If you are taking anti-arrhythmic medicine such as amiodarone (Cordarone), flecainide (Tambocor), sotalol (Betapace) and propefanone (Rhythmol), but still experience episodes of atrial fibrillation, what can you do?
A new study published at the Journal of Electrical Cardiology 2011 suggested acupuncture might be an effective option to prevent atrial fibrillation.
The study was conducted in Italy on 80 patients who have persistent atrial fibrillation.
Metastatic melanoma is the deadliest and most aggressive from of skin cancer. A person with metastatic melanoma typically has a short life expectancy that is measured in months.
The mainstay treatments for metastatic melanoma are dacarbazine (DTIC), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon (IFN). However, efficacies of these agents are not very good.
Less than one in four people are expected to be alive one year after diagnosis and every year there are an estimated 40,000 people worldwide die from this disease.
In the past, bevacizumab (Avastin) plus FOLFOX (leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) is the mainstay treatment for colorectal cancer patients with metastases (Stage IV). Even though the response rate of this regimen is impressive, less than 10% of Stage IV colorectal cancer patients live more than 5 years.
Now, a new study presented at the Society of Surgical Oncology 64th Annual Cancer Symposium suggested that adding radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to chemotherapy can extend survival rates in colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases.
The study randomized 119 patients with 9 or fewer unresectable colorectal liver metastases to receive either RFA+ chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone. In both groups, chemotherapy consisted of 10 cycles of FOLFOX plus bevascizumab.
Good news for fruits and vegetables lovers. Another study demonstrated that intake fruits and vegetables that are rich in anthocyanins—such as blueberries, strawberries, and blood oranges—might help prevent the development of hypertension.
Anthocyanins are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that are found in fruits and vegetables. They belong to a class of molecules called flavonoids. Flavonoids are also found in tea, red wine, and dark chocolate.
In the past, flavonoids have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, but there are no studies to date to show flavonoids can prevent hypertension.
Researchers at Stanford have previous shown that mice lacking vitamin D receptors have more skin cancer. In vitro studies have also shown that adding vitamin D to skin cancer cells sometimes reduces their growth.
Now, a new analysis suggests high-risk women who take Vitamin D and calcium supplements might have a lower risk of melanoma.
The researchers analyzed data from the Women’s Health Initiative study, which randomized 36,282 postmenopausal women to 400IU of vitamin D and 1000mg of calcium supplements or placebo and followed them for 7 years.
Artificially sweetened “diet” soda may not be the healthier alternative as many had hoped. A new study suggests diet soda may increase the risk of stroke, MI, and vascular death.
The researchers asked the drinking habit of 2,500 people and followed them for 9 years.
They found that people who had diet soda every day experienced a 61% higher risk of vascular events than those who reported drinking no soda.
Currently, there is no effective drug to treat atrial fibrillation (AF). Even using the most potent drug, amiodarone, only 50% of the AF patients can have their sinus rhythm maintained for a year. If you have been diagnosed with AF, how can you prevent atrial fibrillation from recurring?
A reported published American Journal of Cardiology indicated that obese patients face an increased rate of AF recurrence and AF burden (as measured by the number of follow-up visits when patients were in AF).
The investigators analyzed 2,500 AF patients in the AFFIRM trial to evaluate the relation of obesity (as determined by body-mass index, or BMI) to AF recurrence and AF burden.
Folate, also known as vitamin B9, is a water-soluble vitamin. The name of folate is derived from the Latin word folium, which means leaf. Folate is found naturally in green leafy vegetables, cereals, legumes and fruits, while folic acid is the synthetic form of the folate.
Epidemiological studies have shown that high folate intake may be associated with decreased risk of colon, pancreatic and esophageal cancers. Although some studies have also suggested an inverse association between folate intake and risk of breast, lung and stomach cancers, other studies reported no significant associations.
The study reported below is the latest study to evaluate the relationship between folate intake and cancer risk in Uruguay.
A new study suggested taking bisphosphonates for osteoporosis for more than a year may reduce the risk for colorectal cancer by 60%.
The results came from an analysis of postmenopausal women who took bisphosphonates, such as alendronate (Fosamax), for more than a year.
The investigators analyzed the impact of bisphosphonates in reducing colorectal cancer in 933 pairs of postmenopausal female cases and controls.
According to the data published by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), the United States has the seventh highest cancer rate in the world, according to new data published by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).
Of the 50 nations with the highest overall cancer rates in the world, Denmark is ranked number one while South Africa is at the bottom. Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, United States, Norway, Canada and Czech Republic are the other countries listed in the top ten countries with the highest cancer rates.
The high cancer rates in these countries are thought to be related to the unhealthy lifestyles such as alcohol consumption and being inactive. Denmark, for example, has a high rate of alcohol and tobacco consumption.
