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Study Links Recurrence Of Abnormal Cervical Cells To Age, Treatment Type
Older women, women with a higher grade of precancerous cells and women who undergo a freezing procedure known as cryotherapy to remove abnormal cervical cells are at a higher risk than other groups that the problem cells will return or develop into cervical cancer, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Reuters reports. For the study, Joy Melnikow of the University of California-Davis and colleagues compared 37,000 women who were treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia -- abnormal cervical cells -- from 1986 through 2000 with 71,000 women who had no history of abnormal cervical cells.The researchers found that the risk of cervical cancer and recurrence of medium to severe degrees of CIN was highest for women who were older than age 40, who had been previously treated for severe CIN or whose abnormal cells were treated using cryotherapy. The women underwent cone biopsies a surgical procedure to remove abnormal cells were least likely to have a recurrence of CIN. According to Melnikow, recurrence was most likely to occur within the first six years after treatment. Melnikow said that women who have been treated surgically have higher risks of bleeding and preterm labor. Therefore, younger women who are planning to become pregnant might prefer cryotherapy, she said, adding that younger women"s "risk of recurrence is lower, and a recurrence can be treated again" (Steenhuysen, Reuters, 5/12).
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Lobbyists Elbow For Attention As Health Reform Votes Loom
The conservative message on health care is that President Obama"s revamp of the health care system in America will produce a costly government-run program that limits patient choice, The Associated Press reports.
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New Cases Of Alzheimer's And Dementia Continue To Rise, Even In The 'Oldest Old'
The number of people with Alzheimer"s and dementia - both new cases and
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Why Smoking Increases The Risk Of Heart Disease And Strokes

Researchers at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles and Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona have discovered a reason why smoking increases the risk of heart disease and strokes. The study, which was presented at The Endocrine Society"s 91st annual meeting in Washington, D.C., found that nicotine in cigarettes promotes insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition that raises blood sugar levels higher than normal. People with pre-diabetes are at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Theodore Friedman, MD, Ph.D., chief of the endocrinology division at Charles Drew University, said the findings help explain a "paradox" that links smoking to heart disease. Smokers experience a high degree of cardiovascular deaths, Friedman said. "This is surprising considering both smoking and nicotine may cause weight loss and weight loss should protect against cardiovascular disease." The researchers studied the effects of twice-daily injections of nicotine on 24 adult mice over two weeks. The nicotine-injected mice ate less food, lost weight and had less fat than control mice that received injections without nicotine. "Our results in mice show that nicotine administration leads to both weight loss and decreased food intake," Friedman said. "Mice exposed to nicotine have less fat. In spite of this, mice have abnormal glucose tolerance and are insulin resistant (pre-diabetes)." Studies have shown that smokers who are pre-diabetic have blood glucose levels higher than normal, but not high enough for diabetes, a known risk factor for heart disease. Smokers also have higher rates of diabetes, but it is not directly clear whether smoking is the cause, because there could be other risk factors, Friedman said. In the tests, however, the mice receiving nicotine developed pre-diabetes and also had high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which increases blood pressure and blood sugar. The study"s authors were able to partially reverse the harmful effects of pre-diabetes by treating the mice with a drug that blunts the action of nicotine. "Our results suggest that decreasing insulin resistance may reduce the heart disease seen in smokers," Friedman said. "We anticipate that in the future there will be drugs to specifically block the effect of nicotine on insulin resistance." New drugs are needed because those that are currently available are not specific enough to completely block nicotine"s effects or they have bothersome side effects, said Friedman, whose study is one of 34 featured at The Endocrine Society"s 91st annual meeting.. John L. Mitchell Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science


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