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AP Health NewsBrief at 6:15 p.m. EDT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Study: New way to spot breast cancer shows promiseA radioactive tracer that "lights up" cancer hiding inside dense breasts showed promise in its first big test against mammograms, revealing more tumors and giving fewer false alarms, doctors reported Wednesday. The experimental method _ molecular breast imaging, or MBI _ would not replace mammograms for women at average risk of the disease. But it might become an additional tool for higher risk women with a lot of dense tissue that makes tumors hard to spot on mammograms, and it could be done at less cost than an MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging. About one-fourth of women 40 and older have dense breasts.
Heart defibrillator shock can signal more troubleNEW YORK (AP) _ A lifesaving shock from an implanted heart defibrillator provides relief that a crisis was avoided, but new research suggests it can also be a sign that more trouble is ahead. A study found that heart failure patients were far more likely to die within four years after their defibrillator zapped the heart into beating normally than those who got no shock.
Smoking riskier to women's hearts than men'sMUNICH, Germany (AP) _ Women typically get heart disease much later than men, but not if they smoke, researchers said Tuesday. In fact, women who smoke have heart attacks more than a dozen years earlier than women who don't smoke, Norwegian doctors reported in a study presented to the European Society of Cardiology. For men, the gap is not so dramatic; male smokers have heart attacks about six years earlier than men who don't smoke.
Modest brain test benefit seen with brisk walkingCHICAGO (AP) _ Brisk walking led to slight improvements on mental tests for older people with memory problems in what is billed as the first rigorous test of exercise on the aging brain. The results from the small Australian study were only modest. But they back up observational studies showing potential mental benefits from physical activity. The effects of exercise were at least as good, if not better, than those seen with drugs approved to aid mental function in Alzheimer's disease, according to experts not involved in the study.
Teen suicides dip, experts worry rate remains highCHICAGO (AP) _ The number of teen suicides has fallen slightly but the rate remains disturbingly high, researchers said, possibly fueled by drug warnings that have scared many from using antidepressants. The suicide rate was about 4.5 per 100,000 in 2005, the most recent data available. That follows an 18 percent spike the previous year that alarmed experts when first reported.
Doctors say Vytorin-cancer link can't be ruled outMUNICH, Germany (AP) _ Results so far from three studies of the cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin are not enough to prove or rule out a possible link to a higher risk of cancer, so the drug should be used with caution until more is known, editors of a leading medical journal urged Tuesday. The New England Journal of Medicine published results online from one study and an analysis of partial results from two others. They also were presented at a cardiology conference in Munich.
E. coli outbreak in Oklahoma kills 1, sickens 200OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An E. coli outbreak linked to a restaurant in northeastern Oklahoma has sickened more than 200 people and killed at least one person, state health officials said Tuesday. The Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove has been closed for more than a week, but an exact source of the contamination has not been pinpointed, said state epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley.
Pfizer resuming ads for Lipitor after controversyTRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Television ads for the world's top-selling drug, cholesterol fighter Lipitor, are back, six months after Pfizer Inc. pulled them amid charges its use of a celebrity doctor endorser who's never practiced medicine misled the public. This time, Pfizer is leaving out the celebrity.
Watch out for drug names that look, sound alikeWASHINGTON (AP) _ Take the generic drug clonidine for high blood pressure? Double-check that you didn't leave the drugstore with Klonopin for seizures, or the gout medicine colchicine. Mixing up drug names because they look or sound alike _ like this trio _ is among the most common types of medical mistakes, and it can be deadly. Now new efforts are aiming to stem the confusion, and make patients more aware of the risk.
Study links bipolar disorder with older fathersCHICAGO (AP) _ Children born to older fathers face a greater chance of developing bipolar disorder, according to one of the largest studies linking mental illness with advanced paternal age. Previous research has connected schizophrenia and autism with older dads, and a Danish study published last year added bipolar disorder to the list. The new study led by researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute strengthens the evidence.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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