PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

More evidence arthritis/pain relieving drugs may contribute to stroke death

2014-11-05
(Press-News.org) MINNEAPOLIS – Commonly prescribed, older drugs for arthritis and pain may increase the risk of death from stroke, according to a study published in the November 5, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The drugs examined in the study, called COX-2 inhibitors, include older drugs diclofenac, etodolac, nabumeton and meloxicam, as well as newer drugs called coxibs, including celecoxib and rofecoxib. COX-2 inhibitors are selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The study also looked at non-selective NSAIDs, which include common pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen.

"While newer versions of these COX-2 inhibitors drugs have been pulled off shelves, older ones are still frequently prescribed," said study author Morten Schmidt, MD, of Aarhus University Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark. "Our study provides further important evidence solidifying the risks of certain arthritic pain relievers and death from stroke."

For the study, researchers looked at records of 100,243 people hospitalized for a first stroke in Denmark between 2004 and 2012 and deaths within one month after the stroke. Researchers looked at whether participants were current, former, or non-users of these drugs within two months of the stroke. If they were current users, researchers noted whether people were new users who had just started taking the drug for the first time or were long-term users. They looked at newer generation COX-2 inhibitors, older generation COX-2 inhibitors, and non-selective NSAIDS.

Overall, people who were current users of COX-2 inhibitors were 19 percent more likely to die after stroke than people who did not take the drugs (10.4 percent versus 8.7 percent). New users of the older COX-2 drugs were 42 percent more likely to die from stroke than those who were not taking the drugs. Those taking etodolac were 53 percent more likely to die from stroke.

The researchers found no link between the non-selective NSAIDs and increased stroke death. Also, the study found no link between chronic use of any of the drugs and stroke mortality.

A total of 10,835 of the participants, or 11 percent, were NSAID users; 8,402, or 8 percent, were former users; and 80,806, or 81 percent, were non-users. Of the current NSAID users 51 percent used ibuprofen, 27 percent used diclofenac, 11 percent used etodolac, 3 percent naproxen, 1 percent celecoxib and 0.5 percent rofecoxib.

"Our study supports stepping up efforts to make sure people with a higher risk of stroke are not prescribed these medications when other options are available," said Schmidt.

INFORMATION:

To learn more about stroke, please visit http://www.aan.com/patients.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 28,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube. Media Contacts: Rachel Seroka, rseroka@aan.com, (612) 928-6129 Michelle Uher, muher@aan.com, (612) 928-6120



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

For leaders, looking intelligent is less important than looking healthy

For leaders, looking intelligent is less important than looking healthy
2014-11-05
People look for candidates with a healthy complexion when choosing a leader, but don't favor the most intelligent-looking candidates except for positions that require negotiation between groups or exploration of new markets. These results are published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Brian Spisak from the VU University Amsterdam and colleagues studied people's implicit preferences for traits of leaders, such as health, intelligence, and attractiveness, and how they look for information about these qualities in the physical appearance of others. ...

Increase in incidence of colorectal cancer in young adults, rate expected to rise

2014-11-05
While the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in people 50 years or older has declined, the incidence among people 20 to 49 years has increased, according to a report published online by JAMA Surgery. CRC is the third most common cancer among men and women, with an estimated 142,820 new cases and an estimated 50,830 deaths in the United States in 2013. From 1998 through 2006, the incidence of CRC declined 3 percent per year in men and 2.4 percent in women, a decrease largely attributed to an increase in screening, which is recommended for all adults over 50 years old. ...

Safest cosmetic surgery procedures

2014-11-05
First large prospective study to analyze rate of adverse events No risk of serious adverse events, less than 1 percent minor problems Fillers, neurotoxins, laser, energy device procedures exceedingly safe Minimally invasive cosmetic procedures can be mixed to give significant cosmetic boost CHICAGO --- Minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, including fillers, neurotoxins and laser and energy device procedures are exceedingly safe and have essentially no risk of serious adverse events, reports a new Northwestern Medicine® study that analyzed more than 20,000 procedures ...

Few adverse events found in noninvasive, minimally invasive cosmetic procedures

2014-11-05
A tiny fraction of adverse events occurred after dermatologists performed more than 20,000 noninvasive and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, according to a study published online by JAMA Dermatology. Cosmetic dermatology is a well-developed field and data suggest the procedures are associated with a low rate of adverse events, according to background information in the study. Researcher Murad Alam, M.D., M.S.C.I., of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago, and co-authors characterized the incidence of adverse events associated with ...

Analyzing heat waves -- new index allows predicting their magnitude

2014-11-05
JRC scientists have developed a new index to measure the magnitude of heat waves, in cooperation with colleagues from five research organisations. According to the index projections, under the worst climate scenario of temperature rise nearing 4.8⁰C, extreme heat waves will become the norm by the end of the century. Heat waves like the one that hit Russia in summer 2010, the strongest on record in recent decades, will occur as often as every two years in southern Europe, North and South America, Africa and Indonesia. The Heat Wave Magnitude Index is the first to ...

Young patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer anticipated to nearly double by 2030

2014-11-05
November 5, 2014 – In the next 15 years, more than one in 10 colon cancers and nearly one in four rectal cancers will be diagnosed in patients younger than the traditional screening age, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This growing public health problem is underscored by data trends among 20- to 34-year-olds in the U.S., among whom the incidence of colon and rectal cancer (CRC) is expected to increase by 90% and 124.2%, respectively, by 2030. Published in the current issue of JAMA Surgery, the findings build on prior ...

The female nose always knows: Do women have more olfactory neurons?

The female nose always knows: Do women have more olfactory neurons?
2014-11-05
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -Individuals show great diversity in their ability to identify scents and odors. More importantly, males and females greatly differ in their perceptual evaluation of odors, with women outperforming men on many kinds of smell tests. Sex differences in olfactory detection may play a role in differentiated social behaviors and may be connected to one's perception of smell, which is naturally linked to associated experiences and emotions. Thus, women's olfactory superiority has been suggested to be cognitive or emotional, rather than perceptual. ...

Allina Health heart procedure complications reduced with simple tool

2014-11-05
MINNEAPOLIS – (November 5, 2014) – Every year in the U.S., 600,000 heart procedures are performed by threading thin tubes through patients' arteries to access their hearts. Percutaneous coronary intervention – or PCI – is an alternative to open heart surgery for many common heart problems. But bleeding from the insertion site from blood thinners used during the procedure is a common complication of PCI, occurring two to six percent of the time. "That might not sound serious, but bleeding is associated with adverse events, including death," said ...

Having a Y chromosome doesn't affect women's response to sexual images, brain study shows

2014-11-05
Women born with a rare condition that gives them a Y chromosome don't only look like women physically, they also have the same brain responses to visual sexual stimuli, a new study shows. The journal Hormones and Behavior published the results of the first brain imaging study of women with complete androgen insensitivity, or CAIS, led by psychologists at Emory. "Our findings clearly rule out a direct effect of the Y chromosome in producing masculine patterns of response," says Kim Wallen, an Emory professor of psychology and behavioral neuroendocrinology. "It's further ...

Mosquitofish genitalia change rapidly due to human impacts

Mosquitofish genitalia change rapidly due to human impacts
2014-11-05
The road that connects also divides. This dichotomy – half-century-old roads connecting portions of Bahamian islands while fragmenting the tidal waters below – leads to rapid and interesting changes in the fish living in those fragmented sections, according to a new study from North Carolina State University. NC State Ph.D. student Justa Heinen-Kay and assistant professor of biological sciences R. Brian Langerhans show, in a paper published in the journal Evolutionary Applications, that the male genitalia of three different species of Bahamian mosquitofish ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] More evidence arthritis/pain relieving drugs may contribute to stroke death