What does a new mother and an over the road truck driver have in common? Sleep deprivation! These are just a few of the many people that can definitely relate to desperately needing a good night’s sleep. But, did you know that if you take as little as one sleeping pill a year, you are putting yourself at a greater risk to develop cancer? And, even possibly to die an early death?
According to a new study released this week by the British medical publication BMJ Open, 6% to 10% of Americans who use prescription sleep aids are four times more likely to die early and to develop cancer, than those that don’t use the medications.
Sleeping pills linked to these risks included benzodiazepines such as temazepam; non-benzodiazepines such as Ambien (zolpidem), Lunesta (eszopiclone) and Sonata (zaleplon); barbiturates; and sedative antihistamines.
The increased rates kick in at really low levels too, the study says. For those prescribed as few as one to 18 sleeping pills in a year, deaths during the period of the new study were more than three and a half times greater than for those who got no such prescriptions, the study says. And for patients who took home the largest number of prescriptions for sleep aids–for more than 132 pills per year–the risk of death was five times greater than among those who appeared to take no sleep aids, according to the study.
To continue reading Sleep Aid Users More Likely To Develop Cancer & Die Early Claims Latest Study- BUT I’M SO TIRED!!
Did you know that overdosing on Tylenol (Acetaminophen) can actually be a life or death scenario? It actually claims the lives of about 500 people per year. Rapid detection and early treatment are key to preventing deadly liver damage or securing an organ transplant if the patient’s liver is too far gone.
But, would you believe that using math principles can potentially save the life of the individual that overdosed? Based on a group of mathematicians out of the University of Utah, they have put their special set of skills to use and developed a way to determine when the patient overdosed and how much damage there potentially is, using results from standard blood tests.
The findings provide further evidence that math has relevance in clinical settings with the potential to improve medicine and save lives, according to Fred Adler, U. math professor and co-author of a forthcoming study.
Adler, math doctoral student Chris Remien and their colleagues showed that using only four common medical lab tests – known as AST, ALT, INR and creatinine – the equations can quickly and accurately predict which Tylenol overdose patients will survive with medical treatment and which will die unless they receive a liver transplant.
To continue reading Mathematics Helps Determine Outcome For Tylenol Poisoned Patients
Sometimes people are faced with choosing the lesser of two evils- ask anyone that has voted in an election, and it’ll prove my point. But, what about when it comes to your health? Would you be comfortable taking a medication that you are given to treat a condition you have, knowing that you would ultimately have some pretty severe side effects? I’m not sure many would feel comfortable in doing so, unless it was a life or death situation. A recent study unfortunately shows people making this kind of decision all the time.
The study, is proving that patients who take one of the most widely prescribed drugs to treat HIV infection increase their risk of kidney damage by up to 34 percent every year they take the medication, according to the study.
The study, by the San Francisco VA Medical Center and published online earlier this month, is one of the largest to address the long-term risk of tenofovir, an antiretroviral drug that is taken daily, usually in a single pill combined with other drugs.
The study involved over 10,000 HIV-positive male and female veterans, The Chronicle reported. They had all started antiretroviral therapy from 1997 to 2007; 4,303 of those patients took Tenofovir at some point. According to the study, the risk of developing a symptom of kidney damage – protein in the urine, rapid decline in kidney function and chronic kidney disease – increased by 11 to 34 percent each year, and patients’ risk remained elevated even after they stopped taking it.
To continue reading New Study Links HIV Drug, Tenofovir, to Significant Kidney Damage Risk
A new study has found that aspirin works just as well as Plavix in preventing blood clots in people with clogged leg arteries. According to a report from HealthDay News, aspirin was not thought to be a good option for patients with a condition known as peripheral artery disease, because animal studies had indicated aspirin could block the growth of blood vessels that would help get more blood to leg tissue. But, now research is proving it to work just as well.
The study was conducted by researchers in Germany and Switzerland. It involved 229 patients who were randomly assigned either low-dose aspirin or Plavix. The efficacy of the drugs were compared by gauging how far and long patients could travel pain-free on one hour walks. Pain while walking is a common complaint of people with peripheral artery disease, and walking is a vital part of rehabilitation for those with the condition, HealthDay News explained.
In 12 weeks, aspirin patients in the study improved pain-free walking distance almost 40 percent and could walk 35 percent longer before pain made it too hard to continue. The Plavix group experienced a 33 percent improvement in walking distance and an almost 35 improvement in pain-free walking time.
To continue reading New Study Proves Aspirin Is As Good As Plavix Yet Without The Risks
We live in a society where a lot of people are overweight and obese. They say overall, half of the developed world is now overweight and one in six is obese, about double the numbers of 30 years ago.
It is an epidemic, among adults, as well as children. Fast food is so convenient and Americans live such a busy lifestyle that we cram that junk into our bodies without ever noting the consequences. We make excuses as to why we can’t make it to the gym, and we live in a fog of unreality, that we are immortal and the decisions that we are making won’t create problems for our bodies in the future. The list of excuses we make is exhaustive, and now we supposedly have another reason as to why we are such an overweight and unhealthy society- modern chemicals.
A new study reported in the Huffington Post, claims that exposure to even the smallest amounts of synthesized substances — used in everything from pesticides to water bottles — can scramble hormone signals, scientists say. This interference can trick fat cells into taking in more fat or mislead the pancreas into secreting excess insulin, a hormone that regulates the breakdown of fat and carbohydrates.
To continue reading New Study Gives Another Excuse As To Why Americans Are Obese And Claims Modern Chemicals Are To Blame
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