(February 8, 2010 - Insidermedicine) From London - According to a report published in the Archives of Neurology, high blood pressure may be a predictor of dementia in some older adults.

(February 8, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

From London - According to a report published in the Archives of Neurology, high blood pressure may be a predictor of dementia in some older adults. For five years, researchers studied nearly 1,000 elderly people suffering from cognitive impairment, but not dementia. They found that hypertension was associated with an increased risk of developing dementia in those adults who were unable to organize thoughts and make decisions, but not in those who suffered from memory dysfunction.

From California - A new report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences outlines the hazards of third hand smoke. Residual nicotine from burning tobacco attaches to almost every surface--lasting days, weeks and even months. Lab tests revealed that when this leftover nicotine interacted with a common ambient air pollutant nitrous acid, it created a carcinogen known as tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA).

And finally, from Nottingham - According to a report published in The Lancet, people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease face a significant increased risk of blood clots. Researchers compared over 13, 500 IBD patients with over 70,000 healthy controls. They found that non-hospitalized patients with active IBD were 16x more likely to suffer a blood clot when compared to non-hospitalized controls.

(February 8, 2010 - Insidermedicine) Taking the antidepressant paroxetine interferes with the life-saving properties of the breast cancer therapy tamoxifen, according to research published in the British Medical Journal.

(February 8, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

Taking the antidepressant paroxetine interferes with the life-saving properties of the breast cancer therapy tamoxifen, according to research published in the British Medical Journal.
 
Here is some information about cancer and depression:
 
    •    An estimated 15 to 25% of cancer patients suffer from depression
 
    •    Depression associated with cancer can usually be treated with a combination of counseling and medication
 
    •    Depressed cancer patients should be evaluated by a professional for their risk of suicide
 
Researchers from Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre in Toronto analyzed the long-term survival rates of nearly 2,500 Ontario women aged 66 and older who were treated with tamoxifen for breast cancer between the years 1993 to 2005. These women were also treated with one antidepressant of the SSRI class for some or all of the time they were taking tamoxifen.
 
Overall, about 30% of the women received antidepressant treatment while taking tamoxifen. After adjusting for factors that affect survival rates, including age, women who were taking paroxetine, which is also known under its tradename Paxil, while taking tamoxifen were more likely to die from breast cancer than those who had not taken this drug. The more paroxetine therapy overlapped with tamoxifen therapy, the higher the risk of dying from breast cancer. The authors estimate that using paroxetine for 41% of the duration of tamoxifen therapy would result in 1 additional death from breast cancer within five years for every 20 women treated. No association with breast cancer survival rates were found for other antidepressant.
 

We spoke with Dr. David Juurlink, one of the investigators of this study, who offered some further insight.

Today’s research suggests that women taking tamoxifen for breast cancer should not also take paroxetine. Never stop tamoxifen or paroxetine therapy without first consulting your health care professional