http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an uncommon chronic liver disease characterized by progressive inflammation and destruction of the bile ducts. The disease progresses slowly, usually leading to biliary cirrhosis, portal hypertension and liver failure over a 10-15 year period. PSC is a common cause of adult cholestatic liver diseases and a primary source behind many of the liver transplantations in U.S. adults. At least 70% of PSC cases are associated with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), usually ulcerative colitis. Currently, there is no cure for PSC and prospective treatments remain ineffective. http://www.physorg.com/news169898396.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:20:04 EST news169898396 Patients with cirrhosis are at risk for developing portal hypertension that can lead to the formation, dilation, and rupture of esophageal varices. The annual incidence of esophageal varices is approximately 5% and one third of those will bleed. http://www.physorg.com/news169898284.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:10:03 EST news169898284 Crosstalk between cells lining the lung (epithelial cells) and airway smooth muscle cells is important in lung development. However, it has also been shown to contribute to several lung diseases, including asthma and pulmonary hypertension. http://www.physorg.com/news169750998.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:10:01 EST news169750998 Taking dexamathasone prophlyactically may improve exercise capacity in some mountaineers, according to Swiss researchers. Dexamathasone, known popularly to climbers as "dex," has been used for years to treat altitude-related symptoms in mountaineers, but has never been tested for its ability to improve exercise capacity at high altitude. http://www.physorg.com/news169212677.html Medicine & Health Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:50:04 EST news169212677 (PhysOrg.com) -- Drugs that block the formation of new blood vessels that feed tumor growth are helping some cancer patients enjoy longer lives. http://www.physorg.com/news168620186.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:56:59 EST news168620186 The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped a clinical trial testing a drug treatment for pulmonary hypertension in adults with sickle cell disease nearly one year early due to safety concerns. In an interim review of safety data from 33 participants who completed 16 weeks of treatment, researchers found that, compared to participants on placebo (dummy pill), participants taking sildenafil (Revatio) were significantly more likely to have serious medical problems. The most common problem was episodes of severe pain called sickle cell crises, which resulted in hospitalization. No deaths have been associated with the drug in the clinical trial. http://www.physorg.com/news168017149.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:26:19 EST news168017149 Striking differences in the risk factors for developing heart failure (HF) and patient prognosis exist between men and women. Men and women may also respond differently to treatment, raising concerns about whether current practices provide the best care and reinforcing the urgency for sex-specific clinical trials for HF, according to a review article published in the August 4, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. http://www.physorg.com/news167934550.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:50:01 EST news167934550 People with potentially 'stigmatizing' medical conditions are just as likely as those with less stigmatizing illnesses to allow their personal information to be used for health research. A new study, published in the open access journal BMC Medical Ethics, found that the purpose of the research and the type of information to be collected were more important in determining patients' consent choices. In particular, they were very wary of allowing their personal information to be put to commercial use. http://www.physorg.com/news167633387.html Medicine & Health Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:50:22 EST news167633387 Adherence to modifiable lifestyle and dietary factors including maintaining normal weight, daily vigorous exercise, eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and low in sodium and taking a folic acid supplement was associated with a significantly lower incidence of self-reported hypertension among women, according to a study in the July 22/29 issue of JAMA. http://www.physorg.com/news167415689.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:40:01 EST news167415689 Predicting whether pregnancy complications affect long-term maternal health as well as future pregnancies is at the heart of two studies conducted by researchers in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news167318602.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:40:03 EST news167318602 Cardiovascular disease is increasing in adults under 50 and those of lower socioeconomic status, despite recent trends which show that cardiovascular disease is declining in Canada overall, say researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. Untreated cardiovascular disease can lead to heart failure, coronary artery disease and death, and is the most common cause of hospitalization in North America. http://www.physorg.com/news167314793.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:30:03 EST news167314793 A team led by researchers from the National Institutes of Health today reported the discovery of five genetic variants related to blood pressure in African-Americans, findings that may provide new clues to treating and preventing hypertension. The effort marks the first time that a relatively new research approach, called a genome-wide association study, has focused on blood pressure and hypertension in an African-American population. http://www.physorg.com/news167026183.html Medicine & Health Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:10:31 EST news167026183 Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that patients with uncontrolled hypertension respond to treatment intensification regardless of their degree of adherence to antihypertensive medications. This study, which has been published online in Hypertension could have an immediate impact on clinical care, as it challenges a widely held assumption. http://www.physorg.com/news166205146.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:06:14 EST news166205146 Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Cardiovascular Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood pressure. http://www.physorg.com/news165808114.html Medicine & Health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:20:01 EST news165808114 It is known that more intensive management of hypertension can improve blood pressure control and thus improve cardiovascular outcomes. However, there are several different systems of measuring the intensity of management of hypertension, and they have not been previously compared. If one system performs best, it would be important to use it to measure intensity of management for research and quality improvement purposes. Researchers from Boston University have compared different measures of treatment intensity in hypertension care and have found that one of the measures should be preferred to the others. This study, which appears in the July issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, shows that the measure originally described by Okonofua, et al. (Hypertension, 2006) predicts blood pressure control more effectively than the other two measures studied. http://www.physorg.com/news164453643.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:34:43 EST news164453643 Retirement from some occupations may not provide relief from the potentially devastating health effects of work-related hypertension, according to a new study from UC Davis. http://www.physorg.com/news163773881.html Medicine & Health Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:45:07 EST news163773881 There is a high probability of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in non-obese, middle-aged patients, according to new research. http://www.physorg.com/news163737165.html Medicine & Health Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:33:13 EST news163737165 For patients with persistent insomnia, a combination of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and the medication zolpidem for 6 weeks was associated with improvement in sleep, although for a longer treatment period CBT alone was more beneficial, according to a study in the May 20 issue of JAMA. http://www.physorg.com/news161974740.html Medicine & Health Tue, 19 May 2009 17:59:26 EST news161974740 Children who have high blood pressure are more likely to have learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than children who are not hypertensive. They are also more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI), an indicator of body fat. http://www.physorg.com/news160673994.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 May 2009 16:40:27 EST news160673994 Obstructive sleep apnea, or periodic interruptions in breathing throughout the night, thickens sufferers' blood vessels. Moreover, it increases the risk of several forms of heart and vascular disease. http://www.physorg.com/news160673771.html Biology Mon, 04 May 2009 16:36:50 EST news160673771 Patients newly diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol are significantly more likely to delay initiating recommended drug treatment if they face higher co-payments for medications, according to a new RAND Corporation study. http://www.physorg.com/news160146402.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:07:05 EST news160146402 Increased carotid artery wall thickness (CAWT), which can cause heart attack and stroke in many patients, is significantly related to diabetes and hypertension, according to a study performed at A.O.U. in Cagliari Sardegna, Italy. http://www.physorg.com/news159716641.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:46:17 EST news159716641 The American College of Physicians (ACP) today released "Know Your Numbers: A Guide to Managing High Blood Pressure." Available for free to ACP member physicians to distribute to patients and their families, the guidebook and accompanying DVD -- featuring sportscaster James Brown -- will help patients learn about high blood pressure, what steps to take to control it, and how to lower the risk of heart and blood vessel problems. http://www.physorg.com/news159540874.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:54:56 EST news159540874 Women with psoriasis appear to have an increased risk for developing diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure), according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology. http://www.physorg.com/news159473529.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:12:38 EST news159473529 Corticosteroids are powerful drugs used to treat inflammatory conditions such as asthma and other chronic diseases which has made them among the most widely prescribed drugs. Although the anti-inflammatory drugs offer swift relief to the patient, they can carry with them serious side effects. For example, the inflammatory steroids used to treat a child's asthma, but can stunt the child's growth over time. Similarly, adult treatment of Addison's disease, which President John F. Kennedy endured, can lead to the development of diabetes and hypertension. http://www.physorg.com/news159191534.html Medicine & Health Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:52:31 EST news159191534 Sleep is such an essential part of human existence that we spend about a third of our lives doing it -- some more successfully than others. Sleep disorders afflict some 50-70 million people in the United States and are a major cause of disease and injury. People who suffer from disturbed sleep have an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, hypertension, obesity, depression, and accidents. Nearly a fifth of all serious car crashes, in fact, are linked to sleeplessness. http://www.physorg.com/news159023422.html Other Sciences Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:10:49 EST news159023422 (PhysOrg.com) -- If you suffer from hypertension, how much does your risk for developing diabetes or other illnesses increase? Medical experts have long known that many diseases are related to one another, even to the point that there are often no clear boundaries between different diseases. Such correlations occur because diseases can have multiple causes, and also because multiple diseases can have the same cause (for example, the same gene or protein pathway). http://www.physorg.com/news159015435.html Biology Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:57:57 EST news159015435 Young adults who have been incarcerated appear more likely to have high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy, an enlarging of the heart muscle that is a common consequence of hypertension, according to a report in the April 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. They also appear less likely to have access to regular medical care than those who have not been incarcerated. http://www.physorg.com/news158862158.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:23:14 EST news158862158 Kim Harper started a career before starting a family. After graduating from Michigan State University in 1990, she traveled, earned a law degree and began working as an attorney. When Harper married in 2006, she and her husband, Jeff, hoped a baby would soon follow. http://www.physorg.com/news158567193.html Medicine & Health Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:27:45 EST news158567193 In a new study, a therapeutic agent called sorafenib dramatically improved the condition of rats with portal hypertension. The drug is already approved in several countries for treatment of kidney and liver cancer, and it may be time to consider it for patients suffering from advanced portal hypertension, the authors suggest. Their findings are in the April issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). http://www.physorg.com/news157810010.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:07:50 EST news157810010