Medpills news

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators cleared a new genetic test on Monday that helps predict tumor recurrence and long-term survival in breast cancer patients with higher risk of the cancer returning.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the new test, which uses fluorescent probes to detect the activity of genes that may portend increased tumor activity.

The agency cited study data from 767 patients in Denmark that showed the test was effective in estimating the time of a tumor recurrence and overall survival.

Prediction of tumor recurrence and overall survival can be a tool for doctors to guide more remote treatment, the FDA said.

The test is made by privately-held Dako Denmark A/S.

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LONDON (Reuters) - A glitch in the way cells clear damaged proteins could be the trigger for the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, researchers said in a finding that could lead to commencing treatments by reason of the incurable condition.

The U.S. team focused on a process called autophagy in which cells digest and recycle damaged molecules, including proteins, that develop as cells grow older.

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CHICAGO (Reuters) - People 60 and older who undergo elective surgery may be at higher risk of lasting memory problems, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

They said people 60 and older who have major surgeries such as joint replacements or hysterectomies are more likely to have cognitive problems after surgery.

And those who do are more likely to die in the first year after their surgery.

"We have known that patients undergoing heart surgery are at risk for cognitive dysfunction — problems with memory, concentration, processing of information — but the effects of non-cardiac surgeries on brain function are not as well-understood," said Dr.

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TUESDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) — The new Medicare prescription drug plan was largely responsible for an 18.7 percent increase in Medicare spending in 2006, that was double the increase in spending from the year before, U.S. health officials report.

In 2006, Medicare spending reached $401.3 billion, an increase from $338 billion in 2005, officials from the National Health Statistics Group at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, said.

"National extension of health-care spending in 2006 was slightly faster than in 2005, increasing 6.7 percent following growth of 6.5 percent," Cathy Cowan, an economist in the National Health Statistics Group at the U.S.

(Read the full post about ‘Medicare Drug Plan Fuels Health-Care Spending (HealthDay)’…)

TUESDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) — Improved diet, more exercise and the diabetes medication metformin can help people suffering with schizophrenia control the weight get more that typically accompanies their medications, a Chinese study suggests.

Three months of both medication and lifestyle change resulted in a loss of two centimeters around the waist as well as improvement in other health measures, so as insulin resistance, the researchers report in the Jan. 9/16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Metformin is typically prescribed to help control blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

(Read the full post about ‘Diabetes Drug May Cut Med-Related Weight Gain (HealthDay)’…)

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in China wish identified with reference to 400 genes that appear to make some people more easily addicted to drugs, opening the way for more effective therapies and addiction control.

Experts believe genetic factors account for up to 60 percent of a person's vulnerability to drug addiction, with environmental factors accounting for the remainder.

The researchers focused on four addictive substances — cocaine, opiate, alcohol and nicotine — and mapped out five main routes, or "molecular pathways," that lead to addiction, they wrote in the journal PLoS Computational Biology.

Figuring out pathways are important in the study of complex diseases as they narrow down the genes and proteins involved.

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PARIS (AFP) - Women who follow the famous Mediterranean diet while pregnant may also exist shielding their infant. from childhood anti-allergic/asthma and allergy, a study published on Tuesday says. (Read the full post about ‘Mediterranean diet in pregnancy wards off childhood asthma: study (AFP)’…)

LONDON (Reuters) - Children of women who eat a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits and vegetables while pregnant are far less likely to develop asthma or allergies later in life, Greek researchers said on Tuesday. (Read the full post about ‘Mediterranean diet wards off asthma, allergy: study (Reuters)’…)