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Can ‘toxic’ bilirubin treat a variety of illnesses?
Generations of medical and biology students have been instilled with a dim view of bilirubin. Spawned when the body trashes old red blood cells, the molecule is harmful refuse and a sign of illness. High blood levels cause jaundice, which turns the eyes and skin yellow and can signal liver trouble. Newborns can’t process the compound, and although high levels normally subside, a persistent surplus can cause brain damage. Yet later this year up to 40 healthy Australian volunteers may begin receiving infusions of the supposedly good-for-nothing molecule. They will be participating in a phase 1 safety trial, sponsored ...
Source: ScienceNOW - June 8, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news

Straight from the heart: Mysterious lipids may predict cardiac problems better than cholesterol
Stephanie Blendermann, 65, had good reason to worry about heart disease. Three of her sisters died in their 40s or early 50s from heart attacks, and her father needed surgery to bypass clogged arteries. She also suffered from an autoimmune disorder that results in chronic inflammation and boosts the odds of developing cardiovascular illnesses. “I have an interesting medical chart,” says Blendermann, a real estate agent in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Yet Blendermann’s routine lab results weren’t alarming. At checkups, her low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad,” cholesterol hovered around the 100 milligrams-per-...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - March 16, 2023 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research

Bringing WISDOM to Breast Cancer Care
Dr. Laura Esserman answers the door of her bright yellow Victorian home in San Francisco’s Ashbury neighborhood with a phone at her ear. She’s wrapping up one of several meetings that day with her research team at University of California, San Francisco, where she heads the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center. She motions me in and reseats herself at a makeshift home office desk in her living room, sandwiched between a grand piano and set of enormous windows overlooking her front yard’s flower garden. It’s her remote base of operations when she’s not seeing patients or operating at the hospita...
Source: TIME: Health - October 22, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Alice Park Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

The Jekyll and Hyde of Statins
By Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, Medical Discovery News Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins are the most prescribed drug ever. About 30 percent of Americans are currently taking statins such as Crestor, Lipitor, Mevacor and Zocor. Overall, statins can be good thing, but as with all drugs, there are some negative effects. Statins lower cholesterol by inhibiting a protein called HMG-CoA reductase. Since high cholesterol levels are linked to heart disease, statins can reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in the United States. Recent reports from the American Heart Assoc...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - February 3, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news

Buried in Pills
By Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, Medical Discovery News Have you ever heard doctors referred to as "pill pushers"? While medical professionals provide necessary and admirable services, it does make you wonder how many pills we take in a day, a month, a year or even a lifetime. In the British Museum in London, along with the Rosetta Stone and an Easter Island head, there is an exhibit with an expansive glass table, more than a yard wide and at least 20 yards long. On it rests a tapestry-like depiction of the number of pills two individuals would take over their lifetimes in various colors and sizes. On one side is ...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - January 21, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news

Fit middle-aged men have lower cancer risk
Conclusion This study shows that cardiovascular fitness is likely to reduce men's chances of developing lung and colorectal cancer, and appears to boost survival from cancer or cardiovascular disease in those diagnosed after the age of 65. This was based on comparing the top 40% of fittest men with the 20% least fit. The study focused on fitness and took account of major risk factors for cancer, such as smoking and blood pressure. However, it left out one important risk factor: diet. What people eat and drink is known to affect cancer risk. The fittest group may also have been the healthiest in terms of eating well and ...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 27, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Claim that statins damage muscles 'overblown'
In this study, statin users were matched with non-users so their baseline characteristics were similar. A cohort study is the ideal study design to address this question. However, despite the fact that the researchers tried to ensure there were as few differences as possible between statin users and statin non-users at baseline, it is possible that other factors (confounders) are responsible for the associations seen. A randomised controlled trial would be required to show a cause and effect relationship. Links To The Headlines Statins could lead to muscular injuries, scientists warn. The Daily Telegraph, June 4 2013 Sta...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 4, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Older people Source Type: news