Self-monitoring pays its dividends

atients seeing their own scan depicting plaque accumulation in the arteries are motivated to adhere to lipid-lowering drug regime, says a study in the journal Atherosclerosis. The researchers report that after controlling for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, tobacco use and family history, the amount of plaque seen on the scan at the outset of the study remained an independent predictor that a patient will stay on a prescribed lipid-lowering medicine. It was observed during the study that among 25 per cent of the participants with the least severe build up, 53 per cent were still on their regimens when researchers followed up an average of three and a half years later. By contrast, among those with the most severe accumulation, 92 per cent were still taking their drugs.

Roads and asthmatic children

pollution risk

hildren living near busy roads are more prone to develop asthmatic symptoms, reports the Environmental Health Perspectives. Researchers report that children who lived within 250 feet of major roads had a 50 per cent higher risk of having asthma. They found that the asthma risk decreased to normal for children living about 600 feet or more away from a busy road. The findings were based on a study involving five- to seven-year-old children in 13 communities. The greatest risk was found in children who had lived near busy roads since before age two, suggesting they might have been exposed to pollutants in infancy or while their mothers were pregnant.

Novel diabetes treatment

private pharmaceutical firm has launched Levemir (insulin detemir), which provides consistent control of blood glucose levels (glycaemic control) for Indians with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The novel mechanism is a basal insulin analogue that maintains blood glucose levels within a very narrow range, especially during the night. This helps people with diabetes to achieve consistent dosing, which facilitate optimal glycaemic control. Compared to insulin and other diabetes-control mechanisms, Levemir is simple and easy to use, providing flexibility and convenience for diabetics. It also causes less than half the amount of weight gain compared to other medicines for diabetes.

Reel-life comas misleading

oviegoers may come away with a misunderstanding of coma, reports in the journal Neurology. The study says that the most common error is in depicting coma patients, who wake up later and get on with their lives as if nothing had happened. When the researchers showed coma scenes from 17 movies to 72 non-medical viewers, most believed that the depictions were true.