October 31, 2007
Study: 1 in 7 over 70 suffer dementia
Nearly 15% of seniors age 71 and older have dementia of some sort - and nearly two-thirds of those have Alzheimer's disease, a new analysis suggests.
That is equal to about 3.4 million Americans with dementia of some kind, according to the National Institutes of Health-sponsored study. It is the first to estimate rates of dementia and Alzheimer's disease using a nationally representative sample of seniors across the country, researchers said.
The analysis was part of the Aging, Demographics and Memory Study (ADAMS), which itself is a part of the larger Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Findings were published online this week in "Neuroepidemiology.“
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October 25, 2007
Folic Acid & Vitamin B12 Decrease Risk of Hip Fracture in Stroke Patients
Patients who took folic acid and vitamin B12 after their stroke had a reduced risk of hip fracture compared to patients who took placebo, according to an article in the March issue of JAMA.
According to background information in the article, stroke patients have a two to four times greater risk of hip fracture than their healthy peers. Researchers believe this may be due to higher levels of plasma homocysteine (an amino acid) in stroke patients, which may be associated with osteoporosis and the risk of a hip fracture. Homocysteine levels may be decreased by treatment with folic acid and vitamin B12.
Yoshihiro Sato, M.D., from the Mitate Hospital, Tagawa, Japan, and colleagues investigated the occurrence of hip fractures in stroke patients who were given folic acid and vitamin B12, and those who received placebo. Of patients studied, 314 received 5 mg of folate and 1500 micrograms of B12, while 314 patients received placebo. Participants were instructed to keep track of falls on a daily calendar. Five hundred fifty-nine patients completed this two-year follow-up.
The researchers recorded six hip fractures in patients who received folic acid and B12, and 27 hip fractures in the placebo group. The difference in total number of fractures over the two-year follow up was significant, with eight fractures in the treatment group and 32 in the placebo group. Patients receiving folic acid and B12 experienced a 38 percent decrease in their plasma homocysteine levels, while levels increased by 31 percent in the placebo group.
"Treatment with folate and mecobalamin [vitamin B12] was effective in reducing the risk of the serious poststroke complication of fractures. The high incidence of hip fractures in elderly patients with stroke may be attributed to frequent falls, as well as osteoporosis…" the authors write. "In our study, the number of falls was similar in both groups during the follow-up period and the combined therapy with folate and [vitamin B12] prevented hip fractures in patients with stroke despite frequent falls."
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October 16, 2007
Blood test could target Alzheimer's victimsA new blood test may be the key to separating seniors with mild memory problems with those who ultimately will develop Alzheimer's disease, according to an international team of scientists.
Analyzing blood samples from patients who were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, researchers predicted with 81% accuracy who would ultimately develop Alzheimer's, 30 months before clinical diagnosis, on average.
The study is expected to lead to the development of a commercial test for the disease. While researchers admit that further study is needed, they believe that advanced knowledge of an Alzheimer's diagnosis facilitates earlier treatment. The study was published in the Oct. 14 online issue of Nature Medicine.
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October 8, 2007
New report reinforces flu shot's benefits
A new report continues to fuel the debate over the need for flu shots in the elderly. This latest take finds that flu shots are necessary, reducing the hospitalization and death rate among older people who take them.
Flu shots cut hospitalizations for pneumonia by 27% and reduced the overall death rate by one-half in the elderly, according to a 10-year analysis led by Dr. Kristin Nichol of the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis. The study is reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
While two recent studies concluded the elderly receive no appreciable benefit from getting the flu shot, this newest study says the flu shot offers a definite benefit to people 65 and older, Nichol said.
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October 3, 2007
FDA warns Eli Lilly over promotional material for Cymbalta
In a letter posted to the FDA's website on Tuesday, the agency warned Eli Lilly that a promotional item the company sent to physicians for Cymbalta (duloxetine) contained "false or misleading" information concerning the drug's use in treating neuropathic pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The regulator requested that the drugmaker no longer distribute the document or other promotional material using similar language.
"The mailer is false or misleading in that it overstates the efficacy of Cymbalta and omits some of the most serious and important risk information associated with its use," the FDA remarked. The regulator said the company's claim that Cymbalta produces "significantly less pain interference with overall functioning...has not been demonstrated by substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience."
Furthermore, the FDA stated that the promotional item fails to mention information about potential liver damage that appears in the precaution section of the drug's label. Additionally, the advertisement omits conditions under which the drug should not be prescribed, such as if a patient is already taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, the agency noted in its letter dated September 21.
In response, company spokesperson Charlie McAtee remarked that the promotional material, which was produced in 2005, is no longer being used. Eli Lilly "is committed to safety first and foremost, and we want to provide clinically accurate and balanced material," the spokesperson added.
Cymbalta is currently approved in the US for major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, and the management of neuropathic pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
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