When compared with intensive drug therapy, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, angioplasty) was more beneficial in reducing the long-term risk of major cardiac events among heart attack survivors with “silent ischemia”, according to a study in JAMA.Cardiac ischemia is caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle tissue. [click link for full article]

Using the same database that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses to confirm the rise in obesity rates, researchers have concluded that 100 percent juice is not associated with young children being overweight or at risk for becoming overweightThe research abstract [click link for full article]

People infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are at an increased risk of developing certain lymphomas (cancers of the lymphatic system), according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and Baylor College of Medicine, found that HCV infection increased the risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma by 20 percent to 30 percent. [click link for full article]

Major American employers united with major physician groups to form a Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC). [click link for full article]

Nearly a quarter of a million Americans each year may be hospitalized with bleeding complications caused by needlessly taking a daily dose of an adult-sized aspirin rather than a baby aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke.A study by a group of UK HealthCare Linda and Jack Gill Heart Institute cardiologists found that the commonly prescribed 325 mg adult tablet may be more than many people need each day. [click link for full article]

In the treatment of heart attack, the 90-minute goal for inflation of an angioplasty balloon in a blocked coronary artery to restore normal blood flow is so revered it’s been codified in clinical guidelines, accreditation standards, and pay-for-performance programs. But is the 90-minute deadline really critical? Two experts will debate that question at the 30th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), May 9-12, 2007, in Orlando, FL. [click link for full article]

Keeping a healthy heart beating requires the production of a constant supply of energy, a feat depending on the coordination of several genetic programs. Now, researchers report in the May issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press, that two closely related receptors can act together or separately to pull all of the strings. [click link for full article]

Giving chemotherapy to women with operable breast cancer before they have surgery - -not after - helps physicians pin down the best treatment regimen and can reduce the extent of surgery, according to a new systematic review.Preoperative chemotherapy reduced chemo-related infections by 4 percent and the need for mastectomies by 17 percent when compared to postoperative chemotherapy, found reviewers led by Sven Mieog, M.D., of Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. [click link for full article]

After screening hundreds of compounds for their effects on fat development, researchers have discovered that an ingredient found in some plants fights diabetes in mice without some of the side effects attributed to other antidiabetes drugs. [click link for full article]

Arthritis sufferers who undergo psychological counseling and learn skills for coping with pain have less disability and better quality of life, according to a new systematic review.Living with the pain of arthritis can lead to depression and isolation. Severely afflicted people are often unable to socialize or participate in favorite activities. Limited mobility and loss of fine-motor function can make hard it to perform everyday tasks, like cooking or getting dressed. [click link for full article]