New generation oral contraceptives run a greater risk of causing blood clots

By jeremyc | June 6, 2011

Birth control pills, also known as oral contraceptives are an important part of many adult women’s lives. But according to a latest study report published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) it has been found that birth control pills which contain the hormone drospirenone are likely to cause blood clots twice as much as the pills that contain the hormone levonorgestrel.

The latter birth control pills are the older versions of the contraceptives while the former ones are the newer versions. These newer versions were launched in the market in 2006. Some of the names of the newer versions of the contraceptives are Yaz, Yasmin, Zarah and Ocella while Jolessa, Seasonique and Seasonale are some of the brandnames of the older version of the contraceptives.

Statistically speaking this report translates into:

This above mentioned statistic is only about the cases studied in the United States. In Great Britain, the statistic total was like this:

This means a likelihood developing blood clots increase by nearly 2.7 times in women taking the contraceptives with the hormone drospirenone as compared tothose who take contraceptives containing the levonorgestrel hormone.

Apart from blood clots, the woman taking the contraceptives with the hormone drospirenone also have a huge possibility of experiencing pulmonary embolisms (clot in the lungs) and thrombosis of the veins. Both of these conditions are potentially fatal.

It was always known for a fact that oral contraceptive pills have certain adverse effects on women. But this study report is quite revealing and puts a completely different perspective on the subject of oral contraceptives.

However, even as this report was being published the producer of the contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin – Bayer – came out vehemently opposing the report. According to Bayer, the contraceptives are tested before they are put into the market and their steady use by women from the time the pills were launched, are proof that there are no side effects to the pills.

But irrespective of whether the statements made by the drug producers are true or not, women across the nation will definitely think twice before going for a pill that could most probably cause them serious health problems.

Topics: Birth Control | No Comments »

Misdiagnosis causes complications from Lyme disease

By jeremyc | June 6, 2011

At times it so happens that there is a huge error on the part of doctors by way of misdiagnosis of a certain disease. Lyme disease is one such medical problem that has often been misdiagnosed by doctors and has ended up causing many unwanted long term effects for the affected people.

Lyme disease is caused by ticks – also known as deer ticks, as they are found on the body of deer. However such ticks are also found on the bodies of rodents. The symptoms of the disease are quite similar to the routine flu. Fever, headache, body ache, muscle pain and extreme tiredness are the initial symptoms. What is even more alarming is that more often than not the tell-tale mark of the disease a red rash surrounding the area where the tick has bitten the person is often missing.

The absence of this mark and the lack of conclusive tests often mislead doctors and make them commit an error in diagnosis. By the time the doctor and the patient both realize the actual disease it becomes too difficult for the patient. The antibiotics do not work because of the delay and the patient stands a huge chance of facing problems like arthritis and neurological difficulties.

Various recommendations have come up in order to prevent the spread of Lyme disease through deer tick bite, the most important one being that people should avoid bushy areas where the insects usually thrives. Moreover, one should tuck in one’s pants into boots while going to such bushy areas or any other area which is known to be tick-infested. This will prevent the biting of ticks and thereby lessen the chances of occurrence of Lyme disease. Using repellents to ward off these insects is also a good option. Finally, one should regularly check for signs of tick bites in the common areas in one’s body, especially those areas where ticks are most likely to bite. Armpits, back of the knees, head and scalp are the areas that people need to check so as to prevent the tick from sticking on to the skin following these preventive steps can help one from falling prey to Lyme disease.

Though Lyme disease is not fatal its misdiagnosis causes unnecessary problems for the patient – both in terms of health and expenditure. For this reason alone there needs to be a proper testing procedure to make sure that the patient’s care is taken right at the onset of the disease’s occurrence.

Topics: General Health News | No Comments »

Merck’s shares are on the rise as Victrelis is set for the big launch

By jeremyc | June 3, 2011

Putting all the apprehensions to rest Merck has finally managed to get a green signal from federal regulators and is on the verge of launching their anti-viral drug for Hepatitis C Victrelis (boceprevir). This will be the a new drug in 20 years for Heaptits C— something after which all the major companies including Johnson & Johnson and Roche Vertex were in the race for.

Victrelis is prescribed to patients with minimal liver functions, both for patients who are new to such treatments or for those who have failed to get any result from earlier treatments. The treatment expands over a period of 24 weeks. Barr, a Merck executive, was of the opinion that the cure for hepatitis C will evolve in the same path as HIV medicines. “What we’re working toward is getting new drugs that attack the virus in different places and then we’re going to combine those drugs,” he said. All the competitor companies are also looking forward to developing combination therapies.

Around 3.2 million Americans—two-thirds of them being ageing baby boomers —and about 170 million worldwide suffer from chronic hepatitis C that ends in liver cirrhosis and cancer. The existing treatment procedures with drugs such as peginterferon alfa and ribavirin are capable of curing only about half the patients.

The hepatitis C virus enters the human body through blood transfusion, organ transplant that was prevalent before 1992, intravenous drug use or sexually transmission (less probable). A person infected with hepatitis C may not be aware of it unless the virus starts acting on the liver. No vaccine is available for it and people get aware of it mostly through lab tests or while buying insurance policies.

Earlier treatment procedures included administering protease inhibitors to patients. These are enzymes that block the virus from multiplying. Further protease inhibitors such as ribavirin and interferon boost immune system so that it can destroy the virus. The treatment was carried on for 6 months at the end of which the virus was not detectable in 40% of the victims while the remaining had continuous virological responses. However, these two drugs do not have uniform effects and are full of side effects.

Merck’s mission was to go for oral therapy that would not require the use of interferon. It was found that Victrelis cures more patients over a shorter time frame and as a result FDA approved the new drug after two trials carried by a panel of 18 members. During the trials more than 65% patients were cured when ribavirin and interferon were combined with victrelis. Victrelis is prescribed thrice a day with meal and it has minimal side effects like fatigue,anaemia, nausea, headache.

In all probability victrelis will be available in pharmacies within a few weeks as assured by Pamela Eisele, the company’s spokeswomen. Victrelis sales are expected to reach somewhere between $800 million to $1 billion as per an estimation. Merck’s share rose from 17 cents to $37.08. On the other hand, Vertex which is waiting patiently for FDA’s green signal for its version of boceprevir, lost 95 cents.

Topics: General Prescription Drugs News | No Comments »

Memory loss is not the only symptom of Alzheimer’s

By jeremyc | June 3, 2011

In a latest study published in Journal Neurology, a Spanish research group showed that Alzheimer’s disease is not limited to memory loss as its early sign. Early symptoms also include disparity in behavior, language and vision problems. The chances of misdiagnosis are even greater in people who develop this disease before 60. This is because such patients exhibit all symptoms other than memory loss. In fact, the fact that doctors consider loss of memory to be the only initial symptom for Alzheimer’s disease is becoming a major cause of misdiagnosis.

The research was based on a study comprising of 40 corpses from the Neurological Tissue Bank, University of Barcelona hospital. To the surprise of the researchers the autopsy revealed that all of them had Alzheimer’s disease before death. Ages of the patients when the first sign started showing and also the family history of those people were recorded. The study stresses the importance of proper diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease at the onset so the future developments can be stopped in time.

The team of researchers went through the medical records of these patients to determine how accurately Alzheimer’s disease was diagnosed in them. As it turned out in many cases the doctors mistook the symptoms for another type of brain disease because there was no visible sign of memory loss in them. Out of 40 patients, 53%were wrongly diagnosed in their first visit to the doctor and it was found to be unlikely that they had been correctly diagnosed before their death.

Dr. Stephen Rao, an Alzheimer’s specialist from Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, correctly notes the probable reasons behind such gross misdiagnosis—” The initial symptoms ( of Alzheimer’s)may actually not be memory problems, but they can be difficulties with personality change or they can be in other cognitive domains, such as language, visual or spatial processes.”

Alzheimer’s is a disease that generally sets after mid-age and affects the brain leading to memory loss and disrupts one’s normal thought process and behavior. Though it takes time to develop the disease slowly turns for the worse with time. In America about 5.4 million people are presently suffering from Alzheimer’s disease out of which only 5% had an early onset of the disease that started before 65.

Correct diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is very difficult so the researchers these days are on the look for different biomarkers to diagnose it without waiting for the autopsy -the current gold standard.

Topics: Alzheimer's/Dementia | No Comments »

Landmark study promises to make HIV less infectious.

By jeremyc | May 30, 2011

In a path breaking invention scientists have come up with certain drugs that could make HIV less infectious. The result was satisfying enough for the panel to recommend the release of the drug four years before its scheduled time.

The study was carried on couples— 3% of whom were homosexuals. One half was sent for immediate antiretroviral treatment based on a random process of selection while the infected partners from other group were treated at a later stage. The couples were given free condoms and other free preventive measures after being counseled on the disastrous effect of HIV. Surprisingly, a fairly healthy immune system was noted in the HIV infected partners.

The researchers found 27 people were infected with the virus that could be genetically linked to the infected partner in the group and the infection occurred at a time when the victims were not under antiretroviral drugs. In the group that was treated immediately only one had an infection that could be transferred genetically. A comparison of the two groups revealed that those already under antiretroviral drugs were 96.3% less likely to get infected with the virus. However, since 97% of the couples were heterosexuals the result could not be successfully generalized for homosexuals.

Earlier, between 2005 and 2007 three large clinical trials were conducted randomly in 14 African countries that showed circumcision can reduce chances of having HIV by 60%. According to this ratio the process is capable of averting one fifth of adult infections that is likely to spread within 2025.

However, given that 60% of African women are victims of HIV, circumcision alone would not help the cause. In such cases a vaginal gel with the AIDS drug tenofovir has been found to be capable of lowering the rate of HIV transmission by 39%. Consistent use of the gel can reduce chances of getting infected by half. But the gel is not as full proof as vaginal rings that do away with virus blocking drug for a month or even more.

Certain behavioral methods or combination prevention like condom promotion and having fixed sexual partner can also prove to be major steps in the mission to control this epidemic. However, the hardships involved in implementing such awareness programs include difficult settings, lack of decent health care systems and poor education level.

However, the research shows that awareness is the best form of prevention. At this juncture the main obstacle that the global committee is facing seems to be a crisis of funds, the dearth of which has led to a failure in providing treatment to people with advanced AIDS symptoms as well as people in the initial stages of the disease.

In such a scenario going for an immediate treatment seems to be the safest option. More so, because the study proved that people who went directly for treatment were at a lower risk of developing a form of tuberculosis. The effect of immediate treatment is all the more significant given the fact that the newly affected group tends to be more infectious as they possess huge amount of virus and they are the hardest to identify.

Antiretroviral drugs readily suppress the HIV curbing the chances of spreading of the virus from people under treatment. Researchers suggest that if the amount of HIV in a community drops due to preventive conduct, the ‘community viral load’ decreases. This evidence has in fact forced China to modify its AIDS strategy.

The future, however, doesn’t seem to be so bleak as researchers in the US have invented a new vaccine that protects 13 of 24 rhesus macaques against the HIV equivalent of monkey. After taking the vaccine 12 of them were still protected even after a year. The vaccine which contains rhesus cytomegalovirus (CMV) protects against simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). It stimulates the production of effector memory T -cells that remains in the body undefeated long after destruction of an infection. The vaccine destroyed all SIV in the monkeys.

This brings in a new hope as such a vaccine can be prescribed to stop HIV from spreading by initiating a strong immune response theory. However, the main problem lies in generating a virus which is capable of producing or retaining effector memory T-cells as part of the body immune system but does not have the capacity to infect people.

Topics: HIV/AIDS | No Comments »

Going for angioplasty? Check again!

By jeremyc | May 30, 2011

A major focus of the President Obama administration was to introduce health care reform bills. Though the move has drawn enough flak for the government the findings of a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association seem to point out the need for such a law. The study which included more than 1,000 US hospitals shows that more than half of the people suffering from stable heart diseases are sent for an immediate invasive heart procedure namely percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) before giving them any drugs. However, it has been found that drug therapy would in most cases have the desired effect and operative procedures would not be necessary at all.

Over 1 million Americans undergoes PCI every year paying $10,000 more than they would have had to pay had they been put on drug therapy. The usual cost of PCI is around $40,000. In spite of having certain benefits over drug therapy PCI is not devoid of side effects like stroke, need for an emergency bypass surgery or even death. On the other hand, good medication is not only better at treating coronary diseases it is also cheaper and relatively free of side effects. However, the common belief among patients opting for PCI is that it can cut down chances of heart attack. Whereas.

In coronary diseases, cholesterol plaques tend to narrow the arteries limiting the supply of blood flow to the heart. This causes chest pain and other problems during physical movements. During angioplasty a thin plastic tube is inserted into the heart via artery. An inflated balloon is attached to the tip of the tube that disintegrates the plaque with the help of metal mesh tube or stent and helps to keep the artery open. The study observed that even after taking angioplasty a third of the patients are not put on optimal medical therapy.

The same journal had published another eye-opening trial— COURAGE (headed by Dr. Borden) in the year 2007. The trial had divided 2,287 patients with stable heart disease into two groups. While medical therapy was applied on one group, patients in the other group had taken angioplasty followed by medical therapy comprising of drugs like beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors and diuretics to reduce blood pressure and aspirin and blood thinners to prevent clotting. The patients of both the groups suffered from same number of strokes and heart attacks after treatments. However, the only difference was that the first group had frequent manageable chest pains or angina.

A follow up of the same trial showed that among the 211 out of 467 patients who had received PCI  between September 2005 and June 2009, 37.1% of them PCI before the trial. 62.9% underwent the treatment after the result of the trial was published even though the trial had failed to find much difference in results in the two groups.

Needless to say, patients need to be more aware about treatment procedures and should always consult a physician before opting for any treatment method. Also doctors need to give a second thought before putting their patients through angioplasty.

Topics: Cardiovascular, Heart | No Comments »

Frequent business travels can affect your health, a study finds out

By jeremyc | May 25, 2011

That frequent business travels can take a toll on your health has once again been proved by a study which took place at the Columbia University. The research that involved 13,000 employees who travel places for their work found that most of the employees often complain of stressful condition that travelling for business brings forth.

Catherine Richards and Andrew Rundle from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, who also happen to be the authors of the study, write that out of the total employees 80% travel between 1 to 6 nights per month, while the remaining 20% spend more than 20 nights a month on the road. Among these 80% employees only 1% belongs to the group of extensive travelers. According to the researchers the employees who need to travel for their work exhibited deteriorations in their health conditions depending on the numbers of nights they have to spend travelling. The greater the number of nights spent travelling bigger is the risk involved.

It was found that severe health problem was a common phenomenon among this group of frequent travelers. It was noted that extensive travelers score fair or poor on health conditions while the other group comes with much more positive ratings. A large percentage—about 92%–of the extensive travelers was found to be obese and have high blood pressure and cholesterol. Distorted sleep, unhealthy diet regime and long intervals of idleness were found to be the root causes of the problem.

The life of the business travelers with their business class seats, air conditioned cars and luxurious hotels are often projected as epitome of comfort but in reality the appointment stresses, coupled with packed work schedules and difficult job demands deteriorate health conditions for many.

The researchers, hence, advise business travelers to take proper care of their health. Keeping in mind the harmful consequences of such stressful and frequent travelling, such employees need to work towards adopting a healthier lifestyle. The researchers recommend a few ways to do so, such as the employees can check into hotels with gym facilities and healthy food supply during their visits abroad. This can be easily done as employees can access reimbursements provided by the employers. Stress management workshops may be a helpful option as well in order to cope up with the work pressure. The researchers in the end unanimously agree that this issue deserves better and serious attention.

Topics: General Health News | No Comments »

Forget dreams now stroke may haunt your sleep: Study

By jeremyc | May 25, 2011

A recent study by the American Academy of Neurology reveals that 14% of strokes happen when people are asleep thereby reducing their chances of reaching hospitals in time for treatment. Immediate medical attention is critical for the survival of a patient experiencing a stroke and ideally treatment should be started within a few hours of the first symptoms. But for people who wake up with ischemic stroke symptoms it gets extremely difficult to locate the exact hour at which the stroke happened. This makes it impossible to administer tPA to such patients and the neurologic deficits attain a higher chance of gaining permanence. tPA cannot be administered once a specified of interval of time has passed since the start of the stroke as doing so causes bleeding and often ends up deteriorating the patient’s condition. Such strokes are, however, not at all considered to be uncommon. According to cardiologists, the strokes usually happen just prior to awakening. . People beyond their middle ages are more prone to this kind of strokes.

The researchers arrived at the conclusions of the study by examining the medical graphs of 1,854 adults who were ischemic stroke survivors in the past year and could reach the emergency rooms in and around Cincinnati. Only 14% of them had stroke symptoms when they woke up, and 98 of them would have easily made for tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), a blood clot bursting drug, only if the doctors were able to pin point the exact time of the attack.

Dr. Mackey, researcher at the University of Cincinnati and the co-author of the study, is of opinion that 58,000 people suffer every year from this kind of stroke.”Imaging studies are being conducted now to help us develop better methods to identify which people are most likely to benefit from the treatment, even if symptoms started during the night,” Mackey was quoted saying.

For patients who cannot remember the time of stroke or the first symptom there are several other provisions for treatment. Many hospitals are equipped with scanners that show any remaining brain tissues which is not completely dead and may be salvaged for good. Catheter can also be used to remove clots. Advanced technologies in certain emergency rooms are also used to determine whether immediate treatment will be of any value.

However, the thing to be noted—as the finding of the study indicate–is that if one experiences stroke-like symptoms such as vision problems, slurred speech, or paralysis of muscles, he/she should dial 911 immediately and reach for medical help at the earliest. Waiting for other symptoms to appear or the neurological deficits to vanish or to become less groggy is definitely not the smartest thing to do.

Topics: Stroke | No Comments »

Despite efforts rise in health care costs continues

By jeremyc | May 24, 2011

American families are bothered by health costs that have doubled over the last nine years and show no sign of decreasing in the future.

The basic employer sponsored health insurance which covers a family of four faces a rise of $8,008 this year from $ 3,634 in 2002 leading to $84 a week increase in the budgets for health care per family. Compared to the price rise in other consumer sectors, the rise in health care costs may be slow but the graph is much higher, showed a survey by the Milliman Inc, a global consulting and actuarial firm, carried out on 4,000 employees of the United States.

The survey showed that even though the employers covers most of the health care costs for the families employees had to shell out 40% from their own account .Out of a total expense of $1,319, employers gave $641 while the rest  was paid by the workers which makes an average increase of $403 in payrolls  and  $275 on extra expenditure.

In 2011 the money spent for the health care of a family along with the employer’s contribution is $19,393while in 2002 it was around $9,235. It also shows a 7% growth compared to 2010.This is undoubtedly more than what they pay is in other consumer sectors.

The rise in  the costs are mainly due to rise in the price of drugs by 4% as well as the rise in fees structure of the doctors that takes 33% of a family’s total health costs. 90% increase in health costs can be blamed on unit costs and the rest 10% on increase in utilization. As a result outpatient facility expenses increased by 10% in 2011 while inpatients faced a growth of 8.6% on an average.

In order to reduce their expenditures employers are now forcing employees to buy health plans with higher deductibles having co-insurance and co-payments limits. The hidden health care costs now have amounted to $ 363 billion. The newly introduced laws, too, proved to be inefficient in having an immediate impact on the rising trends. The National Healthcare scheme that ventured to cover all uninsured people was also unsuccessful.

Moreover, the total amount of health costs varies region to region and  it is not  an aggregate for all health care plans. Out of 14 areas of study, Miami was the highest cost city with an average of $23,362 spent on health care followed by New York with $22,785 and Chicago with $21,996. Phoenix with an average of $17,336, Atlanta with $18,292 and Seattle with $18,536 featured at the bottom of table. According to Chris Girod, a Milliman principal and consulting actuary, “These cost differences result from variation in local practice patterns and from differing costs for health care goods and services.”

The Milliman release seems to highlight the need for proper economic and financial functioning of the health care system in the country. Introduction of new reforms without lifetime benefit limits and co-pays on preventive care were successful in changing rules when payment of health care costs were considered but failed to generate any impact on care costs.

Topics: General Health News | No Comments »

Can your caffeine carvings really lower your risks of breast cancer?

By jeremyc | May 24, 2011

A recent study by Swedish researchers has revealed that women consuming more than five cups of coffee everyday are less prone to breast cancer as coffee increases the blood levels of phytoestrogen enterolactone. Women in post menopausal stage with breast cancer were found to have 0.43 times higher risks of estrogen-receptor (ER) negative cancers than those of the same age group without breast cancer who drank more than five cups daily.

To prove his point Dr. Per Hal, a professor in the medical epidemiology and biostatistics department at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, along with his co-researchers carried a study on 2,818 patients with breast cancers (that were classified by ER tumor types) and 3,111 people without it, all belonging to an age group of 50 to 70 years, essentially Swedish and living in Sweden between October 1993 and 31st March 1995. The data collected was based on regular quantity of coffee intake by the subjects and other factors like education, family history of breast cancer, age of menopause, weight, reproductive history, smoking and drinking habits, and regular exercising patterns.

ER negative breast cancers do not respond much to hormone treatments as compared to ER positive breast cancer. ER negatives are breast cancer cells having no receptor for estrogen (the proteins hanging on the outer surface of the cells capable of attaching hormones present in the blood are called receptors). The moment estrogen attaches the receptors encourage a rapid growth of breast cancer cells.

Jingmei Li, another researcher from the Karolinska Institute echoes the same views as Hal. He upholds the revelation found in the study that drinking coffee reduces breast cancer risks by up to 20% depending on the age. Patients suffering from ER negative cancer may experience 57% less chances of cancer. But these reductions may also be dependent on other factors such as education level, drinking habits and use of hormone therapy.

However, the beneficial effects of coffee can be conflicting at times. Operating within the same parameters Dr. Per Hal and his group found the relationship to become fragile when the results were compared with the German counterpart of the study. The data though exhibited a similar pattern. The weakness may be attributed to innumerable factors including processes through the coffee has been prepared or the quality of bean used.

Also, the findings of the study are in direct contradiction to a research published in 2008 which showed that frequent drinking of coffee increases the risk of ER negative cancers.

Hence it is yet to be ascertained if coffee can indeed protect against breast cancer. Also, the reason behind such protection, if true, is not clear. The reason is definitely not the presence of phytoestrogens as  no reduction is noted when it comes to the ER-positive cancer.

Topics: Breast cancer | No Comments »

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