Genetic test announced for suicidal ideation in patients using antidepressant drugs

NeuroMark, a Boulder, Colorado company, announced today the immediate availability of a genetic test to identify people at risk of suicidal ideation—thoughts of committing suicide—when prescribed an antidepressant drug. The test, called the Mark-C™ test, is expected to help restore public confidence in antidepressant medication and help to reduce a recently announced spike in suicide rates among U.S. youth. “This is an exciting example of the power of genetics to address a critical need and make important drugs safer for patients worldwide,” stated Kim Bechthold, NeuroMark’s CEO. more  

Guidelines help patients reduce risk of cardiac event before surgery

People with heart disease should take special precautions before undergoing any kind of surgery, even noncardiac surgery, to reduce their risk of a cardiac event, according to new joint guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. more

Memory tasks require more coordinated brain blood flow for people with high blood pressure

Blood flow to the parts of the brain that support memory function differs between people with high blood pressure and those with normal blood pressure, and this difference seems to increase when high blood pressure is treated with medications, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s 61st Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research. more  

New national study links asthma to allergies

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that more than 50 percent of the current asthma cases in the country can be attributed to allergies, with approximately 30 percent of those cases attributed to cat allergy. more

Why don't painkillers work for people with fibromyalgia?  

People who have the common chronic pain condition fibromyalgia often report that they don’t respond to the types of medication that relieve other people’s pain. New research from the University of Michigan Health System helps to explain why that might be: Patients with fibromyalgia were found to have reduced binding ability of a type of receptor in the brain that is the target of opioid painkiller drugs such as morphine. more

Study shows lead-based paint problem isn’t isolated to China  

A multinational team of environmental and occupational health researchers has found that consumer paints sold in Nigeria contain dangerously high levels of lead. more

Study fuels debate over whether exercise and body size influence ovarian cancer risk

A new study adds fuel to the debate over whether being fat or inactive affects the risk of developing ovarian cancer. more

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