Over-the-counter cold and flu medicines can affect your heart
As the cold and flu season continues this year, it is important to be aware that many of the most commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) remedies for congestion, aches, pains, and low-grade fevers contain medicines that can have harmful effects on the cardiovascular system. Chief among these medications are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and decongestants. NSAIDs and your heart Certain NSAIDs are associated with a small increase in the relative risk for developing a heart attack, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, increased blood pressure, and blood clots. NSAIDs relieve pain and inflammation by inhib...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 20, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Mark Benson, MD, PhD Tags: Cold and Flu Drugs and Supplements Health Heart Health Source Type: blogs

NSAIDs: How dangerous are they for your heart?
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly referred to as NSAIDs, are one of the most common medications used to treat pain and inflammation. Ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin, and other NSAIDs are effective across a variety of common conditions, from acute musculoskeletal pain to chronic arthritis. They work by blocking specific proteins, called COX enzymes. This results in the reduction of prostaglandins, which play a key role in pain and inflammation. There are two types of NSAIDs: nonselective NSAIDs and COX-2 selective NSAIDs (these are sometimes referred to as “coxibs”). There has been a growing body of evide...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 7, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christian Ruff, MD, MPH Tags: Drugs and Supplements Health Heart Health Source Type: blogs

Are you taking too much anti-inflammatory medication?
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling You might call them pain relievers. You might take them for back pain, headache, or arthritis. Your doctor calls them “NSAIDs,” which stands for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Whatever you call them and for whatever reason you take them, NSAIDs are among the most popular medications worldwide. In fact, estimates suggest that about 15% of the US population takes an NSAID regularly (including those that are over the counter and prescription strength). Along with sporadic users, more than 30 billion doses are taken each year. Some of the most common NSAIDs include ibuprofen (as in...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 2, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Back Pain Drugs and Supplements Headache Health Injuries Pain Management Source Type: blogs

Opioids in the household: “Sharing” pain pills is too common
This study alone identified almost six million people, and even this underestimates the problems because the study excluded patients with a cancer diagnosis or who were in hospice. Off the top of my head, I can think of multiple cases where I suspected or was told outright that others were using a hospice patient’s pain pills. I asked the study author, Marissa J. Seamans, PhD, about why they excluded these patients. “Because opioids are indicated for patients diagnosed with malignancy or in hospice care, we excluded them to more easily identify comparable NSAID patients,” she explained. While this made the comparison...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 22, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Addiction Drugs and Supplements Health Pain Management Source Type: blogs

Acupressure App – Does it really alleviate menstrual cramps?
The media is abuzz over a study reporting that use of a cell phone app to train women in self-acupressure is effective as pain medication for treating menstrual cramps. The Android app is called AKUD and is written in German, so unless du sprichst Deutch, it won’t do you much good. But let’s ignore that for now. Here’s the study intervention: The study intervention Participants received a menstrual tracking App that included instructions on acupressure for cramp relief. They also got one-on-one instruction on the location of specific acupressure points and use of acupressure using drawings and video. Th...
Source: The Blog That Ate Manhattan - December 12, 2017 Category: Primary Care Authors: Margaret Polaneczky, MD Tags: Alternative Medicine Women's Health app cell phone menstrual cramps Source Type: blogs

One Barely Noticed Settlement by Pfizer Suggests the Futility of Polite Protests about Health Policy
A few days ago we noticed just one more marcher in theparade of legal settlements.  But it was once again a huge health care corporation, and it had aspects that demanded attention.Pfizer Makes $94 Million Settlement of Allegations of Fraud to Delay Generic CompetitionA tinyitem in Becker ' s Hospital News on November 28, 2017, stated:Pfizer will pay $94 million to resolve allegations that it used fraudulent patents to delay generic competition for its anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex.The lawsuit, brought by 32 direct purchasers of Celebrex in April and certified a class action lawsuit in August, claimed Pfizer attempt...
Source: Health Care Renewal - December 3, 2017 Category: Health Management Tags: adverse effects Celebrex deception impunity legal settlements Pfizer restraint of competition Source Type: blogs

My Husband Outlived His Brain Tumor Prognosis by 12 Years: How His Experience Could Help John McCain and Others
In conclusion, I would never advise John McCain and his family, or any other GBM patient, as to which of these treatments—or which combination of treatments—they should use. I hope they will learn about all of them, and decide on their own which one or ones they would like to try. I would also encourage them to do their own research, or to hire a researcher with experience in finding sensible, science-based, cutting-edge treatments. I am very worried that they will not know about these treatments, and others like them, and will just use the standard of care. That would be a shame. It might also be a death sentence. ...
Source: HONEST MEDICINE: My Dream for the Future - November 21, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: JuliaS1573 at aol.com (Julia Schopick) Source Type: blogs

How Do I Lower My Blood Pressure?
As I wrote inmy last blog post, the AHA/ACC earlier this week released new guidelines for the management of hypertension (HTN or blood pressure). The biggest change to these guidelines is the new definition of high blood pressure...Now anyone with a blood pressure> 130/80 is classified as having Stage 1 HTNAnyone with a blood pressure> 140/90 is classified as having Stage 2 HTNThe treatment recommendations have also been changed...Stage 1 HTN with increased cardiac risk should be treated medically to BP< 130/80 + adopt aggressive life style modifications known to lower BPStage 1 HTN with no increased cardiac ...
Source: Dr Portnay - November 15, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr Portnay Source Type: blogs

My Husband Outlived His Brain Tumor Prognosis by 12 Years: How His Experience Could Help John McCain and Others
In conclusion, I would never advise John McCain and his family, or any other GBM patient, as to which of these treatments—or which combination of treatments—they should use. I hope they will learn about all of them, and decide on their own which one or ones they would like to try. I would also encourage them to do their own research, or to hire a researcher with experience in finding sensible, science-based, cutting-edge treatments. I am very worried that they will not know about these treatments, and others like them, and will just use the standard of care. That would be a shame. It might also be a death sentence. (S...
Source: HONEST MEDICINE: My Dream for the Future - September 22, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: JuliaS1573 at aol.com (Julia Schopick) Source Type: blogs

Is it safe to take ibuprofen for the aches and pains of exercise?
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling Not long ago, I took ibuprofen after a dental procedure and was amazed at how well it worked. Millions of people have had similar experiences with ibuprofen and related medications (called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs) when used for a number of conditions, including arthritis, back pain, and headache. That’s why NSAIDs are among the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide. More than a dozen different NSAIDs are available, including naproxen (as in Naprosyn or Aleve), celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Voltaren) and indomethacin (Indocin). Aspirin is also an NSAID, th...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - August 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Drugs and Supplements Exercise and Fitness Health Kidney and urinary tract Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, July 24th 2017
In this study, we asked how POD is influenced by different experimental practices and how likely it is that underpowered experiments lead to scientific disputes between two groups conducting identical experiments. To address these questions, we generated a parametric model based on the Gompertz equation using lifespan data of 5,026 C. elegans. We then used this model to simulate lifespan experiments with different conditions to determine how experimental parameters affect the ability to detect lifespan increases of certain sizes. We considered two important experimental features that contribute to the workload of lifespan ...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 23, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

Reducing Inflammation Assists Stem Cell Therapies to Enhance Regeneration
We examined the role of Cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2)-induced cytokine-mediated inflammation on engraftment of transplanted bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) at the wound site. BMSCs isolated from male C57/BL6J mice were transplanted onto excisional splinting wounds in presence or absence of celecoxib, a Cox-2 specific inhibitor, to evaluate engraftment and wound closure. Celecoxib administration led to a significantly high percent of wound closure, cellular proliferation, collagen deposition, BMSCs engraftment and re-epithelialization at the wound site. Thus celecoxib protects transplanted BMSCs from Cox-2/IL-17-induced inflammat...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 21, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs

Over-the-counter pain relievers and your heart
Ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like naproxen are and have been the go-to “benign” pain medication for doctors and patients alike. Why? They aren’t addictive, and it’s not easy to overdose. Serious side effects like gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding seemed to be limited to high doses taken for longer periods or time, or to people with significant medical problems. Even before the era of the opioid epidemic, it was raining NSAIDs, across the country. In 2004, the manufacturer of the NSAID Vioxx pulled it from the market because the drug was associated with serious cardiovascular ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - May 15, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Back Pain Drugs and Supplements Headache Health Heart Health Injuries Pain Management Source Type: blogs