Source: MedWire News Results from a simulation show that increasing adherence to statins by 25% would prevent substantially more cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related events and deaths than lowering current treatment thresholds. “In everyday practice, adherence to preventive medication for CVD is lower than in clinical trials and appears to decl...

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  How failed New Year's resolutions, debt and weather conditions lead to a peak in depression. Source: MSN Health Poets, publicists and psychiatrists all have their candidates for the bleakest time of the year. According to one equation devised by Dr. Cliff Arnall, a British researcher from Cardiff University, Jan. 18 is 2010’s most depre...

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  Initial concerns over Spiriva HandiHaler may be unfounded, agency says Source: Health Day News The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it found no good evidence that the Spiriva HandiHaler boosts heart risks in patients who use it to help control chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The announcement comes afte...

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Source: Bloomberg Strains of mutant HIV emerging in the U.S. and Europe threaten to undermine progress made in expanding access to treatment in poor countries, a study published online by the journal Science found. About 60 percent of drug-resistant HIV strains circulating in San Francisco can spur self-sustaining epidemics as patient...

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Using inhalers too often can actually make asthma worse, say scientists. Source: Telegragh.co.uk Common treatments like salbutamol cause the lungs to release harmful chemicals if taken too often - bringing on more attacks. Inhalers are meant to relieve symptoms by relaxing muscles in narrowed airways making breathing easier. But Professor P...

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Source: MedWire News Asthma patients who live in areas with high levels of air pollution are more likely to have uncontrolled asthma than those who live in less polluted areas, US research shows. Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Ying-Ying Meng (University of California, Los Angeles) and team explain: “The San Jo...

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  Source: MedWire News Simvastatin treatment is associated with an increase in bone mineral density (BMD) in hyperlipidemic individuals with osteopenia, results of a randomized controlled trial show. The investigators say their findings indicate that bone-building is a pleiotropic effect of statin therapy and support the adjuvant use of the...

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When Steven Seggi steps outside, his mom always makes sure he's breathing through a scarf. The 6-year-old Bellevue boy has asthma, and cold weather can trigger an attack. “When he goes out (it's like) he's in a bubble,”said Susan Seggi, his mother. Doctors are warning people with asthma about the potential dangers of low temperatures.   A...

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