Metformin, Diabetes and Death
December 13, 2010 by admin
Filed under Cancer, Kidney Disease, Metformin, Weekly Health Update, cardiovascular disease, death, diabetes, health, mortality
Welcome to Weekly Health Update“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”
METFORMIN, DIABETES AND DEATH Metformin is a diabetes medication that is of great interest to me, and to other cancer specialists, because of intriguing research data suggesting that it may reduce the risk of cancer occurrence and cancer recurrence in people with diabetes. (Diabetes is, itself, a risk factor for certain types of cancer, including one of the most lethal of all cancers, pancreatic cancer.) Metformin has been shown to be particularly beneficial in reducing the risk of death due to the complications of diabetes in overweight and obese patients, who are especially prone to developing diabetes. However, there has been some concern regarding the potential safety of metformin in patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease and kidney disease, and so this first-line diabetes medication has not been extensively prescribed to diabetic patients with these diseases. (Somewhat ironically, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease are, themselves, known complications of diabetes.) For this reason, the clinical research study that I will be discussing in today’s column is especially important to the estimated 24 million patients in the United States, alone, who have diabetes, and to the hundreds of thousands of diabetic patients who have already developed cardiovascular disease and kidney disease in the US. This newly published study, which appears in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, reports on the results of the massive Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Study, which included 19,691 patients with documented diabetes. (The researchers involved in the REACH Study have been following this huge number of patient volunteers since they enlisted in the study between December 2003 and December 2004.) The findings of this very large prospective public health study validate the findings of smaller prior clinical studies. In this study, diabetic patients with cardiovascular disease were significantly less likely to die during the course of this study if they took metformin instead of other diabetes medications (or no diabetes medication at all). The patients in this study who took metformin were 24 percent less likely to die when compared to the diabetic patients who did not take metformin. Among patients with congestive heart failure, which has until recently has been considered a contraindication to taking metformin, the use of metformin was associated with a 31 percent reduction in death due to all causes. Moreover, patients with other health conditions that have previously thought to preclude diabetes treatment with metformin also appeared to benefit from metformin in this study. Diabetic patients with cardiovascular disease who were older than 65 years were 23 percent less likely to die if they took metformin, while patients with decreased kidney function (estimated creatinine clearance of 30 to 60 ml/minute) experienced a whopping 36 percent decrease in the risk of death if they took metformin. As this was an observational study (i.e., there were no randomized groups of patients, and there was no placebo-control group), it should be urgently followed with a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical research study to confirm these highly important clinical findings. Taken together, however, the findings of this pivotal public health study are certain to eventually expand the number of patients with diabetes who will be considered eligible to receive metformin!
For a complete discussion of metformin as a potential cancer prevention agent, as well as other important evidence-based approaches to cancer prevention, order your copy of my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, now! For the price of a cheeseburger, fries, and a shake, you can purchase this landmark new book, and begin living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle today!
Click the following link to join Dr. Wascher on Facebook
GIVE THE GIFT OF HEALTH THIS HOLIDAY SEASON! For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores! On Thanksgiving Day, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com Top 100 Bestseller’s List for Kindle e-books! Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link: I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people, from around the world, who visit this premier global health information website every month. (As of 9/16/2010, more than 1,000,000 health-conscious people have logged onto Weekly Health Update so far this year!) As always, I enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can. |
|
Mammograms Save Lives in Women with Family History of Breast Cancer
November 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under Breast Cancer, Cancer, Cancer Prevention, Family History of Breast Cancer, Mammograms, Weekly Health Update, health
Welcome to Weekly Health Update“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”
MAMMOGRAMS SAVE LIVES IN WOMEN WITH FAMILY HISTORY OF BREAST CANCER
While the debate about whether or not routine screening mammograms can save lives continues in some circles, the clinical research evidence supporting mammograms as a lifesaving cancer screening exam continues to accumulate. Now, a newly published public health study, which appears in The Lancet Oncology, examines the survival benefit associated with routine screening mammograms in women who have a family history of breast cancer. In this large multicenter prospective clinical research study, which was performed in the UK, 6,710 women between the ages of 40 and 42 were enrolled in this study, and were followed for an average of about 4 years. These women, who had at least some family history of breast cancer, underwent annual screening mammograms as part of this clinical research study. This study used two important control groups to assess the impact of regular annual screening mammograms on the risk of mortality in these young women. The first control group consisted of women who were at average risk for breast cancer (these women, themselves, served as the control group for the enormous UK Age Trial, which included more than 106,000 patient volunteers, and which recently reported a 10-year follow-up of its results). The second control group, against which these 6,710 women with an intermediate familial risk of breast cancer were compared, included young women from another large public health study that was performed in the Netherlands. Among the 136 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer during the relatively brief course of this ongoing study, 77 percent were diagnosed by screening mammography, while 21 percent were diagnosed when they presented with a new breast lump (or with other clinical signs or symptoms of breast cancer). (Another 2 percent of patients failed to attend their scheduled screening mammograms, and subsequently developed clinical signs or symptoms of breast cancer.) In this study (and as other studies have shown, even among women who are at average risk of developing breast cancer), breast cancers that were detected by annual screening mammograms were significantly smaller in size, and significantly less likely to be associated with the spread of cancer to the lymph nodes. In addition to these very important breast cancer prognostic factors, women who were diagnosed with breast cancer as a result of annual screening mammograms had much less aggressive appearing tumors under the microscope when compared to women who were diagnosed with breast cancer only after a lump, or other signs of breast cancer, appeared. Based upon the findings of this newly published study, young women with even an intermediate risk of breast cancer, based upon having one or more relatives with breast cancer, were 20 percent less likely to die within 10 years when compared with a poorly screened, or unscreened, average-risk population of young women. Moreover, this survival advantage appeared to be directly related to annual screening mammograms, once all other breast cancer risk factors among these three populations of women had been considered.
For a complete discussion of the compelling scientific evidence linking routine screening mammograms with a decreased risk of death due to breast cancer, please see the extended clinical section on breast cancer in my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race.
Click the following link to join Dr. Wascher on Facebook
GIVE THE GIFT OF HEALTH THIS HOLIDAY SEASON! For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores! On Thanksgiving Day, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com Top 100 Bestseller’s List for Kindle e-books! Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity
Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author
For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link:
I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people, from around the world, who visit this premier global health information website every month. (As of 9/16/2010, more than 1,000,000 health-conscious people have logged onto Weekly Health Update so far this year!) As always, I enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can. |
|
|
Vitamin D, Cardiovascular Disease & Death
February 7, 2010 by admin
Filed under Uncategorized
Welcome to Weekly Health Update“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”
VITAMIN D, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE & DEATH
There is mounting evidence that Vitamin D plays a much more complex role in maintaining health beyond its primary function in regulating calcium absorption. Increasingly, research data suggests that this hormone-like vitamin may also play important roles in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well. (A comprehensive update on Vitamin D’s cancer prevention properties will appear in my forthcoming book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race.”)
The vast majority of published research studies in disease prevention have relied upon low-level research methods, including surveys of patient volunteers and retrospective medical chart reviews. More recently, however, high-quality prospective, randomized cardiovascular disease prevention and cancer prevention clinical research trials have been performed. These high-level studies have the potential to significantly improve lifestyle-based approaches to preventing the diseases that, together, cause the majority of all premature deaths.
A newly published prospective clinical research study, from the Chianti region of Italy, enrolled more than 1,000 adults, aged 65 years and older. All patient volunteers were tested for the level of Vitamin D in their blood when they joined this study, and all of these older adults were then carefully followed for an average of nearly 7 years. During the course of this study, 228 study participants died. The researchers then compared the levels of Vitamin D in the blood of the participants who died during the study with those of the volunteers who survived. (This study is published in the current issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.)
The findings of this prospective clinical study were striking. The patient volunteers with the lowest levels of Vitamin D in their blood were more than 2 times as likely to die, from any cause, when compared with the patients who had the highest levels of Vitamin D in their blood. The patients with the lowest Vitamin D levels were also nearly 3 times as likely to die from heart attacks, and other complications related to cardiovascular disease, when compared to the patients with high levels of Vitamin D in their blood. These dramatic findings held up even after the researchers made statistical adjustments for differences in the age, gender, education level, exercise habits, and other health-related factors among these two groups of study participants.
As we age, our bodies become less efficient in converting sunlight into Vitamin D, and multiple research studies have shown that the majority of older adults are deficient in Vitamin D. A growing number of high-level clinical research studies, such as this Italian study, continue to suggest that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, bone fractures, and decreased muscle strength in older men and women. Therefore, the importance of this vitamin-hormone in maintaining optimal health is becoming increasingly apparent.
For additional Weekly Health Update articles on Vitamin D, please click the following links:
http://doctorwascher.com/Archives/2-3-08 http://doctorwascher.com/Archives/10-11-09.htm http://doctorwascher.com/Archives/11-8-09.html http://doctorwascher.com/Archives/9-20-09.htm http://doctorwascher.com/Archives/8-9-09.htm http://doctorwascher.com/Archives/12-28-08.htm http://doctorwascher.com/Archives/10-5-08.htm http://doctorwascher.com/Archives/6-29-08.htm
In view of the extreme devastation and human misery brought about in Haiti by the recent earthquake, Weekly Health Update asks our tens of thousands of caring readers to give generously to established charities that are currently working in that country to assist the injured, the ill, and the homeless there. There are many such legitimate charities, including the following two: http://www.imcworldwide.org/haiti Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, a professor of surgery, a cancer researcher, an oncology consultant, and a widely published author For a somewhat lighter perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Tdv7XW0qg |
|
|
