Stroke

Consumption of sugar sweetened soft drinks and fructose is strongly associated with an increased risk of gout in men, finds a study published by the British Medical Journal. Gout is a joint disease which causes extreme pain and swelling. It is most common in...

Angina in the legs? Time to alert patients and physicians. Edmonton researchers recommend that people over age 40 be screened for peripheral artery disease (PAD), which puts people at high risk for serious medical complications including heart disease, stroke, and possible lower limb amputation. It contributes to thousands of deaths every year yet nobody knows for sure how many...

Patients who had experienced a heart attack and lowered their blood homocysteine levels with folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation did not have an associated lower risk of heart attack, coronary death or stroke, according to a study in the June 23/30 issue of JAMA. However, the researchers did find that folic acid supplementation did not increase the risk of cancer, which has been speculated.

Despite previous studies suggesting the contrary, statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) may not prevent blood clots (venous thrombo-embolism) in adults, according to a large analysis by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

Melinda Sothern, PhD, CEP, Professor of Public Health and Director of Health Promotion at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present evidence that supports relationships seen in adolescents between insulin sensitivity and fatty liver, belly fat, and total body fat and identifies additional potential early markers of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in healthy 7-9 year-old children, including fat in muscle cells, blood pressure, physical activity, and birth weight.

Study highlights: * Measuring blood flow in the ankle may identify stroke survivors at risk of subsequent events. * This test, the ankle brachial index, compares blood flow in the ankle to blood flow in the arm to detect poor circulation caused by fatty plaque buildup in the lower ...

New research finds that one out of 12 people who have a stroke will likely soon have another stroke, and one out of four will likely die within one year. Researchers say the findings highlight the vital need for better secondary stroke prevention.

Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of stroke in middle-aged and older adults, especially men, according to new results from a landmark study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

A diagnosis of cancer, diabetes — even cirrhosis or Parkinson’s disease — will send shivers down the spines of most people. But flu? We tend to view it as little more than an occasional feverish nuisance that sends us to bed with joint pain, congestion and nausea (or worse). What so many of us fail to appreciate is that flu can kill. Having filed a news story, yesterday, on concerns about the potential for development of resistance to the leading flu-fighting drug (Tamiflu), I was sensitized to influenza incidence data. From the World Health Organization...

Dietary supplementation with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) on the morning of a tennis match allows athletes to maintain their edge. A randomized, controlled trial reported in BioMed Central's open access Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that those players who received the supplement showed no decline in skilled tennis performance after a simulated match.

Occasional erratic heart rhythms appear to cause about one-fifth of strokes for which a cause is not readily established, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012.About one-third of survivors leave the hospital with the cause of their stroke still undetermined.

Habitually sleeping less than six hours a night significantly increases the risk of stroke symptoms among middle-age to older adults who are of normal weight and at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study of 5,666 people followed for up to three years.