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Atrial Fibrillation Linked To Increased Hospitalization In Heart Failure Patients
Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, according to new research from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The findings, published in June in the European Heart Journal, also suggest that atrial fibrillation is not associated with an increased risk of death in heart failure patients, contradicting previous assumptions.
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Genes And The Environment Interact To Influence Adolescent Alcohol Use
Adolescent alcohol use and behavior problems are influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. A new study has found that socio-regional factors moderate the importance of genetic influences on early adolescent behavior problems in a way that parallels moderating effects observed for alcohol use later in adolescence.
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Vaginal Ring Could Protect Against HIV, Researcher Says
A researcher with Weill Cornell Medical College has developed a vaginal ring that releases microbicides and could prevent HIV and unplanned pregnancies, ANI/Times of India reports. Brij Saxena -- a professor of reproductive biology and endocrinology and lead author of a recent study on the ring in the journal AIDS -- said that laboratory testing showed the device would be effective at preventing HIV infection and pregnancy by releasing several types of nonhormonal agents and microbicides. He added that if proven successful in clinical trials, the device would allow women to effectively protect themselves from HIV and avoid pregnancy. According to Saxena, the ring releases antiretroviral drugs over a period of 28 days. He noted that the device potentially could serve as an alternative method to prevent other sexually transmitted infections. Jeffrey Laurence, co-author of the study and a physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, said, "No one has ever conquered a viral epidemic with treatment, so prevention is the most effective option." He added, "Ideally, an HIV vaccine is the most desirable method, but that is not foreseeable in the near future. The next best thing would be something that would prevent infection and put the power in the susceptible female partner"s control. That"s the potential a device such as this can offer" (ANI/Times of India, 5/20).
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Vitamin D And Calcium Supplements Help Prevent Bone Fracture In The Elderly

We all know that vitamin D and calcium are good for bones, but research teams in Europe and USA have shown that both taken daily reduces the rate of hip fracture in older people by 20%. Speaking at the European Symposium on Calcified Tissue in Vienna today (27 May), Professor Bo Abrahamsen from the Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte in Denmark, described the results from a major study analysing seven trials examining the effects of low doses of vitamin D with calcium in 68,500 patients. Participants in the study were aged 47 - 107 years old, average age 69. Their age, gender and fracture history were taken into account, together with medication such as hormone replacement therapy and bisphosphonates (used in the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis and osteoporosis in males). Patients in all the trials included were randomised to receive either vitamin D (given alone or with calcium, usually in the form of 1000 mg calcium carbonate daily) or no active treatment. "The real strength of this study was that we were looking at groups and individuals, not just summary statistics. We were able to calculate absolute fracture rates and the time to treatment effects," he said. After about 16 months, the reduction in hip fracture rates by 20% was seen in people who took vitamin D (10ug; 400 IU) and calcium (1000 mg) together, regardless of age, gender and fracture history. Fracture rate in other bones was reduced by 10%. "Vitamin D on its own is not very effective, even if the dose is doubled," said Professor Abrahamsen, a consultant physician at the hospital. "In people over fifty, the combination of vitamin D with calcium, however, seems to work equally well in people with or without a history of bone fractures - this is important new knowledge," he said. The impact of calcium plus vitamin D on fracture however is somewhat more modest than that seen for other osteoporosis interventions. People with a high risk of fracture will benefit more from being treated with specific osteoporosis drug therapies such as bisphosphonates, together with oral vitamin D and calcium. Professor Tahir Masud from Nottingham University Hospital and a UK collaborator said, "Previous data have shown that there is a high degree of vitamin insufficiency in the older population in the UK. Many older people at high risk of fracture do not receive vitamin D and calcium supplements." The study cannot separate the beneficial effects of daily vitamin D from daily calcium, but the results suggest that vitamin D by injection every three months given to many elderly patients does not make a big impact on fracture rates. "We cannot yet recommend that all adult, healthy people should take oral vitamin D and calcium supplements to prevent bone fracture in later life, but our findings indicate that vitamin D supplements taken daily with calcium is a simple and cheap way of reducing the risk of bone fractures in people in late middle age and onwards, " said Professor Abrahamsen. The European Calcified Tissue Society


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