US Pharm. 2006;8:15.
Alzheimer's Patch May Become a
Reality in the
Researchers
from the Karolinska Institutet in Huddinge, Sweden, have been working with
scientists at UCLA in concert with Novartis on the development of a once-a-day
patch designed to deliver Novartis' drug Exelon (rivastigmine tartrate). The
Novartis drug is indicated for treatment of patients in the early to middle
stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) who exhibit mild to moderate symptoms.
Diabetes Drug May Help Treat AD
Recent
studies suggest that having diabetes increases the risk of AD, and in fact,
the two diseases may be intertwined. Data presented during the 10th
International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders showed
that the medication pioglitazone may hold promise in treating AD. Several
studies over the past decade have found that patients with type 2 diabetes are
twice as likely to develop AD, when compared to healthy people of the same age
and sex. It appears that the commonality between the two diseases is a protein
called amyloid that builds up in the pancreases of patients with
diabetes and in the brains of patients with AD.
The Eyes Have It
According
to a recent study in the journal Heart, checking the width of blood
vessels in the eyes could identify middle-aged people at increased risk of
dying from heart disease. The research was done at the University of Sydney,
where investigators used retinal photography to measure the diameter of the
small arteries and small veins in more than 3,600 men and women older than 49.
The theory is that the state of these arteries and veins generally reflects
that of smaller blood vessels throughout the body.
It's Not Just In Your Head
According to a study that was
recently published in JAMA, women 45 or older who experience migraine
with aura are at higher risk for heart attack, ischemic stroke, angina, and
death due to ischemic cardiovascular disease (CVD) than are women who do not
report a migraine history. However, the most common form of migraine, headache
without aura, was not associated with increased risk of any cardiovascular
event.
Marijuana May Be Linked to Cancer Growth
Although
the use of marijuana is illegal in the United States, researchers at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland estimate that more than 40% of
Americans 12 and older have tried it at least once. Given its widespread use,
Analyses of sputum and lung tissue performed
in some of these studies found more cancer-promoting changes in marijuana
smokers than in cigarette smokers or nonsmokers, including oxidative stress,
dysfunction of tumor-fighting cells, changes in tissue structure, and DNA
alterations. However, none of the studies directly showed that marijuana
smoking caused lung cancer.
U.S.Women
Uninformed About Lung Cancer
Despite
the increased publicity surrounding lung cancer and its devastating effect on
women specifically, a new survey finds that American women are generally
misinformed about lung cancer.
The survey, published by the National Lung
Cancer Partnership (NLCP), involved more than 500 women, and overall, it
revealed that only 41% of women know that lung cancer is the leading cancer
killer in the U.S. Less than one third of the women surveyed said they didn't
know that lung cancer kills more women than breast, ovarian, and uterine
cancers combined. The study also showed that about a quarter of the women
surveyed had the misconception that there is a standard screening test to
detect lung cancer in its early stages.
"Lung cancer is often perceived as a man's
disease, yet it affects tens of thousands of women, and we're very concerned
that women seem to be in the dark when it comes to the facts about lung cancer
and the significant impact lung cancer can have on their lives," said Dr. Joan
Schiller, president of NLCP.
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