According to the new research, it is estimated that about 60 million of Americans who are suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease can be effectively cured with drugs, which is as effective as being managed with surgery.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease occurs when the food contents along with the acid regurgitates back into the esophagus from the stomach thus causing heartburn and causing damage to the esophagus.

With gastroesophageal reflux disease, the main question that arises among most of the people suffering from this is problem is that whether they should take the pills to treat the gastroesophageal reflux disease or should they go for surgery.

The report on gastroesophageal reflux disease registers the various treatments available and the evidence for their safety and effectiveness. The main purpose of this report is to provide the people and the healthcare providers with the recent information as to the availability of the latest treatments for the condition.

The findings that were listed in the report regarding chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease were that over-the-counter H2 receptor antagonist medications are not as effective as proton pump inhibitors, although PPIs have more side effects. The brand names included in H2 receptor antagonists are Axid, Pepcid, Tagamet and Zantac. The brand names of the PPI drugs are as follows; Aciphex, Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec OTC and Protonix.

When the PPIs are compared with surgery, PPIs appear to be similarly effective in relieving symptoms and improving quality of life.

The doctors say that in general, patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease do respond to both surgical and medical treatment, however, the basis of therapy, which is not addressed, is that we can alter our diet and eating and sleeping habits to prevent the gastroesophageal disease from occurring in the first place.

Another researcher added that without bringing about change in lifestyle, a large number of patients experience only limited improvement in signs and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease despite aggressive medical and / or surgical intervention.

There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but the guidelines that are already spanned out must be followed so that this problem can be prevented from occurring in the first place. The gastroesophageal reflux disease in the chronic forms can also cause the esophagus to have strictures and this might lead to deterioration of health of the person suffering from it. So we need to follow the guidelines to have an improved quality of life.

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There was a popular medical theory, which suggested that the high fiber diet is going to keep your colon healthy and will prevent any cancer from occurring of the colon. But a new research is denying this long believed therapy.

The researchers were unable to find the supportive evidence to suggest that risk of colorectal cancer is decreased by the regular use of fiber.

It is still being said by the researchers that there are many other beneficial reasons that one should eat the recommended five to ten servings per day of fruits, vegetables and plenty of whole grains, which have a lot of fiber in them.

The researchers said that in spite of the fact that they were unable to find any connection between fiber diet and prevention of colorectal cancer, they said that high fiber diets do reduce the risk of heart diseases and diabetes according to various studies conducted.

The European research added that people who eat high fiber diet are less likely to develop colorectal cancer in about 40% of the patients as compared to the people who do not consume fiber in their diets at all.

The things that contain fiber content in them are fruits, vegetables and cereals, but on the soluble form of fibers have the ability to give a stool bulking effect, which is a source of providing health benefits.

There was an estimate given by the Canadian Cancer Society that in 2005, about 19,600 Canadians will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 8,400 will die of the disease. This disease is the second leading cancer, which kills both women and men.

In a recent study, there was a group of studies that was combined and it was found that in a population of about 725,000 there was a total of about 8,081 colorectal cancer cases identified.
On the basis of the data that was gathered from these people, it was found that the participants consumed an average of 13 to 28 grams of fiber daily. It was found that those who consumed most fiber were the ones who had a 16 percent lower rate of colorectal cancer than those who ate the least fiber rich foods. On the other hand when they adjusted for non-dietary risk factors such as exercise and for dietary factors such as red meat consumption, milk intake and alcohol, which believe to increase the risk of colorectal cancer, the benefits of fiber faded away.

The president of the Canadian Cancer Society said, “If we seriously want to reduce the risk of dying from colorectal cancer, we must immediately implement screening programs across the country.”

It is also recommended that all men and women with ages 50 to 74 must be screened for colorectal cancer with the help of a test known as fecal occult blood test, which is a laboratory test done on a stool sample. The doctors say that this test should be done every two years, and the positive tests must be followed up with a colonoscopy.

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A study had been conducted on women who had surgical procedures for endometrial cancer, were given chemotherapy after the surgery, and it showed to reduce the risk of recurrence of endometrial cancer in about 29 percent of the women and extended survival rate by 32 percent compared with radiation therapy.

The statistics show that endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in United States and the American Cancer Society estimates that in the year 2005, there will be about 40,900 women who will be diagnosed with this disease and about 7,310 women will die from this. This is something pretty challenging.
The study that has been conducted will prove benefit to about 15 to 20 percent of women with endometrial cancer who have advanced disease.

During this study the investigators compared the recurrence rates and overall survival between 194 women randomized to 5 months of chemotherapy with doxorubicin and cisplatin compared to that of 202 women randomized to about one and a half months of radiation to the abdomen. The women had stage III or IV endometrial carcinoma with residual disease after surgery.

After about 5 years of adjusting for disease stage, about 55 percent of patients receiving chemotherapy were predicted to be alive as compared to the 42 percent of whole-abdominal irradiation patients, and 50 percent and 38 percent respectively were predicted to be free of disease.

It is the first time that adjuvant chemotherapy has shown to extend survival rates in patients with advanced endometrial cancer.

This study has thus opened a new avenue for women who are suffering from endometrial cancer or even who are at high risk of developing this lethal disease.

There are other things that need to be discussed here, which are serious treatment-related adverse events, which are more common and more severe in the chemotherapy arm and treatment, which probably contributed to the deaths of eight patients, 4 percent, on the chemotherapy arm and five, 2 percent, on the radiation arm.

Thus the toxic effects of the chemotherapy are there and there is more research that is needed to know as if the two other chemotherapeutic drugs, which are carboplatin and paclitaxel will be as effective and with fewer side effects in women with advanced endometrial cancer.

I believe that constant search and the will to find a way will make its own path where researchers will find a better regimen for patients going through endometrial cancer.

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The doctors have come across a new strategy in which they say that switching tamoxifen to a different drug after two or three years of its use can boost breast cancer survival rate.

In this research doctors are trying to get a grip on the duration of treatment.

Tamoxifen has been the drug of choice treating breast cancer throughout the decades. The course of regimen of tamoxifen is that it should be taken for five years after the surgery and it decreases the risk of recurrence of breast cancer in half of the patients and improves the survival rate. The way this drug works is that it dampens the effect of estrogen hormone that acts as a fuel for growth of most of the tumors that occur in women after menopause.

There is another class of drug, which is known as aromatase inhibitors, which keep estrogen from being made in the first place, and it also prevents the risk of blood clots, as well as endometrial cancer as tamoxifen does. The companies that make this drug are listed as follow: AstraZeneca PLC’s Arimidex, Pfizer Inc.’s Aromasin and Novartis Pharmaceuticals’ Femara.

Aromatase inhibitors work as does tamoxifen, but the main thing that needs the major consideration is to keep the patient alive and that is what the biggest challenge is that lies ahead and the main concern of the healthcare providers.

Thus the researchers have come to the conclusion by doing various studies that after two or three years of tamoxifen, the patient should be switched to aromatase inhibitors as the results indicate that women who were switched to Arimidex after being on tamoxifen for a few years had a 29 percent more likely survival rate to be alive 2½ years later. About 4.5 percent of the women who continued on tamoxifen died, as compared with only 3.3 percent of those who switched to Arimidex.

Women who switched drugs also had a 41 percent lower risk of having cancer again.

The other study was conducted on women was with the drug Femara, who had completed the initially recommended five years of tamoxifen.

The study showed that women taking Femara had significantly lower rates of cancer recurrence than those who received just tamoxifen. Though doctors do not know the optimal length of time Femara or any other aromatase inhibitor should be taken.

I believe that this research would bring hope to all the women who are going through this lethal disease.

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Stroke is sudden loss of brain function, which is caused by either blockage or rupture of an artery. The scientists conducting a research on stroke found out that when a person suffers from stroke, there are about 2 million nerve cells that are dying every single minute, which results in loss of 14 billion synapses, and 8 miles of never fibers. The researchers also added that every hour that passes by under the effect of stroke, the brain ages 3.6 years. So this just makes stroke an emergency that needs immediate medical attention.

Brain is the most important organ of our body, as it controls and performs so many functions in our body. The damage that occurs from stroke to the brain is purely devastating. The symptoms and signs that occur after a stroke depend on the area of the brain that is affected. The symptoms that are most common are either weakness or paralysis of one side of the body with either partial or complete loss of voluntary function or either sensation of the limb or limbs.

The diagnosis of a stroke depends on clinical history and examination. Tests are performed on patients to know for sure as to what areas of brain are affected and how much area is involved that is damaged by stroke. An echocardiogram can be performed to look for blood clots in heart. Another important test, which is ultrasound of the carotid arteries, is done to look for stenosis that may be a cause of impaired blood circulation to the brain.

Just on the basis of the fact that a person has slurred speech, it should not be concluded that a person had stroke, because there are other brain disorders that mimic the same symptoms that are seen in stroke such as subdural hematoma, viral encephalitis, etc.

Stroke is a deadly thing that might lead one to lose speech, paralyzed on one or both sides, affect memory and leave individuals bedridden throughout their lives. It is always important to act as fast as you can. It is race against time to help the person who had stroke.

I hope that this article provides you with a good level of awareness about stroke. In my next coming articles, I will be discussing about how to act when you see a person suffering from stroke.

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Many people die every year and everyone who dies has a cause of death. Every year about 32,000 people in US die because of suicide. The reasons that make basis of death are just tidal waves swallowing people up and suicide is one of that waves.

There is a newly conducted research that suggests that antidepressants lead to suicides, even though in very small numbers, but still is a reason for that.

The scientists conducted a study on a drug taken by children, named, Strattera, which is a treatment given for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and this drug is very much like the drug Effexor, which contains the warnings about suicide. The study was conducted on 1,357 children who were given Strattera, and 5 out of 1357 children said that they had suicidal thoughts and on the other hand there were about 857 children who were given placebo and they said that they had no suicidal ideation.

These were very concerning results as this has been proven through the study that though the number of children who have suicidal thoughts is very less, but still they make about five people who might lead to connect to the number of 32,000 people who commit suicide every year. This is a very alarming situation.

On the other hand it is very common in adults having suicidal thoughts, almost 20% of adults who are going to high school have suicidal thoughts.

The statistics that are pretty encouraging is that the rate of the suicide has dropped from 25% to about 19%.

Some of the researchers say that antidepressants are preventing the risk of suicidal rates, and they base their facts that they did autopsy on two youths who had committed suicide but they never found any trace of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in their body, which strongly suggests that antidepressants are not linked with suicides.

So it really depends on the effects of the drug on a person to make a decision as to whether or not these drugs should be taken or not because the study suggests that some children who take SSRIs do become hostile after taking these medicines.

So if you need to take these medicines, be in very close contact with your physician.

I hope you will make the right choice.

Related: Learn about Cymbalta – An antidepressant medication