This from the great NYU Clinical Correlations website.  Enjoy

Hello again Primecutters and welcome to another edition of your favorite weekly blog. Our fearless editor has allowed me a repeat performance of last week and I am honored to provide the followers of this column with another scintillating tale of the week’s medical knowledge.

Courtesy of Gary Schwitzer's Health News Review:

February 23, 2010

Summary 

Coming as little surprise, herbal remedies may interact with cardiac medicines. The WebMD article draws needed attention to an area that is not often mentioned in the promotions of supplement manufacturers.

Some specific examples they cited included:

Acupuncture a Powerful Integrative Oncology Tool Integrative Oncology is the combination of “mainstream” care and evidenced-based complimentary therapies to control cancer-related pain and symptoms [source: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Integrative Medicine]. Complementary therapies while not given the attention that more traditional cancer therapies may receive are perhaps equally important while undergoing treatment for certain types of cancer including malignant mesothelioma.

Where is the thyroid gland and what is it’s function? The thyroid gland is shaped like a butterfly and sits just below the voice box and in front of the trachea (wind-pipe). It resides under thin muscle layers in the midline central neck just above the sternum and moves with swallowing as it is attached to the trachea. The thyroid gland is a central organ in the body that secretes thyroid hormones and as such regulates our body’s metabolism energy level and various other functions.

Heart failure is a chronic disease which manifests as fluid retention shortness of breath and lack of energy.  There is no cure now and patients tend to have declining heart function and increasing symptoms over time.  Doctors are able to manage the illness on a chronic basis to mitigate symptoms  with medications and procedures. Approximately 5 million Americans are believed to have been suffering from this disease.

A common irregular and often rapid heart rhythm is known as atrial fibrillation or A Fib. Roughly 2.2 million Americans are suffering from some form of heart rhythm disorder. In atrial fibrillation the heart's two small upper chambers (the atria) vibrate irregularly instead of beating effectively. Blood is also not pumped fully out of them so it may clot more readily. A patient can suffer a stroke if a fragment of clotted blood in the atria leaves the heart and lodges in an artery in the brain. Doctors have known for years about the link between atrial fibrillation and strokes.

Scientists have warned US Congress about the possible risks involved while using mobile phones. They informed Congress that regular use of mobile phones could lead to brain cancer. There has been an on-going debate around the world about the possible impact of magnetic field emitted by cell phones and its effect on human beings.  Particularly children are thought to be at a greater risk though conclusive data remains years away.

Pharmaceutical corporations have sought safe effective weight loss pills for many years and Pfizer had been basking in the glow of a recent European approval of its diet pill Accomplia.  Hundreds of millions of obese people are at risk for heart attacks diabetes and strokes so the market for Accomplia is huge. Since the leptin gene was discovered in the year 1995 researchers have been trying to capitalize on the discovery to create a wonder drug that can treat obesity. Leptin (leptos means thin) is a hormone that regulates body fat.

Chemotherapy is commonly used anti-cancer medication. It usually administered through injection into a vein though oral forms of chemotherapy are becoming more prevalent.  There has been debate for more than a decade over whether vitamin C supplements are useful or harmful for cancer patients. Since vitamin C is an antioxidant some researchers are of the view that it helps cancer patients.  Improvement in survival however has never been demonstrated in controlled studies.  Medical oncologists are in general of the view that antioxidants decrease the effectiveness of chemotherapy.