‘Trial and error’ choice of blood pressure medicine poses challenge

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s hard to predict which pills will best lower which patient’s high blood pressure, but researchers are hunting ways to better personalize therapy — perhaps even using a blood test. The work is controversial, challenging today’s usual approach to treating the hypertension that plagues nearly one in three U.S. adults. Now a trio of studies shows some drug combinations work better for certain populations — and raises the possibility that measuring blood levels of a hormone involved in hypertension might help optimize some people’s care. The big surprise: Taking a drug that’s a poor match to that hormone level may not just fail to…

British regulators want Avandia diabetes pill pulled

LONDON (AP) — British drug regulators say GlaxoSmithKline’s controversial diabetes pill Avandia should be pulled from the U.K. market because of concerns that the drug can increase the risk of heart attacks. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency says an independent panel of experts concluded that the risks of Avandia outweigh its benefits, and that it should no longer be sold in Britain. The British Medical Journal also called for the immediate withdrawal of the

Teens’ ‘unhealthy’ sex exposure blamed on TV, music, Web

The nation’s leading group of pediatricians has issued a strong policy statement directed toward pediatricians, parents and the media on the danger of messages American teens and children are getting about sex from television, the Internet and other media outlets. The statement, “Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media,” was published in the September print issue of the journal Pediatrics . TEEN SEX: Doesn’t always lead to bad grades ADULT TV: Linked to teen sex? SEX ED: Does what teens learn affect what they do? “The media represents arguably the leading sex educator in America today,” said Dr. Victor Strasburger, …

Marijuana may relieve nerve pain when other drugs don’t

Smoking cannabis, also known as marijuana, reduced pain in patients with nerve pain stemming from injuries or surgical complications, new research shows. Twenty-one adults with chronic nerve pain were taught to take a single inhalation of 25 milligrams of cannabis through a pipe, three times a day, for five days. The cannabis contained one of three levels of potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, as well as a placebo dosage containing no THC. TOO POOR FOR POT? Not in D.C. (if it’s medical, that is) All of the patients …

Study: Casual sex doesn’t kill chance of long-term relationship

People who “hook up” for casual sex can have as rewarding a long-term relationship as those who take it slowly and establish a meaningful connection before they have sex, says a new study. University of Iowa researchers analyzed relationship surveys and found that average relationship quality was higher for people who took it slowly than for those who became sexually involved in “hook-ups,” casual dating, or “friends with benefits” relationships. CASUAL SEX: More Americans do it TEENS: Casual sex, lower GPA linked SEX LIFE: Obesity can be bad for the bedroom However, having sex early …

Egg farmers: Good managing can help control salmonella

PEARL CITY, Ill. — There is nothing small scale about Pearl Valley Eggs, deep in the heart of Illinois farm country. The egg farm itself, two miles south of the nearest town, is a neat collection of 350-foot- and 450-foot henhouses covered in white steel siding. They’re linked by overhead pipes that bring in ground corn and soybeans from the farm’s own feed mill. The farm employs 100 people and produces 800,000 to 850,000 eggs a day, seven days a week. “The chickens don’t stop laying eggs just because it’s …

Study: Friends help college females avoid risky sex after drinking

College students use a number of strategies to prevent their female friends from engaging in risky sexual behavior after a night of heavy drinking, new research suggests. Researchers interviewed 141 U.S. college students and found that three-quarters of them said they would persuade a female friend not to go home with a new male acquaintance or that they would make sure she arrived home safely. The participants listed three ways they would attempt to ensure the safety of a female friend: They would remind their friend about the potential negative social and health consequences, such as getting pregnant, developing a bad reputation, and regretting their decision the next day. They would distract or trick their …

Ovary removal can raise survival of women with high cancer risk

For the first time, a study out today has found that women with certain high-risk genetic mutations — which dramatically increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancers — were more likely to survive if they had preventive surgery to remove healthy ovaries and fallopian tubes. Earlier studies have shown that removing the ovaries and tubes of women with mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes reduces the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and that mastectomies nearly eliminate the risk of breast tumors. Doctors have assumed both procedures save lives, says Noah Kauff of New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who wasn’t involved in the new study. But…

SCIENCE NEWS

Down-to-earth research shows the impact of high heels on female legs Getting ready to put your summer sandals at the back of closet and break out your high-heeled pumps? Consider the latest study examining the physical costs of adding height to your step. Compared with wearing flats, wearing heels regularly can lead to shortened calf-muscle fibers and thicker, stiffer Achilles’ tendons, according to physiology professor Marco Narici and his colleagues at Britain’s Manchester…

Why has the USA’s cesarean section rate climbed so high?

Impatience could help explain the rising U.S. cesarean section rate, given that a high percentage of such deliveries probably are performed before women are in active labor, a new National Institutes of Health-sponsored study shows. The C-section rate has climbed more than 50% since 1996, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. An increasing proportion of first-time mothers are delivering by C-section, while fewer women who have had a previous C-section deliver subsequent babies vaginally. In 2007, the most recent year for which final data are available, a record 31.8% of births were by C-section, according to the health statistics center, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And preliminary data show the…

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