Patients who suffer from chronic chest pain may benefit from an injection of stem cells into the heart, according to a new study.

Currently 850,000 Americans have chest pains that do not subside even with medicine, angioplasty or surgery, researchers say.

However, results from an experimental treatment indicate that stem cell injections can reduce the number of chest pain episodes by half, as well as improve exercise capability in those patients.

The study was the first randomized, controlled trial of stem-cell therapy to show significant improvements in both chest pain and exercise tolerance – which are both affected negatively by refractory angina, or chronic chest pain.

“One exciting potential of this procedure is that it will offer these folks an opportunity to get part of their lives back,” said Douglas Losordo, M.D., lead researcher and professor of medicine and director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Researchers used patients’ CD34+ stem cells, which circulate through the blood and play a role in forming new blood vessels.

In the study, 167 patients at 26 U.S. medical centers were randomized to one of three injection groups: low dose (100,000 CD34+ cells/kg body weight); high dose (500,000 CD34+ cells/kg body weight); or a placebo.

Using a catheter threaded into the heart, the researchers then injected the cells into muscle identified as receiving insufficient blood.  The injection was meant to create new vessels in the diseased heart muscle to improve blood flow to the area and reduce pain.

They found that a year after treatment, the low-dose group had about half as many episodes of chest pain as the placebo group.  They were also able to tolerate double the amount of exercise.

“It translates as going from being able to watch television to being able to walk at a normal pace or going from being able to walk slowly to being able to ride a bike,” Losordo said.

The study was published in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Government and medical intervention policies that promote health eating could cut the death rate for cardiovascular disease by half, according to new data.

British researchers found that intervention policies aimed at reducing unhealthy eating habits can have a significant effect on cardiovascular disease rates in a population.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States. It is responsible for approximately one out of every four deaths.

Poor diet is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease, though prior research has shown that small improvements can make a positive and rapid impact.

The study in question pointed to six foods that could slash the cardiovascular disease rate, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, vegetable oils and seafood. Meanwhile, cutting out excess starch, animal fat, salt and trans fats could also decrease the risk of heart disease.

The researchers also pointed out specific population-wide programs that were effective and inexpensive in decreasing heart disease rates. These included pricing policies that subsidized healthier foods and taxed less healthy ones, improved transportation and marketing of healthier foods, strict guidelines of food marketing to children and increased support of local markets that provide healthy foods.

Whilst drug and hospital based prevention are successful for high-risk individuals with cardiovascular diseases, these methods are relatively costly and not sustainable in many countries.

The study was published in the British Medical Journal.

People who abuse methamphetamine or other similar stimulants are significantly more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than people who do not abuse drugs, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada looked at 300,000 hospital records and found that patients who were admitted for methamphetamine or stimulant abuse had a 76 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than other people.

Globally, methamphetamine and similar stimulants are the second most commonly abused class of illicit drugs.

“This study provides evidence of this association for the first time, even though it has been suspected for 30 years,” said lead researcher Dr. Russell Callaghan, a scientist with CAMH.

Parkinson’s disease is caused by a deficiency in the brain’s ability to produce a chemical called dopamine. Previously, animal studies have shown that methamphetamine tends to damage to dopamine-producing areas of the brain.

Interestingly, cocaine abuse did not show similar health effects.  The findings also did not apply to patients who take amphetamines for medicinal purposes, such as ADHD, because the dosage for these people is much lower than that of drug abusers.

Put into numbers, the results essentially showed that for every 10,000 people who abuse methamphetamine, approximately 21 will develop Parkinson’s, compared with 12 people out of 10,000 in the general population.

However, the rate may actually be higher for methamphetamine abusers, the researchers warn, because it is often the case that drug abusers do not seek or have access to medical care.

Scientists are reporting success after initial lab tests on a vaccine that may someday be used to treat heroin addiction.

Though behavioral therapy and certain medicines are currently available to help patients kick their addiction to heroin, many still experience relapse or suffer unwanted side-effects.

In order to overcome these downfalls, researchers developed and are in the process of testing a new vaccine that may serve as an additional tool in helping addicts to abstain from the drug.

Researchers injected drug-addicted rats with the vaccine and found that afterwards, the rats showed less willingness to self-administer heroin.

Heroin use costs the United States more than $22 billion annually in medical and law enforcement expenses, as well as productivity loss.

The results of the study appear in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Everything in your body reaches for nurturing during pregnancy and using medicinal herbs carefully can keep you strong during your pregnancy. First, it is recommended that you consult both your doctor and an established herbalist before taking any medicines, natural or synthetic. It is important to remember that even though herbs are natural medicines, they are indeed medicinal and need to be taken with care.

“Your body will do what it is supposed to do if you keep yourself healthy. Women are made to give birth, and pregnancy should not be treated as a disease,” said Karyn Sanders, the founder of the Blue Otter School of Herbal Medicine in Yreka, California.  “If you do need some help with nausea or other symptoms of pregnancy, or if you have a history of miscarriage, herbal medicine—provided by a knowledgeable herbalist—can offer great benefits.” more »

Americans will be able to turn in unused prescription drugs at more than 4,700 sites nationwide on Saturday, April 30, as part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, US News and World Report reported.

The free event, sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, will take place from 10 a.m to 2 p.m.  Collection sites can be found by visiting the DEA website (www.dea.gov) and clicking the “Got Drugs?” banner.

DEA officials say the event allows people to safely dispose of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs that could be stolen and misused if left in a home medicine cabinet.

Take-Back day is also an opportunity to educate people about prescription drug abuse, according to DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart.  Statistics from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that more Americans abuse prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined.

Most often, the drugs are obtained from family and friends.

“Studies have shown that, for many, prescription drugs are the very first drugs they abuse and all too often they aren’t the last,” Leonhart said.  “That is why we are committed to helping Americans keep their homes safe by ridding their medicine cabinets of expired, unused, and unwanted drugs.”

Last year, more than 242,000 pounds of prescription drugs were collected at nearly 4,100 sites operated by government, community, public health and law enforcement partners, according to a DEA news release.

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