Thursday, June 10, 2004

CAN YOU TRUST DRUG COMPANY RESEARCH RESULTS? Not if this Glaxo scam is an example: Firm now facing law suit over concealment of true results of clinical trials: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7453/1395?etoc And to make matters worse, Glaxo staff was instructed to hide ineffectivenss of drugs: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7437/422-a   10:13:27 PM    comment [] HOME BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING IMPROVES CONTROL Patients with high blood pressure (hypertension) who monitor their blood pressure at home have better control of their condition, according to a new study available on bmj.com and being presented at the European Society of Hypertension in Paris on 16th June. Researchers analysed 18 blood pressure monitoring studies involving nearly 3000 people with hypertension. A total of 1359 monitored their blood pressure at home, while 1355 had their blood pressure monitored in the healthcare system. They found that blood pressure was lower in people who had home blood pressure monitoring than in those who were seen in the healthcare system. A greater proportion of them also achieved blood pressure targets when assessed in the clinic. Although the reasons for this are not clear, blood pressure monitoring by patients at home is associated with better blood pressure values and improved control of hypertension than usual blood pressure monitoring in the healthcare system, say the authors. As home blood pressure monitoring is now feasible, acceptable to patients and generally reliable, it could help to involve patients more closely in the management of their own blood pressure and help to manage their hypertension more effectively, they conclude. Interested in a drug-free hypertensive protocol? Check here...http://www.healthsavers.info/HBPprotocol.htm 10:07:31 PM    comment [] Today's Topic: Inflammation Predicts Heart Disease More evidence continues to accumulate implicating chronic, low-grade inflammation in the development of cardiovascular disease.  The latest study included 28,000 apparently healthy women who were followed for three years.  One hundred twenty-two had heart attacks or stroke and they were compared with 244 women free of symptoms. Many factors distinguished the two groups; higher values were found in the heart disease group for body-mass index, hypertension, diabetes, parental history of heart disease, cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein (a), homocysteine, and 5 separate indicators of inflammation.  After statistically adjusting for the other factors, only one measure of inflammation independently predicted risk: C-reactive protein.  The study appeared in the March 23, 2000 New England Journal of Medicine. < http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/342/12/836 > HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Half of all heart attacks occur in people with normal cholesterol levels.  Inflammation is another piece of the puzzle in understanding how to prevent and treat heart disease. This information was first published in Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in 1985.  What takes the medical community so long to catch on???? http://altmedicine.about.com/od/alternativemedicinebasics/a/CAMuse.htm Want to know what you can do about it? Serrapeptase is a safe and effective anti-inflammatory - read about it here: http://www.healthsavers.info/heart-New.htm#SERRAPEPTASE       5:24:03 PM    comment [] Over One-Third Americans Use Alternative Medicine According to a new nationwide government survey, 36 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years and over use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM is defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. When prayer specifically for health reasons is included in the definition of CAM, the number of U.S. adults using some form of CAM in the past year rises to 62 percent. http://altmedicine.about.com/od/alternativemedicinebasics/a/CAMuse.htm 9:58:35 AM    comment []

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