Healthcare Shopper News

For the informed consumer of health care

February 2007 Monthly Archive

Garlic Does Not Lower Cholesterol

Despite widespread claims, garlic has not been proven to lower cholesterol. Studies on the effectiveness of garlic have shown conflicting results. A number of the studies indicate that it lowers cholesterol, while other studies show that it has no effect at all. Dr Christopher Gardner at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, California, enlisted 192 men and women to participate in a study. The patients all had slightly elevated cholesterol (LDL) levels. The range of LDL concentrations in their blood was... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 27, 2007 8:44 PM
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Elderly Caffein Users Have Lower Risk of Death by Heart Disease

People who are 65 years of age or older and who have a higher than average caffeine intake are indicated to be a lower risk of coronary vascular disease and also heart mortality than those of the same age with a lower recorded intake. The reason is most likely to be due to the beneficial effect of caffeine on blood pressure. It was also found that the higher their intake, the more beneficial the results except for those who were... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 27, 2007 11:00 AM
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Large Doses of Vitamin D May Help Prevent Elderly Falls

Elderly nursing home residents (average 89 years old) taking part in a study were given 800 IUs of vitamin D daily for five months. They were found to take less falls than those who were given lower doses, no vitamin D or a sugar pill placebo. Most participants in the study were white women who had experienced a fall within the previous year. For the duration of the five-month study, 61 participants, or 59%, suffered falls. The group taking the... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 23, 2007 6:22 PM
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Non-surgical Treatment for Uterine Fibroids

At least 25 percent of women suffer from uterine fibroids and as many as 77 percent of women may actually have the condition but be unaware of it, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Although the tumors are benign, there are several uncomfortable and often very painful symptoms such as heavy bleeding, frequent urination, cramping and painful periods. Traditionally, treatment options have included some rather expensive hormonal treatments or even invasive surgical procedures like hysterectomies and myomectomies. The... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 19, 2007 1:35 PM
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Vitamin D Can Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer by 50%

A high level of vitamin D in the blood can reduce breast cancer risk by half. Edward Gorham, a professor of family and preventive medicine at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, and colleagues analyzed data from two previous studies on the response to vitamin D among 1,760 people. The researchers divided participants into five groups based on vitamin D levels. The study found that participants with the lowest vitamin D levels had the highest incidence of breast cancer, while breast... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 14, 2007 2:43 PM
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Some health care providers refuse to provide care that counters their moral and religious beliefs

Patients seeking treatments that might be controversial should learn about their medical options and choose physicians accordingly. Some medical professionals do not make their patients aware of all treatment options, including abortion, contraception, or even sedation for dying patients, that they oppose on moral grounds. A bioethicist at the University of Chicago, Farr Curlin, submitted questionnaires to 2,000 physicians nationwide and received responses from 1,144. The answers provided by the participating physicians showed that 52% were opposed to abortion after... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 12, 2007 8:01 PM
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What Doctors and Patients Don't Like About Each Other

According to a survey published in the February issue of Consumer Reports, they polled 39,000 subscribers and 335 primary care physicians selected at random from a national list. Patients said that their physicians failed to disclose the cost of medications or office visits, and one-third said that their physicians failed to discuss the side effects of treatments. About 19% of patients said that they could not make appointments with their physicians within one week, and 7% said that their physicians... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 11, 2007 11:25 AM
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Generic Drug Utilization Increases

Generic-drug utilization exeeds 60 percent in Medicare Part D. The high generic dispensing rate in Medicare Part D is helping to keep Part D premiums and program costs lower than originally forecast. In recent months, numerous studies have shown the important role that increased use of generic drugs can play in lowering health care costs. In addition, competition from generic alternatives helped contribute to prescription drug-spending growth rate in 2005 slowing to its lowest growth rate in over a decade,... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 9, 2007 2:23 PM
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Silicone Breast Implants are Unsafe

Despite FDA's recent approval (November 2006) of silicone breast implants, there still are considerable risks that women must consider before walking into the operating room. The FDA approval stipulates that the manufacturers inform women that the implants are not lifetime devices and that most recipients will need at least one additional surgery to replace or remove their implants. In addition, women also will need to receive magnetic resonance imaging every two to three years to ensure the implants are not... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 9, 2007 2:14 PM
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Texas mandates HPV Vaccine in Schools

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed an executive order mandating that girls entering the sixth grade receive a human papillomavirus vaccine beginning in September 2008. Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. Perry said that parents who do not want their daughters to receive an HPV vaccine "for reasons of... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on February 8, 2007 7:33 PM
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