–The editors of the two top UK medical journals are in a bitter fight over statins. The editors of the two top medical journals in the UK are at war over statins. The bitter fight has its origins in the 2014 publication in the BMJ of two articles that were highly critical of statins. Rory…
Lancet Editors Raise More Questions About Prominent Harvard Stem Cell Researcher
April 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
There’s more trouble for Piero Anversa, the prominent and controversial stem cell researcher. Today the Lancet issued an expression of concern about an influential, much-cited stem cell paper. As first reported by Retraction Watch, an investigation at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has raised concerns about the integrity of data coming from Piero Anversa’s laboratory at the Brigham…
Studies Suggest You Can Help Your Heart By Walking More And Eating More Fiber
December 19, 2013 by 1 Comment
It probably won’t come as a surprise, but walking more and eating more fiber are probably good for your heart. That’s the conclusion of two new studies, but because the studies relied on observational data it should be emphasized that they are incapable of demonstrating cause and effect. And it’s by no means clear that most…
European Air Pollution Standards May Need To Be Strengthened
December 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A large new analysis published in the Lancet has found a strong association between long-term exposure to air pollution and the risk of dying. The results suggest that European standards for air quality may need to be strengthened. The European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) analyzed data from 22 European studies, including 367,251 participants followed for…
Lancet Formally Retracts Jikei Heart Study Of Valsartan
September 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Lancet has formally retracted the Jikei Heart Study paper, originally published in 2007. The retraction had been widely anticipated for more than a month, after a series of news reports in Japan made it clear that the long-simmering controversy over scientific misconduct involving the Novartis blood pressure lowering drug valsartan (Diovan) had come to a full boil. (See our earlier story here.)…
Can Inflating A Blood Pressure Cuff Improve Outcomes Following Bypass Surgery?
August 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryhusten/2013/08/15/can-inflating-a-blood-pressure-cuff-improve-outcomes-following-bypass-surgery/ For several decades cardiologists have been intrigued by the concept of ischemic preconditioning. A small body of research has consistently found that brief episodes of ischemia (in which reduced blood flow results in damage to tissue) appeared to somehow prepare the body to better handle a major episode of ischemia. Now a new study…
Large Meta-Analysis Quantifies Risk Of NSAIDs And Coxibs
May 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Findings from a very large meta-analysis of clinical trials of NSAIDs may now allow physicians to quantify the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal risks associated with these drugs. The results of the Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration, employing data from more than 350,000 randomized patients, have now been published in the Lancet. Here are some of the key findings:…
Are Most People With Complex Coronary Disease Getting The Best Treatment?
February 22, 2013 by 1 Comment
The relative value of PCI (stents) and bypass surgery for the treatment of people with blocked coronary arteries has been a topic of intense interest and debate for more than a generation now. Over time, the less invasive and more patient-friendly (and less scary) PCI has become the more popular procedure, but the surgeons (who…
‘Somebody has finally twigged that the heart and the lungs are joined up to each other and live in this space called the chest…’
February 12, 2013 by 1 Comment
Here are a few gems from Richard Lehman’s weekly cardiovascular literature review. Read the whole thing on CardioExchange. On a JAMA study showing that ramipril increases walking time in patients with intermittent claudication: This is the kind of trial that makes nobody millions of dollars, but which we should all be doing in our fields…
Richard Lehman On ICDs In Clinical Practice And Serelaxin For HF
January 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This week in CardioExchange Richard Lehman is not quite as funny as most weeks (perhaps he’s still recovering from New Years’ celebrations?), but he has some interesting and useful comments on a JAMA study comparing real world patients garcinia cambogia plant uses in registries to patients in clinical trials and an impressive Lancet study testing the role of…
Hypertension And Smoking Top List Of Global Risk Factors
December 13, 2012 by 1 Comment
Worldwide, hypertension and tobacco smoking are the single largest causes of death and disability, according to findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010), the largest ever assessment and analysis of global health and disease. In an unprecedented move, the Lancet devoted an entire issue to the study, including seven separate articles and eight comments….
Lancet Editor Richard Horton Tweets Dark View of Contemporary Medicine
January 27, 2012 by 1 Comment
One brief message at a time, Lancet editor Richard Horton is tweeting his dark view of the contemporary medical establishment. If you have any interest at all in peeking behind the curtain to see what really goes on behind the scenes of top medical organizations then you need to follow Richard Horton’s Twitter feed. In sudden…
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