• FDA-approved blood clotting drug pulled from U.S. market as deaths climb!
• Are thinning bones a telltale sign of THIS health disaster?
• Four simple secrets to self-healing revealed!

“WHOOPS!” is the word on the lips of some folks at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency recently discovered some alarming Canadian study results for a drug they approved for use during delicate heart surgery.

It seems our northern neighbors decided to be more diligent about testing their suspicions about drug safety! Some doctors are saying the tests should have been done far SOONER…

Find out which drug is under fire—and more tips to help preserve your health—in today’s Thursday Edition of Health News Weekly™!

Blood-Clotting Drug May Cause
Death Risk During Heart Surgery!

Layne Lowery

Following the New England Journal of Medicine’s May release of an eye-opening report, Bayer AG—the German manufacturer of the drug Trasylol^® (aprotinin)—is removing the drug from the U.S. market. Why? Because Trasylol^® may cause death during heart surgery!

According to a HealthDay News report, the results from a recent Canadian study (referred to as BART) indicated that people given Trasylol^® to decrease bleeding during heart surgery had a greater chance of dying—a 53 percent increased risk!

Dr. Paul C. Hebert, the co-principal investigator from Ottawa Hospital, said that means that out of every 50 patients who are given the drug, one person would die!

During BART, each member of a group of 2,331 people who required heart surgery and who were considered high risk, were given only one of three medicines to reduce bleeding while in surgery—Amicar^® (aminocaproic acid), Cyklokapron^® (tranexamic acid), and Trasylol^®.

Dr. Dean A Fergusson, from the University of Ottawa Centre for Transfusion Research and lead investigator for BART, indicated that Trasylol^® was being tested against the other two drugs for both its ability to decrease bleeding during heart surgery and for its safety to the patient.
But Hebert said that the death rate of Cyklokapron^® and Amicar^® was only 3.9 percent and 4 percent while Trasylol^® was a surprising 6 percent! Because of these findings, the trial was stopped early and the researchers decided that although it works slightly better than the other drugs to control bleeding, Trasylol^® should not be used on patients during cardiac surgery.

Agreeing with this conclusion is the director of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Wayne A. Ray. “For all practical purposes, unless there is surprising new data, the BART findings preclude future use of aprotinin in cardiac surgery, even though we don’t fully understand why the increased risk of death occurs.”

Another supporter of the Canadian trial is Dr. Eric J. Topol, who is the director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute. He is concerned about the length of time it has taken for the dangers of a drug, which has been marketed since 1987, to be revealed and at what cost in human lives.

But Topol is also questioning the earlier approval of Trasylol^® by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Why weren’t trials like this part of the early approval process, rather than getting the data many years later?”

With the significant findings of Canada’s BART, why is Bayer continuing to sell Trasylol^® in other places in the world?

According to Staci Gouveia, spokesperson for Bayer, “Trasylol, currently under temporary market suspension worldwide, continues to be available in some countries under special access programs as reviewed and agreed to with the relevant regulatory bodies in those markets.”

Gouveia stated that Bayer will monitor the data used in BART and the conclusions drawn by the researchers. She also indicated that Bayer will continue to review the suspension of the use of Trasylol^® in the majority of the world as well as the countries included under the “special access programs” where the drug is still allowed.

Gouveia added that Bayer will be discussing all of these issues with regulatory authorities and will remain open on the subject of returning the drug to worldwide markets.

So the future of Trasylol^® (aprotinin), while not looking good, still remains to be seen.

Fast Fact

Healthy fingernails should have a pinkish glow to the nail beds. To improve your nails’ appearance, try using a protein supplement that contains B-complex vitamins. It may take a few months to see the results as your nails grow out. But with patience you can have the nails of a hand model!

Can Thinning Bones Predict Your
Chances of Cancer?

Tiffany Lowery

Early onset of the bone-crumbling osteoporosis appears to be linked to an increased risk of certain cancers in men and women. And the opposite also appears to be true&mdahs;as researchers said later onset of osteoporosis may decrease the risk of other cancers.

According to a report in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers said the risk of breast, endometrial and other cancers is lower among women with pre-existing osteoporosis. They say lower estrogen levels may increase the likelihood of osteoporosis—but reduce the odds of certain cancers.

Dr. Katherine A. McGlynn, of the National Cancer Institute, in Rockville, Md., said “other osteoporosis risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, however, may increase risk.”

A Reuters Health report said researchers studied data on nearly 24,000 men and women in Denmark with osteoporosis who were followed for about six years.

They found that people diagnosed with osteoporosis before age 70 had an increased risk of malignancy. This is partially due to higher rates of cancer involving the mouth, esophagus, liver, pancreas and lungs.

But people diagnosed with osteoporosis at age 70 or older were found to have a decreased cancer risk. This was due in part to lower rates of breast, endometrial, colon, rectal and brain cancers in women. The research team also found lower rates of prostate cancer in men.

McGlynn and colleagues said these findings imply that people hospitalized with osteoporosis prior to age 70 “may benefit by more regular cancer screening, particularly for tumors associated with smoking and alcohol consumption.”

Health E-Hints

Ancient Chinese Self-Healing Secrets Revealed!

There are mountains of medical research that show the human body is capable of healing itself. Chinese medicine uses four simple techniques, namely:

• Deep breathing—helps relax blood vessels and relieve high blood pressure; take slow, deep breaths to fill your lungs, then exhale slowly for 10 seconds and repeat.
• Gentle movement—low-intensity exercise and stretching provides all the health benefits of vigorous exercise without risk of muscle and joint injury.
• Self-massage—use your thumbs to massage the palms of your hands and fingers; you can also rub your palms in a circular motion on the sides of your body (near the lower edge of your rib cage) to “energize” your internal organs.
• Meditation—helps dilate blood vessels and reduces blood pressure; sit or lie comfortably and focus on your deep breathing for several minutes.

With just a little time and effort applying these Chinese health secrets—you can cultivate your body’s self-healing powers for the ultimate health boost!

Posted in Blood Clots, Bone Strength, General Health, Heart Health.

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