Alicia Chang writing for the Associated Press reports that in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, “researchers analyzing toxin levels in tens of thousands of toenail clippings and determined that mercury from eating fish does not raise the risk of heart disease or stroke.” Good news for people who eat fish for the heart protective and arthritis protective effects.
Steve Sternberg writing in USA Today reported that “the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin can cause severe muscle damage…federal health officials stated. Catherine Larkin writing in Bloomberg News added, “The Food and Drug Administration revised the prescribing information of Zocor, chemically known as simvastatin, to say the 80-milligram dose of the medicine shouldn’t be used with certain other drugs or started in new patients, the agency said…in a statement. Merck’s Vytorin and Abbott Laboratories (ABT)’ Simcor, which contain simvastatin, will also add warnings.” Is the treatment worse than the disease?
Moderate To Intense Exercise May Reduce Risk Of Silent Strokes
Janice Lloyd writing in USA Today reported, “Older people who regularly exercise at moderate to intense levels may have a 40% lower risk of developing brain damage linked to ischemic strokes, certain kinds of dementia, and mobility problems,” according to a study published in the journal Neurology. The study found that “the MRIs of people who exercised at higher levels were significantly less likely to evidence of stroke. But, “regular light exercise… did not appear to decrease the risk for stroke.”
Opioid Use In Former NFL Football Players Higher Than National Average
Gabriel Miller writing in Pain Medicine News reported that nearly three-fourths of NFL players who used opioids for pain relief during their careers misused them, according to a recent study. According to the study, 7% of former players currently use opioids- nearly three times the rate of the general population and that of the players who misused or abused opioids during their career, 15% still do so during retirement. The study was published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
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.
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.
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.”
Thyroid Medication May Increase Risk Of Fractures In Elderly Patients.
The BBC News reported, “Many elderly people may be taking ‘excessive’ medication for their thyroid problems, increasing their fracture risk,” according to a study in the British Medical Journal. Although a “synthetic hormone, thyroxine, is given to people whose thyroid glands produce too little naturally,” Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe, of Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto, and colleagues, “say having too much boosts fracture risk and doses may need to be reduced as people age.”
Miranda Hitti writing in WebMD described a study from Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh. The lead researcher was Ryosuke Kuroda, MD, PhD and the research was published in Arthritis & Rheumatism. Kuroda’s team took stem cells from mouse muscles, placed the stem cells in chemical “glue,” and used the mixture on mice with knee injuries. They manipulated the stem cells’ genes to increase production of a bone-building protein called BMP-4. When mice with knee injuries got those stem cells, their knees healed better than other mice with the same injuries.
