Yearly Archives: 2018


Lifestyle, Genetics and Stroke

An UK prospective population based cohort study found that genetic and lifestyle factors were independently associated with risk of incident stroke. The study recruited 306 473 men and women, aged 40-73 years, between 2006 and 2010. During a median follow-up of 7.1 years (2 138 443 person years), 2077 incident strokes (1541 ischemic […]


ACEIs Linked to Lung Cancer

A population based cohort study in the UK showed that the use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. The association was particularly elevated among people using ACEIs for more than five years. The cohort of 992 061 patients newly treated with antihypertensive […]


MI Linked to Weather

A prospective, population-based and nationwide Swedish study revealed that low air temperature, low atmospheric air pressure, high wind velocity, and shorter sunshine duration were associated with risk of myocardial infarction (MI) with the most evident association observed for air temperature. A total of 280 873 patients were included from 1998 […]


Silent MI Deadly

A population-based, prospective cohort study in Iceland revealed that the long-term mortality risk of unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI) can be as high as clinically recognized myocardial infarction (RMI). 935 participants (aged 67-93 years, 48.3% men) were characterized with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) from January 2004 to January 2007 and followed […]


Aspirin May Lower Risk of Ovarian and Hepatocellular Cancers

Two prospective cohort studies showed that regular use of low-dose aspirin was associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer and that regular, long-term aspirin use was associated with a dose-dependent reduction in the risk of hepatocellular cancer (HCC). The first study in 2 cohorts of 93,664 (mean age 45.9 […]


Cannabis Use May Cause Cognitive Impairments

A longitudinal randomized controlled trial in Canada revealed that concurrent and lasting effects of adolescent cannabis use can be observed on important cognitive function and appear to be more pronounced than those observed for alcohol. The study included a population-based sample of 3,826 seventh-grade students from 31 schools consisting of […]


Aspirin for Primary Prevention Challenged

Findings of two randomized, placebo controlled clinical trials challenged the role of aspirin in primary prevention in a low-risk population and in patients of diabetes. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study was done in seven countries. Between July 5, 2007, and Nov 15, 2016, 12 546 eligible patients aged 55 years […]


Myocardial Injury vs Infarction

Major world cardiology associations have updated and standardized what defines a heart attack and have added the concept of “myocardial injury.” Myocardial injury is defined as an elevated cardiac troponin. The myocardial injury is considered acute if there is rise and/or fall of troponin values. Acute myocardial infarction is defined […]


No Alcohol Amount Is Safe

A comprehensive analysis of global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors concluded that alcohol use is a leading risk factor for disease burden worldwide, contributes to health loss from many causes and exacts its toll across the lifespan, and the safest level of drinking is none. The analysis used […]


Glutamine Effective and Safe in IBS-D

A small randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the US showed that oral dietary glutamine supplements effective and safe in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) with intestinal hyperpermeability following an enteric infection. Participants (mean age 31.7, approximately 70% women, and 80% white) were randomized to glutamine (5 g/t.i.d.) or placebo […]