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Fibromyalgia patients were randomized to a treatment protocol consisting of 12 weeks of tai chi instruction and practice or a control intervention of wellness education and stretching exercises also of 12 weeks duration. The tai chi treatment group demonstrated clinically significant improvements in pain and quality of life compared to the control group and these improvements were maintained at 24-week follow up.
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Results of this methodologically sound trial strongly suggest that moderate-dose B vitamin therapy has a protective effect against the rapidly progressive brain atrophy commonly seen in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The intervention was safe and effective over a 2-year time frame, and shows promise for slowing the inexorable progression of MCI to frank dementia.
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A unique study pairing the use of a standard SSRI and SAMe against major depression in subjects who had not responded adequately to SSRI monotherapy suggests safety and significant efficacy over a 6-week trial period.
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FDA Advisory Committee recommends approval of dabigatran, safety of proton pump inhibitors, effectiveness of glucosamine and chondroitin, FDA Actions.
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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in adults in the United States and western Europe. Approximately 26% of adults older than 65 have some form of AMD.
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Replacing saturated fatty acids with carbohydrates with low glycemic index values is associated with a lower risk of myocardial infarction.
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Yoga and exercise are commonly recommended for patients with osteoporosis. Yoga improves balance, and both yoga and exercise improve quality of life in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. However, the study is limited by small sample size and lack of detail in the research methodology.
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Vital exhaustion predicts long-term risk for adverse cardiac events in men and women, independent of established biomedical risk factors.
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In a much-publicized study on the physical maturation of young girls in three distinct areas of the United States, researchers found a persistence of early attainment of puberty in African American girls and an increased proportion of Caucasian girls who had reached puberty at ages 7 and 8 years. The study leaders delineate physical and psychological risks associated with early maturation and posit that an explanation for such findings might be some combination of increasing toxic environmental and food exposures.
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Results of this impressive observational trial suggest that waist circumference may be a more telling sign of mortality risk than BMI, especially among those whose BMI measures do not place them in the category of obesity.
