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From the FDA

FDA Approves Rapid HIV Test

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first rapid HIV test that collects material from a swab of the mouth. Food and Drug Administration officials said the test can provide results within 20 minutes by using a swab to collect oral mucosal transudate, or OMT, from the mouth. In the past, rapid HIV tests required blood samples.

Health-care professionals must supervise the oral test, and they are responsible for delivering results to the person undergoing testing. Positive results must be confirmed by another, more specific test before being considered diagnostic.

The test, which is not approved for in-home or direct consumer use, is more than 99 percent accurate, according to the FDA. The kit, with the trade name OraQuick Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, was developed by OraSure Technologies Inc. of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Ref: orasure.com

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Anticoagulation News

Computer Program Predicts Heart Attack Risk

Cardiologists recently announced that a new computer program can predict patients' risks of myocardial infarction or stroke over 10 years. The HeartScore program, developed by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), assesses individual risk factors such as hypertension, cholesterol levels, smoking, gender and age to give a personal risk profile.

Unlike printed risk charts that give total risk, the HeartScore programme allows physicians and patients to view changing risk factors. So if a smoker gives up the habit it will be reflected in the program.

The program incorporates data from 210,000 patients from 12 European studies, and reflects the lower risk of heart disease in countries such as Spain, Italy and France. National versions of HeartScore could be developed in the future, according to the society. Physicians can download the program free of charge from the ECS website. The ECS comprises 47 national cardiac societies across Europe.

escardio.org

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Readers Comments

Walnuts Help Damaged Arteries

Can I reverse the damage I've done to my arteries?

Walnuts, already touted as a good source to help lower bad cholesterol, may also help improve arteries damaged by disease when eaten as part of a healthy, according to a new study. This is the first time a study found that a whole food - and not its isolated components - can improve cardiovascular health. The Spanish study also found that walnuts may also reduce the progress of arteriosclerosis.

Walnuts are rich in monosaturated fat, which is a healthy type of fat credited with increasing HDL or "good" cholesterol and lowering LDL or "bad" cholesterol. A study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association showed that walnuts appeared to help restore elasticity in damaged arteries.

Eaten as part of a healthy Mediterranean diet, walnuts appear to help arteries dilate. Walnuts have a high content of a specific type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha- linolenic acid. This substance appears to help improve elasticity. In addition, walnuts appear to prevent arteriosclerosis by reducing the number of harmful cells that can stick to artery walls.

Ref: circ.ahajournals.org

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New Treatment

New Test Helps Detect Colon Cancer

A new test that gauges DNA changes in the stool is useful in predicting colon cancer, according to a report in The Lancet. Researchers performed DNA testing in 10 patients with colon cancer and 13 healthy subjects. The researchers looked for DNA changes in 10 genes thought to be altered in colon cancer.

Significant DNA differences between patients and healthy subjects were noted for five of the genes. Of the DNA changes observed, those involving SFRP2 were the best at detecting colon cancer. SFRP2 changes identified 90 percent of the people with colon cancer.

Further testing in a separate group of 13 cancer patients and 13 healthy subjects confirmed the strong link between SFRP2 changes and colon cancer. However, in these subjects, SFRP2 changes only detected 77 percent of those with cancer. Additional studies are needed to determine if stool DNA testing combined with other measures can detect colon cancer at an earlier, more treatable stage.

Ref: thelancet.com

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Life Style

New Alzheimer's Drugs Show Promise

Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins may help prevent and even treat Alzheimer's disease, but researchers caution that more evidence is needed to back their use. Many doctors are already prescribing statin therapy as part of a combination approach to treating Alzheimer's disease. In this approach, patients take a statin and a drug called a cholinesterase inhibitor. Research trials include more than 600 patients enrolled at 60 sites around the world.

One trial that looked at simvastatin found it helped improve cognitive function. But the study involved only a small number of patients. Heart disease risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure are also risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. Lowering any of those risk factors would be a strategy for improving rate of progression in Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers think statins may slow deterioration of the brain by reducing the accumulation of deposits called amyloid plaques. While statins in general are very well tolerated, in larger doses, such as those being used in the current trials, there is a concern about muscle cell breakdown and abnormal liver function. There is also a concern about costs. Using statin therapy to treat Alzheimer's disease could cost up to $200 US a month, on top of other therapies.

Ref: businesswire.com

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Tech Talk

Researchers Create Dissolvable Stent

A team of researchers from Singapore has made a completely biodegradable heart stent aimed at improving patient recovery and reducing infections. Stents are small tube-like devices surgically implanted into patients to improve blood flow in the blood vessels.

Currently permanently inserted metal stents are used that can cause blood clots and re-blockage of blood vessels. Patients need to take several drugs to prevent these problems.

The new stent can carry multiple layers of drugs that can be released into a patient's body at various rates over a sustained period of time from days to several months. After that, the stent will completely dissolve in the body as lactic acid. The product, which took two and a half years to develop, will enable doctors to tailor prescriptions for different patients for optimal treatment. The stents can be used in coronary arteries, the brain, the lungs, the urinary tract, and any part in the body where fluid flow is disrupted.

Ref: ntu.edu.sg/corpcomms2

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Fitness Watch

New Drug Bolsters Good Cholesterol

A recent study demonstrated the beneficial effects of an experimental drug in reducing LDL, the bad cholesterol, and boosting HDL, the good cholesterol. Potentially offering an entirely new way to prevent heart attacks, researchers at University of Pennsylvania and Tufts University found that the drug, called torcetrapib, doubled HDL in people with worrisomely low levels of the heart-healthy substance. Good cholesterol reduces the risk of heart disease; bad cholesterol raises it.

The latest study was small, involving just 19 patients, but its striking results suggest torcetrapib can have a powerful effect. The drug is still a few years away from reaching the market. The next step will be to test its safety and effectiveness in much larger numbers of volunteers and show whether the higher HDL truly results in fewer heart attacks and strokes.

Currently, the only HDL raiser in the market is the vitamin niacin, but its effects are modest and side effects such as itching and hot flashes bother many patients. Whether torcetrapib will prove to be the first potent prescription drug in this category will require much more study. The study, paid for in part by Pfizer Inc., torcetrapib's maker, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Ref: content.nejm.org

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Copyright ©2003 QAS, Inc. All rights reserved. The information provided in this Newsletter and on the Hometestmed site is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions.