Heart-warming news
A diabetes drug appears to protect against thickening of artery walls, a precursor to many heart attacks, as well as significantly boost levels of so-called good cholesterol, according to a US study of more than 460 adults. 'It had a dramatic effect on [high-density lipoprotein] cholesterol levels, which is very hard to get,' says team leader Theodore Mazzone, of the University of Illinois at Chicago. The study was paid for by the Japanese drug-maker, Reuters reports. More than 20 million people in the US have diabetes, which puts them at greater risk of atherosclerosis, or artery hardening.
Get the blood flowing
A new scan may be able to find clogged arteries faster and more easily than existing tests, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who have successfully used it on dogs. The computer tomography, or CT scan, tracks blood flow slowed by narrowed arteries, Reuters reports. It's non-invasive, requires little preparation of the patient, takes 15 minutes compared with up to 45 minutes for existing tests, and appears to more accurately locate even mildly blocked arteries.
Google finds answer
Internet search engine Google successfully diagnosed almost three out of every five puzzling case histories used to test doctors, according to a British study. Hangwi Tang and Jennifer Hwee Kwoon Ng conducted the test after finding that so many of their patients tried to self-diagnose using the internet, WebMD reports. 'Our study suggests that in difficult diagnostic cases, it is often useful to 'google' for a diagnosis,' they write in BMJ. The catch is that medical expertise is needed to choose and decipher the best diagnosis.
Take a deep breath
