Rituximab May Carry Modest Risk Of PML.
Crystal Phend writing in MedPage Today reported, “Rheumatoid arthritis treatment with rituximab (Rituxan) carries a modest risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) at approximately one case per 25,000 individuals treated,” according to a study published online in the Archives of Neurology. “Four such cases in an estimated population of 129,000 exposed to rituximab for rheumatoid arthritis were reported by” the researchers.
Megan Brooks writing in Medscape Medical News reported “In patients with prior heart attack, most nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), even when taken for as little as 1 week, are associated with an increased risk for death and recurrent MI, new observational data indicate. Use of NSAIDs was associated with a 45% increased risk for death or recurrent heart attack in the first 7 days of treatment and a 55% increased risk if treatment continued to 3 months. The findings were published in Circulation. “We found that short-term treatment with most NSAIDs was associated with increased and instantaneous cardiovascular risk,” stated first author Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen, MB, from Copenhagen University in Hellerup, Denmark.
About Half Of Osteoporosis Patients Find The Decision To Take Medication After Fragility Fracture “Difficult.”
Laura Dean writing in Medwire reported, “Just under half of osteoporosis patients find the decision to take medication following a fracture is not an easy one,” according to a study in the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. For the study, researchers “conducted an analysis among six men and 15 women aged 65-88 years, who had sustained a fragility fracture within the previous five years.” Nine subjects “reported greater difficulty making their decision; they needed time to think and took several factors into consideration when making their choice. The team observed that these patients were unconvinced by their healthcare provider, engaged in risk-benefit analyses using other information sources, and were concerned about side effects.”
Whew: In my mind, after seeing the pain of an osteoporosis related fracture and knowing these fractures can lead to nursing home placement and death, I don’t understand the findings of this study.
Approximately 58,000 Patients Every Year In US May Wake Up With Stroke Symptoms.
Mary Brophy Marcus writing in USA Today reported, “One in seven strokes happens at night, and sufferers may not get medicine that could prevent brain damage, suggests a new study” published in Neurology. Investigators “analyzed data from 1,854 patients over 18 who had been treated in hospital emergency departments in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky over the course of a year for ischemic strokes.” The researchers “found that 273 patients experienced wake-up strokes.”
