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Risk of aspirin-related bleeding is higher in the over-75s
Conclusion This valuable cohort study helps to quantify the extent of bleeding risk in people taking aspirin for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Aspirin is well known to carry bleeding risk – particularly in older adults – but this study suggests the risk may be higher than previously thought. The researchers say that for adults under the age of 75, the annual bleeding risk at around 1% is similar to that suggested by previous trials, as is the ratio of bleeds to the number of cardiovascular events. However, this risk increases for older adults, especially for major bleeds of the stomach and upper diges...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 14, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Older people Source Type: news

Two older drugs could be 'repurposed' to fight dementia
Conclusion This early stage experimental research has demonstrated a beneficial neurological effect of trazodone and dibenzoylmethane on mice with diseases mimicking neurodegenerative diseases. It is important to acknowledge that this is animal research and therefore the drugs might not have the same effect when they are trialled on humans. That being said, trazodone is already an approved drug for depression and sleep problems and has therefore already passed safety tests. If the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in humans and mice are similar, it is possible trazodone could be used in the future in treating Alzheimer's and...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 20, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Older people Neurology Medication Source Type: news

Moderate drinking may reduce heart disease risk
Conclusion This study paints a more complicated picture than the "Pint a day keeps the doctor away" story proffered by The Sun. It seems to confirm the findings of other studies, which have shown that non-drinkers tend to have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases than people who drink moderately. It suggests that some cardiovascular diseases (mainly those directly affecting the heart) seem to have a stronger link to a possible protective effect from alcohol than other vascular diseases, such as mini-strokes and bleeding in the brain. However, this can't be concluded with certainty due to the study design. We ...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 23, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Substance found in red wine 'helps fight ageing'
Conclusion Resveratrol has been of interest to anti-ageing scientists for many years and researchers have previously shown it may be linked to a slowing of the decline in thinking and movement, at least in rodents. This study suggests a possible way this might happen. But the results don't tell us anything about what happens in humans. They suggest this substance may be useful for further research in humans at some point. They certainly don't provide a reason to drink gallons of red wine, in the hope of seeing an anti-ageing effect. Drinking too much alcohol is a sure-fire way to speed up deterioration of thinking skills,...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Neurology Source Type: news

Excess body fat now linked to 13 different types of cancer
"Experts have linked eight more cancers to being overweight or obese, nearly tripling the list from five to 13," the Daily Mail reports. This is the latest finding of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a group of cancer experts from around the world that look at risk factors for cancer.  What is the basis for these reports? The headlines are based on a report published in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine. The report is not exactly new research, but a review of previously published studies that looked at the link between weight and cancers. It is the result of a working g...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 25, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Obesity Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

'Nine out of 10 strokes preventable,' claims study
Conclusion This valuable research aims to clarify which preventable risk factors are associated with stroke risk – knowledge that could have an effect on addressing this important global health problem. The study's strengths are that it is based on a large sample size of nearly 27,000 people from 32 countries and of different socioeconomic backgrounds. The researchers made careful attempts beforehand to calculate how many participants they would need to include to be able to reliably detect differences in risk factors. There was little missing data across the total sample – for the various different risk factors as...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Medication Source Type: news

Eating chocolate may slightly lower your risk of stroke
ConclusionThis study used a large prospective cohort of English residents to estimate the risk chocolate poses to cardiovascular death and disease. In addition, they systematically combed the research literature for other similar studies, combining their results with that of other researchers. By comparing the highest chocolate consumers with chocolate abstainers, they found that chocolate was linked to a lower risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. The risk for coronary heart disease was not statistically significant. Results from the meta-analysis of eight additional studies showed higher chocolate consumption was li...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 16, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Neurology Source Type: news

Long-term smoking 'may cause' brain shrinkage
Conclusion This study has shown an association between smoking and a thinner cortex, though it cannot prove that smoking caused the cortex to thin. The study was cross sectional, so cannot say which came first – the smoking or the cortex differences. Also, confounding factors other than smoking may be contributing. Strengths of the study include: Having access to measurements of cognitive ability when the participants were 11 years old, before most of them would have started smoking, as a potential indicator of cortex thickness. The radiologists were blinded to which MRIs came from each group, reducing the risk of ...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 12, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Neurology Source Type: news

Parental smoking 'ages' children’s arteries
ConclusionOverall, this secondary analysis study provides preliminary evidence of the effects of parental passive smoking on the artery walls of children and adolescents in adulthood. The researchers attempted to adjust for potential factors that could influence risk (confounders), such as: age sex height weight smoking status physical activity levels alcohol consumption schooling level of the parent(s)In their analysis, they also took into consideration cardiovascular risk factors of the participants in adulthood. There are some limitations to the study, which are worth noting. Parental smoking status was self-re...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 5, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Pregnancy/child Source Type: news

Stroke risk 'higher at start of warfarin treatment'
Conclusion This study has found that warfarin was associated with an increased risk of ischaemic stroke during the first 30 days of treatment. After 30 days of treatment, warfarin was associated with a decreased risk of stroke. However, this study has a number of limitations that should be considered: All information was from patient records, which means that it wasn't subject to recall bias, but the information may not be complete – we do not know if, for example, people took the medication they were prescribed. There may be other factors (confounders) that explain the association seen. In particular, the ba...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 19, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news

Secondhand smoke linked to dementia
Conclusion Secondhand or passive smoking is known to be detrimental to health and has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, it is not yet certain whether it is linked to dementia. Though this large study finds a significant link between secondhand smoke exposure and severe dementia syndromes there are several important limitations to be aware of. Problems with measuring dementia diagnoses The method for diagnosis of dementia used by this study was unusual. Though the researchers assessed each individual using a mental state examination, they went on to diagnose them using a com...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 11, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news