Acute kidney injury risk from statins

4554 days ago

A review of records for two million patients in Canada, the UK, and USA, found that high potency statins are associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury.

High potency statin treatment was defined as at least 10mg rosuvastatin, at least 20mg atorvastatin, or at least 40mg simvastatin; all other statin treatments were defined as having low potency.

Implantable glucose monitor

4554 days ago

The BBC reports on an implantable blood testing device, presented at the DATE13 conference.

The prototype is 14mm long and can check on five different substances in the blood, including glucose and cholesterol. It is implanted under the skin and sends back data using Bluetooth. It is currently being tested on animals and it is hoped that it will be available to patients within four years.

Vegetarian diet reduces heart disease

4604 days ago

A study of over 44000 Britons found that vegetarians had a 32% lower risk of hospitalization or death from ischaemic heart disease.

The EPIC Oxford study followed a total of 44561 men and women living in England and Scotland, 34% of whom consumed a vegetarian diet. After an average follow-up of 11.6 years, vegetarians had lower mean BMI, non-HDL-cholesterol concentration, and systolic blood pressure, and as a result a lower risk of ischaemic heart disease.