People who regularly take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for arthritis and other conditions may also get protection against colon cancer.
A study of more than 104,000 people 65 and older in the Tennessee Medicaid Program found that those who took a NSAID for 48 months out of the last five years had half the risk of developing colon cancer as people who didn't take any of these drugs.
Each year more than 130,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer and 50,000 die from the disease, making it the second leading cause of cancer death.
Aspirin has also been linked to a lower risk of colon cancer, but it was not included in the study. NSAIDs taken by the elderly population included ibuprofen, indomethacin, diflunsial, sulindac, diclofenac sodium and zomepirac, Dr. Walter Smalley of Vanderbilt University reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Because these drugs also increase the risk of ulcers, doctors have been reluctant to recommend them as a means of preventing colon cancer. But a new type of anti-inflammatory drug, called COX-2 inhibitors, which do not appear to cause ulcers, is now becoming available.
California bartenders are breathing easier after a state law banned smoking in bars, greatly reducing their exposure to secondhand smoke.
A study of 54 bartenders in San Francisco found that before the ban took effect 74 percent reported wheezing, shortness of breath, morning cough and other respiratory problems, said Dr. Mark D. Eisner of the University of California, San Francisco.
After the cigarette smoke cleared from the bars, 59 percent who had previously reported respiratory symptoms said they were now symptom free, he reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Bar and tavern workers, in particular, are exposed to high ambient levels of environmental tobacco smoke, reaching levels four to six times higher than in other workplaces," he said. "This high-level exposure is paralleled by an increased risk of lung cancer in bartenders, after controlling for personal smoking."
KNOW HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS
Did you know that a sense of impending doom or back pain could be a symptom of a heart attack?
While the vast majority of people know that chest pain is a sign of a heart attack, and many know that arm pain or numbness and shortness of breath can signal a heart attack, most people do not know the other warning signs.
A study of nearly 1,300 people found that they were somewhat knowledgeable about only 3 of the 11 symptoms of a heart attack, said Dr. David C. Goff Jr., of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Other symptoms missed by about 9 out of 10 people include sense of doom, back pain, sweating, nausea or vomiting, dizziness or lightheadedness, weakness, fatigue or malaise, and jaw or neck pain.
Educational programs are urgently needed to make people aware of the constellation of complex symptoms that can signal a heart attack, Goff reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
IT'S IN THE BAD GENES
People who have the ApoE-4 gene, which increases their risk of Alzheimer's disease, have received another blast of bad news: The troublesome gene can decrease their chance of recovering from serious head injury.
A study of 69 people who suffered blunt head trauma found that those with the ApoE-4 gene were 5.6 times more likely to do poorly, said Dr. Zeev Groswasser of Tel Aviv University, Israel.
"This study shows that a person's genetic constitution is important in the ability to recover from trauma to the brain," he reported in Neurology, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "This could be very important in tailoring the proper treatment to each patient and in identifying patients who need more intensive rehabilitation after and injury."
The protein made by the ApoE-4 gene carries cholesterol and fats in the blood and is involved in the repair of cell membranes.
DEATH CERTIFICATE CLARI
Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death listed on death certificates, but it may be slightly exaggerated.
A study of 2,683 death certificates found that heart disease was incorrectly listed as the underlying cause of death in 8 percent of all deaths, and 24 percent of deaths of older people, according to a report in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
"The disparity we observed in assignment of underlying cause of death between death certificates and a trained panel of physicians suggests that physicians should receive more training in methods of death certificate completion," said Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones of the Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, Mass.
AEROBICS FOR PANIC ATTACKS
If you feel a panic attack coming on, aerobic exercise may be able to head it off, but you still might want to take a pill.
A study of 46 patients suffering from panic disorder found that regular aerobic exercise, such as running, was better than a dummy pill in preventing panic attacks, but not as good as drug therapy, according to a report in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The drug, clomipramine, which increases levels of an important brain chemical called serotonin, improved anxiety symptoms more quickly and more effectively.
"These results suggest that regular aerobic exercise alone is associated with significant clinical improvement in patients suffering from panic disorder, but that it is less effective than treatment with clomipramine," said Dr. Andreas Brooks of the University of Gottingen, Germany.