Highlight HEALTH

A Step Toward Personalized Asthma Treatment, Gene Variant Linked to Drug Response

September 26, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

Inhaled corticosteroids are used by millions of asthma patients every day. However, as with all treatments to control asthma, there is marked patient-to-patient variability in the response to treatment. New research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has identified a genetic variant associated with the response to inhaled corticosteroids [1]. Investigators have found that asthma patients who have two copies of a specific gene variant responded only one-third as well to steroid inhalers as those with two copies of the regular gene.

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High-Fructose Corn Syrup Causes More, Faster Weight Gain Than Table Sugar

September 21, 2011 | by Kirstin Hendrickson

High-fructose corn syrup, common in processed foods, is more likely than table sugar to increase the rate and amount of weight gain, according to a study in Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior [1]. Specifically, consuming high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) increases the likelihood of gaining abdominal fat, which is particularly dangerous with regard to risk of heart disease.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup Causes More, Faster Weight Gain Than Table Sugar

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Brain Stent Fails to Prevent Strokes, NIH Stroke Prevention Trial has Immediate Implications for Clinical Practice

September 19, 2011 | by NIH Newsbot

Patients at a high risk for a second stroke who received intensive medical treatment had fewer strokes and deaths than patients who received a brain stent in addition to the medical treatment, a large nationwide clinical trial has shown. The investigators published the results in the online first edition of the New England Journal of Medicine [1]. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the trial. The medical regimen included daily blood-thinning medications and aggressive control of blood pressure and cholesterol.

New enrollment in the study was stopped in April because early data showed significantly more strokes and deaths occurred among the stented patients at the 30-day mark compared to the group who received the medical management alone.

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Anti-Vaccination Movement Endangers Public Health

September 14, 2011 | by Kirstin Hendrickson

In a commentary this month in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Dr. Gregory Poland discusses the dangers associated with vaccine denialism, defined as the continued propagation of anti-vaccination sentiment and misinformation in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary [1].