Flu vaccine may protect against heart disease

Getting a flu shot this season may not only greatly lower your risk of influenza this year, it may also lower your risk of heart disease, a new review from Canada suggests.

Results show that people who received the flu vaccine were 50 percent less likely to experience a heart attack or stroke, and 40 percent less likely to die from one, compared with people in the unvaccinated control group.

The flu vaccine could be an important way to maintain heart health and ward off strokes and heart attacks, the researchers said. They presented their findings at a cardiovascular disease research meeting Monday in Toronto.

In the study, Dr. Jacob Udell, a cardiologist at Women's College Hospital and the University of Toronto, and colleagues looked at four previous studies involving a total of more than 3,000 people whose average age was 60 — some with previous heart disease, and some without such conditions. Participants in all the studies were randomly assigned to receive a flu vaccine, no vaccine or a placebo injection, and were tracked for the following year.

The findings suggest that “perhaps that the flu vaccine is a heart vaccine,” Udell said.

During the year after vaccination, there were 187 cases of heart attacks or stokes, including 65 deaths.

Regardless of whether study participants had a history of heart disease, those who got the flu vaccine were less likely to have cardiovascular events, or die them from.

While the reason for the link is not exactly clear, Udell said it may be that when people develop heart disease, some factor "tips them over the edge," such as plaque clogging arteries, or lower levels of oxygen as a result of the flu.

The flu vaccine may stop this "tipping" by preventing flu, or by actually breaking up plaque in the arteries. “Either one is very provocative, and it's important to drill down and get the answer,” Udell said.

Dr. Sarah Samaan, a cardiologist and director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Institute at Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas, said the key to the link may be in reducing inflammation.

When someone gets the flu, blood levels of inflammatory substances rise, and inflammation of the blood vessels can trigger heart attacks.

“This happens because inflammation can make cholesterol plaques in the blood vessels unstable," Samaan explained. Unstable plaques are more likely to develop tiny cracks, which can cause blood clots to form. Such clots can block blood flow within arteries, causing a heart attack (if the blood vessel supplies the heart) or a stroke (if the artery feeds the brain), she said.

Udell cautioned that the 50 percent reduction in cardiovascular events seen in the study may be a high number, but said that even if the flu vaccine reduced the risk of a heart attack or stroke by just 10 percent, vaccination could make a major dent in saving lives.

A larger study could help firm up the numbers, he said, and he hopes to start one.

Isis Shares Fall 22% On Concerns About Drug

Shares of Isis Pharmaceuticals plunged 22 percent Tuesday, after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee released a report expressing serious safety concerns about its experimental cholesterol drug, Kynamro.

The drop erased $280 million from Isis’ market value. At the end of the trading day, Isis’ stock value had tumbled to $1.03 billion.

The FDA report said that taking Kynamro is associated with increased liver fat deposits, a risk factor for cirrhosis and death. However, the report also said the drug is potentially beneficial to its intended patient population. Those people have a disease that causes extremely high blood levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. Those with the disease, homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, have a greatly increased incidence of cardiovascular disease.

Meanwhile, shares of competitor Aegerion Pharmaceuticals rose 10 percent. On Monday, the same FDA committee released its report on a similar drug from Aegerion, called lomitapide.

The FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee is scheduled to review lomitapide today. On Thursday, the committee will review Kynamro.

Kynamro is the flagship drug for Carlsbad-based Isis. It was developed with Isis’ gene-blocking “antisense” technology. Generically known as mipomersen, the drug reduces blood levels of LDL. It could provide Isis entry into the multibillion-dollar market for cholesterol-fighting drugs.

Isis and its Paris-based marketing partner, Sanofi, aim to get approval first for the hypercholesterolemia drug in the homozygous form, then for a milder form. Later, the companies plan to seek approval for patients who don’t have the disease, but are also at high risk of cardiovascular illness. About 1 million Americans fit that category, Isis says.

The safety concerns described in the report could limit Kynamro’s use, said Damien Conover, an analyst with the Chicago-based research firm Morningstar.

The report may not stop the FDA from approving Kynamro for familial hypercholesterolemia, Conover said. Those patients have few other options. However, the findings make it less likely that Kynamro will be eventually approved for larger populations, Conover said.

The FDA is scheduled to decide on Kynamro by Jan. 29.

3 Great Outfit Ideas to Steal From Paris Fashion Week - Street Style Edition

(ImaxTree)

Paris Fashion Week just wrapped up, and while there were plenty of amazing looks on the ready-to-wear runway, there were also so many incredible street style looks chock-full of fashion inspiration.

Here's how to get three Paris Fashion Week street style looks for your very own fall wardrobe.

Dressed-up prep:


(ImaxTree)

If you ever thought that raggedy old college sweatshirt could only be worn over pajamas or at the gym, think again! Take any bright collegiate pullover, and wear it with a crisp denim button-up, skinny jeans, and strappy heels for an adorable academic fall look.

To get a similar style, try Free People's Vintage Yellow Pullover Sweatshirt ($168) or Recycled Karma's College Sweatshirt ($59). Of course you can also throw on one of your very own university raglans hidden in the back of your closet!



As for the rest of the layers, go for a lighter wash denim shirt, like this Wrangler button-up ($149.51) and darker wash skinny jeans, like this Ann Taylor Loft pair ($59.50). Don't forget the strappy stillettos and zipper pouch clutch for the finishing touches!



A bright cape:


(ImaxTree)

If you're tired of wearing your ol' gray wool pea coat, pop on a bright red cape for a statement-making piece of fall outerwear.



For a similar style, try Cole Haan's belted cape coat ($595). Leave the rest of your look sleek and minimal—a crisp white button-up, black skinny jeans, and little black booties with a deep cut in the front, like this DKNY pair ($270) should do the trick!

Light layered prints:


(ImaxTree)

This street style star proves that you don't have to ditch your white and light-hued pieces when fall fashion hits. Layering is key when it comes to incorporating your favorite spring and summer items into your autumn wardrobe.




To get this look wear a white brocade or white jacquard tee over a light printed blouse, like this Equipment silk chiffon shirt ($200). To make the light colors standout, fasten a floral statement necklace underneath your collar, like this BaubleBar Blue Daisy necklace ($84) and wear an oversized zipper pouch or clutch, like this ASOS floral clutch ($56.29).


What do you think of these street style looks from Paris Fashion Week? Would you want to recreate them for yourself?

What Do You Think of Amanda Seyfried's Matchy-Matchy Style?

It's nothing new to match one's lipstick to one's dress, but while the general rule of thumb is to keep the rest of your ensemble relatively subdued, Amanda Seyfried was all about breaking the rules. At the Miu Miu show earlier today during Paris fashion week, the actress coupled a bold purple lipstick with an equally intense pair of purple Prada Mary Janes. Instead of going with a more staid outfit choice, however, Amanda livened things up with a bright red pantsuit. There's never a better time to experiment with daring colour choices than at a fashion show, but is Amanda's coordinating palette more of a clash than a smash?

Fashion Show Benefits Rockingham Memorial Hospital

A fashion show hopes to show more than just clothes.

The Benefit Breast Cancer Survivor Fashion show hosted by Casual Friday Boutique is trying to raise awareness and save more lives.

Most of the models walking down the runway are breast cancer survivors.

At the event, they're hoping that their story gives hopes to others battling the disease.

They're also trying to promote self-examination and mammograms.

All proceeds from the event will go toward mammogram machines at the Rockingham Memorial Hospital.

The models said it's encouraging for people to see there are survivors.

Angie Williams said it's important to show those who are battling with the disease that there is hope.

"When they see that you can still be joyful, you can still live a full life and you don't have to be afraid. I don't live day by day thinking i have another diagnosis of breast cancer, that's no way to live," she said.

Rita Purkey said she does anything that helps raise awareness about breast cancer.

" [I'm] proud to do it and thankful that I'm here to be able to do it."

WHSV-TV3 News anchor Alyson Bruner was also there, supporting the cause by modeling some clothes.

Diabetes center offers expanded services

Recent upgrades at the Northeast Center for Diabetes Care and Education will provide a more comprehensive and financially supported service for patients across the region.

Dr. Jonathan Beach, who has managed his own Type 1 diabetes since his childhood, oversees activity at the Northeast Center, which shares office space with Urgicare of the Northeast at Hammond Lane.

“We’ve put together a program to meet the complete needs of diabetic folks in the North Country,” Beach said as he talked about some of those upgrades recently. “We offer diabetes-management programs, insulin management and other education programs.

“As always, we encourage regular exercise along with appropriate diet,” he added. “We’ve recently brought in a registered dietitian to ensure that service is available to our patients.”

Tracey Soulia is the new dietitian who will be available to assist patients with diabetes in managing their weight and making proper food choices.

“Every patient is different, but we can look at the medical diagnosis (of each patient) and help patients manage their diets so they are making healthy food choices without side-effects,” Soulia said.

The proper diet for a diabetic does not necessarily focus on calories; the patient has to be conscious of carbohydrates, minerals and other nutrients in food that can impact blood-sugar levels, she explained.

“The body breaks carbs down to different types of sugars,” she said, adding that the body also uses insulin to pull those sugars into cells, a process that is impacted by diabetes.

The focus on carbohydrates is complicated by the fact that all types of food contain carbs, including normally healthy choices like fruit.

Blood pressure can also play a role in the diabetics diet: reducing salt in the diet is one measure to help reduce an elevated blood pressure.

“Each patient needs individual support, Soulia said. “We always encourage activity, but there are other factors we always have to consider.”

The center is also working on a plan to provide educational visits to grocery stores to help patients choose the most appropriate foods for their personal needs, Beach noted.

“It’s one thing to talk about healthy choices, but it’s another matter when you can actually see what’s available (at the grocery store),” he said.

The Northeast Center for Diabetes has also hired a new office manager, Andrew Lushia, who has provided some innovative suggestions for daily operations of the center.

For instance, he recognized an opportunity to move medical technician Sue Dumar into a more permanent position to assist patients with their insurance needs.

“Sue is very good at getting what we need from insurance companies,” Beach said. “She will go out of her way to make sure the patient receives whatever support is available (through insurance).”

That focus has not only proven beneficial for the patients but has also allowed the practice to provide more cost-effective supplies, such as blood-meter strips that patients use to analyze their blood-sugar levels.

“The amount of confusion connected to insurance companies is unbelievable,” Beach said. “Sue has a wonderful way of simplifying information. She is very good at keeping track with trends.”

Beach also continues to work with a company that trains dogs to recognize blood-sugar levels. He has purchased a dog that stays with him 24 hours a day and is working with about six patients who are also interested in the innovative technique.

He also works closely with several pharmaceutical companies in providing educational services across the region and beyond.

The center first opened in 2007 and provides individualized care for diabetics.

According to the National Diabetes Education Program, more than 20 million Americans have diabetes, including an estimated 6.2 million people who are undiagnosed. More than 4,000 new cases are identified every 24 hours.

Stem Cell Transplants May Show Promise for MS

New research suggests that stem cell transplants to treat certain brain and nervous system diseases such as multiple sclerosis may be moving closer to reality.

One study found that experimental stem cell transplants are safe and possibly effective in children with a rare genetic brain disease. Another study in mice showed that these cells are capable of transforming into, and functioning as, the healthy cell type. The stem cells used in the two studies were developed by study sponsor StemCells, Inc.

Both papers appear online in Science Translational Research.

The work, while still in its infancy, may have far-reaching implications for the treatment of many more common diseases that affect the brain and nervous system.

Researchers out of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), looked at the how neural stem cells behaved when transplanted into the brains of four young children with an early-onset, fatal form of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD).

Can Stem Cell Transplants Help Treat MS?

PMD is a very rare genetic disorder in which brain cells called oligodendrocytes can’t make myelin. Myelin is a fatty substance that insulates the nerve fibers of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves (central nervous system), and is essential for transmission of nerve signals so that the nervous system can function properly.

In multiple sclerosis, the myelin surrounding the nerve is targeted and damaged by the body’s immune system.

The new study found that the neural stem cell transplants were safe. What’s more, brain scans showed that the implanted cells seem to be doing what is expected of them -- i.e. making myelin.

Researchers compared treated areas of participants' brains with untreated areas. "The study goes beyond safety and we see some effects in the transplanted region that are consistent with the appearance of myelin, at one year,” says study author David H. Rowitch, MD, PhD. “It is not definitive, but it is suggestive.” He is a professor of pediatrics and neurological surgery at UCSF, and is the chief of neonatology at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.

PMD is rare, but other diseases that affect the myelin, such as MS, are more common.

So is it possible that these same stem cell transplants could also benefit these other diseases? Although the possibility exists, Rowitch is noncommittal at this point. “We don’t have data that this could work in MS or other diseases,” he says.

With PMD, the cells that produce myelin are not doing their job. Other diseases involve multiple causes or pathways. If further research in treating PMD pans out, the next step will be to look at MS and other diseases that affect myelin, Rowitch says.

Nancy L. Sicotte, MD, is the director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She says that MS may be more complicated to treat with stem cell therapy.

“With MS, we would be trying to introduce stem cells into an inflamed nervous system,” she says. "To be effective, we have to stop the inflammation process, which we haven’t fully been able to do yet.”

Still, “stem-cell based therapies hold a lot of promise and potential,” Sicotte says. “You always have to temper that with the fact that it takes time to bring a great idea in the lab to humans.”

CINJ studies combo of vaccine and hormone therapy in prostate cancer treatment

Investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) have partnered with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and launched a clinical trial examining the effectiveness of a combined vaccine and hormone treatment for prostate cancer that is resistant to hormone therapy and not visible on imaging tests such as a CT scan and a bone scan. Researchers will compare these effects to those in patients who are receiving hormone therapy alone. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

According to the NCI, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. Numerous studies have shown that while the majority of prostate cancer patients are diagnosed with disease that has not spread beyond the prostate, between 30 and 40 percent of those patients will have disease progression within 10 years after having received initial treatment as shown by a rise in prostate specific antigen (PSA) level. Patients in this instance who have a rising PSA level without evidence of disease spread on imaging tests are commonly treated with hormone therapy. Even with hormonal therapy, PSA levels can still rise.

Investigators at CINJ and the NCI will explore using the body’s own T-cells as a means to directly target prostate cancer.Tcells are a type of white blood cell that plays a key role in the body’s natural defenses in fighting off disease.At focus in this trial is an experimental vaccine called PROSTVAC VF. PROSTVAC VF is a virus that has been modified to produce a PSA protein whose presence helps focus the body’s immune response against the prostate tumor. Other human genetic material in the PROSTVAC VF vaccine produces three proteins that help increase the T-cell’s ability to destroy its target.

All patients accepted for this study will receive flutamide, which is a standard hormone therapy for prostate cancer. Patients will randomly be assigned to receive the vaccine or no vaccine.Those patients not originally assigned to receive the vaccine will be given it at a later date if PSA levels are rising.

Mark Stein, M.D., medical oncologist at CINJ and assistant professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is the lead CINJ researcher on the new study. “With growing use of immune therapy to treat advanced forms of prostate cancer, there is great interest in exploring the impact that this type of treatment could have on the disease at a pre-metastatic stage,” he said.

Adults who are diagnosed with prostate cancer that is unresponsive to hormone therapy and not visible on imaging tests such as a CT scan and a bone scan, and have a rising PSA level, are eligible to take part in the trial, although other criteria must be met. Prior to being accepted into the study, participants would be required to undergo a number of tests including blood work and a physical exam. Participants would undergo PSA testing as well as other assessments on a regular basis throughout the study.

Free contraception may prevent abortions

Contraception includes condoms and birth control pills, but there are other, longer-term methods that are effective and reversible: Intrauterine devices and implants.

A new study in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology set out to see what would happen if these methods were given out at no cost. The study incorporated more than 9,000 girls and women at risk for unintended pregnancy.

Researchers found that teen births within the group of women who were part of this program was 6.3 per 1,000, which is much lower than the national rate of 34.1 per 1,000.

"We already spend $11 -- 12 billion on unintended pregnancies in the U.S., and I bet that money could go very far to provide contraception for many women in the U.S.," said Dr. Jeffrey Peipert, lead study author and researcher at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine.

Peipert and colleagues also found that the percentage of abortions that were repeat abortions was lower in this group of participants than in the St. Louis region in general, and the national average, during 2008 to 2010. The study intervention appeared to prevent one abortion for every 79 to 137 women who participated.

In previous research, Peipert and colleagues showed that these longer-term methods are as much as 20 times more effective than the birth control pill, the hormone patch and the hormonal vaginal ring. The long-acting options do not require the user to remember to take medications or change out a device, failings which can lead to unwanted pregnancies.

There are many barriers to the widespread use of long-acting reversible contraceptives in the United States, he said. One is the cost. One IUD costs a little over $700, not including the insertion fee, Peipert said, but it is very cost-effective given how long these devices last compared to other methods. The implant lasts three years, while the copper IUD lasts 10 years.

These longer-term options should be covered under insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, although it remains controversial whether religious-based insurance carriers must provide contraception, Peipert said.

Another challenge is that clinicians are wary to give them to very young women, although they have been shown to be safe. Patients are also less aware that these methods exist.

Participants in the program were between 14 and 45 years old, did not want to get pregnant for at least 12 months, and planned to engage in sexual activity with a male partner within the next six months. About 5,000 participants received a free reversible contraceptive method for three years, while the rest got it for two years. Researchers used a variety of methods to enroll people in the study; 16% of the participants had been recruited at abortion facilities.

"Increasing access to the most effective contraceptive methods by removing cost and access as barriers has greatly increased the number of adolescents and women in the St. Louis region using the most effective methods of birth control," the study said.

There are limitations, however. This study was limited to a very specific demographic area, so it's hard to say how it would apply on a broader scale. Also, the study authors did not directly measure unintended pregnancies, but used measures of teen pregnancy and repeat abortions as a proxy.

The funding for the study came from the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. One of the study authors, Dr. Tessa Madden, is on the Speaker's Bureau for Bayer Pharmaceuticals; there were no other conflicts of interest reported. The Washington University Human Research Protection Office gave approval before recruitment.

Cancer evidence builds against sunbeds

An international study which adds to growing evidence surrounding the cancer-causing risks of indoor tanning has prompted calls to tax the industry and increase health warnings to consumers.

The research comes as NSW pushes ahead with legislation to ban tanning salons by 2014, while Queensland is considering a similar move.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal this week, found that people who used tanning beds were more likely to develop two types of non-melanoma skin cancer, basal and squamous cell carcinoma.

The findings follow a study in the same journal in July that showed the risk of melanoma from sunbed use was 20 per cent, rising to 87 per cent if people were exposed before the age of 35.

Experts from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research said the two studies provided more convincing evidence that exposure to artificial ultraviolet radiation can cause skin cancers.

Senior researcher Catherine Olsen and Adele Green, the head of the cancer and population studies group at the university, said sunbeds were now banned in Brazil.

Meanwhile, people under the age of 18 were banned from using solariums in France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the UK, and parts of Australia, Canada and the US.

These laws should be linked to warnings by health professionals and educators about the risks of indoor tanning, the researchers wrote in an editorial in the same edition of the journal.

"Young people in particular should be made aware that the use of sunbeds for short-term cosmetic tanning carries the long-term price of an increased risk of skin cancer," they said.

US expert Simon Williams of Chicago's Northwestern University suggested the European Union should follow the US and introduce a tax on indoor tanning services to acknowledge that like tobacco, tanning is a carcinogen.

Indoor tanning is considered a class I carcinogen by the World Health Organisation.

The current study, led by Professor Eleni Linos at the University of California San Francisco, reviewed 12 studies including more than 9,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Using indoor tanning increased the risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by 67 per cent and basal cell carcinoma by 29 per cent, compared to never using solariums.

The researchers estimated tanning accounted for 3.7 per cent of basal cell carcinoma and 8.2 per cent of squamous cell carcinoma cases in the US alone.

Exposure to indoor tanning before the age of 25 increased the risk of developing basal cell carcinoma.

The authors said although non-melanoma cancer is rarely not lethal, it carries a considerable disease burden.

New Drug Approved for Advanced Colon Cancer

A new drug has received fast-track approval to treat advanced colon cancer, the Food and Drug Administration announced today (Sept. 27).

The drug, Stivarga, has been approved to treat patients with colorectal cancer that has progressed after treatment and spread to other parts of the body, the FDA said.

The drug, manufactured by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, works by blocking several enzymes that promote cancer growth. The FDA said it received a fast-track review designated for drugs that offer major advances in treatment or that provide treatment when no adequate therapy exists.

In a study, patients taking the drug lived about six weeks longer than patients taking a placebo.

"Stivarga is the latest colorectal cancer treatment to demonstrate an ability to extend patients' lives and is the second drug approved for patients with colorectal cancer in the past two months," said Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Last month the FDA approved the Sanofi-Regeneron drug Zaltrap for use in combination with a FOLFIRI (folinic acid, fluorouracil and irinotecan) chemotherapy regimen to treat adults with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and in women and the third leading cause of cancer death in men and in women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 143,400 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and 51,690 will die from the disease in 2012, the government estimates.

Stivarga was evaluated in a study of 760 patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients were randomly assigned to receive Stivarga or a placebo in addition to the best supportive care, which included treatments to help manage symptoms and side effects of cancer. Patients received treatment until their cancers progressed or side effects became unacceptable.

Patients treated with Stivarga and supportive care lived about 6.4 months, compared with five months for patients treated with placebo plus supportive care. Those who received Stivarga experienced a delay in tumor growth for about two months, compared with 1.7 months for patients receiving the placebo.

The Stivarga label warns that severe and fatal liver toxicity occurred in patients treated with Stivarga during clinical studies. The most common side effects reported in patients treated with Stivarga included weakness or fatigue, loss of appetite, hand-foot syndrome (also called palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia), diarrhea, mouth sores (mucositis), weight loss, infection, high blood pressure, and changes in voice volume or quality (dysphonia), the FDA said.

California Says No To "Gay Cure" Therapy

California is taking the proper steps to ban an extremely controversial form of psychotherapy that was developed to help turn gay teens straight. It will be the first state to have successfully banned the program.

The "gay therapy" practice said to be rarely used but has been backed by certain religious groups. Some Republicans also argue that banning the the program would interfere with parents' rights to provide psychological care for children as they see fit.

'One of our number one priorities in this house is to protect the next generation of Californians,' Mr Lara Democrat Ricardo Lara said, one of several openly gay legislators to champion the bill during a debate.

CBS News reports:
Effective Jan. 1, the state will prohibit what is known as reparative or conversion therapy for minors. Brown says the therapies "have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery." Gay rights groups say the practice is dangerous because it can put youth at higher risk of depression and suicide.

How do you feel about "gay therapy"?