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Risk
of MI tops during first two weeks of COX-2 use
MONTREAL —
The risk of heart attack resulting from use of the COX-2
inhibitor rofecoxib occurs much earlier than originally
believed, according to new research by a team from the
McGill University Health Centre published in the CMAJ
online on May 2. "A quarter of individuals in our study
who suffered an acute myocardial infarction did so within
two weeks of their first [...] prescription," said lead
author Dr Linda Levesque. Her group also found that
patients' risk of heart attack actually decreased the
longer they stayed on the drug, and returned to normal
a month after they stopped taking meds.
The
machine says I'm full
MINNEAPOLIS —
Implantable appetite-suppressing devices are the latest
tool physicians are turning to in the fight against
obesity. A host of companies are working feverishly
to be the first to market the technology. Medtronic
is working on a battery-powered gastric pacemaker that
causes the stomach to contract and send signals of satiety
to the brain. The Mayo Clinic has teamed with another
company, Enteromedics, to develop a similar device.
Their implant tries to inhibit nerve function by using
electrical currents to numb the vagus nerve. Preliminary
study results were disappointing, but both companies
are hopeful future research will prove their machines'
mettle.
Suicide
skyrockets in seniors on SSRI antidepressants
TORONTO —
Seniors on SSRIs are almost five times more likely to
take their own lives than those taking other antidepressants
according to research out of Toronto's Institute for
Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Previous studies showed
an increased risk of suicide in adolescents taking SSRIs,
but this is the first to look at the effects in adults.
Lead author Dr David Juurlink and his team studied data
from 1.2 million Ontario residents over 66, of which
1,329 took their own lives. Surprisingly, the risk of
suicide was five times greater in the first month of
treatment for patients on SSRIs than those on other
meds. Still, Dr Juurlink stressed the "hazards of undertreatment
almost certainly outweigh the risks of therapy."
63-year-old
UK doc preggers
EAST SUSSEX, UK
— A 63-year-old child psychiatrist is seven
months pregnant with a baby boy. The long-menopausal
Dr Patricia Rashbrook decided to employ maverick Italian
fertility clinician Dr Severino Antinori in order to
have the child. She refuses to divulge the nature of
the procedure, but she and her husband released the
following statement: "We wish to emphasize that this
has not been an endeavour undertaken lightly or without
courage."
Lost
that lovin' feeling? Blame androgen-deficiency
CHICAGO —
As many as two-thirds of women who suffer from sexual
dysfunction may have low androgen levels, said researchers
in a presentation at the 15th Annual Meeting and Clinical
Congress of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
at the end of April. About 43% of all women between
18-59 suffer from some sort of sexual dysfunction, usually
loss of libido. There are no approved androgen replacements
for women on the market. But androgen drugs have been
shown to increase sex drive in men.
Mum's
vitamin D intake linked to healthy baby weight
MONTREAL —
Pregnant women with low amounts of vitamin D in their
diets are more likely to have smaller babies, say a
team of researchers from McGill University. Their study,
published in the April 25 CMAJ, found that mums-to-be
who drank little fortified milk or had low vitamin D
intake gave birth to infants more than four ounces lighter
than women with adequate vitamin D intake. Interestingly,
even though milk is the usual source of the vitamin,
neither protein or calcium intake predicted birth weight.
But each extra microgram of vitamin D translated into
a small weight gain in newborns.
Blood
clots & dementia linked
MANCHESTER —
By treating and preventing blood clots in the brain,
doctors may be able to prevent Alzheimer's and other
dementias, according to research published online April
28 in the BMJ. Investigators detected spontaneous
cerebral emboli in 40% of patients with Alzheimer's
disease and 37% of those with vascular dementia. They
admit that the research is still preliminary but they're
overjoyed by the fact that these results suggest that
dementia may be potentially preventable or treatable.
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