Almost two years after an international study found the drug reduced heart attacks and strokes in men and women, Health Canada on Tuesday approved Crestor for medical use in Canada.
Under the generic name rosuvastatin, Crestor is intended to reduce the risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes in men and women who have low cholesterol but high levels of C-reactive protein. Elevated levels of the protein indicate the body is fighting inflammation somewhere. The 2008 study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and drawing on data from 18,000 participants, found that individuals who took 20 milligrams of Crestor a day had a 44 per cent reduced risk of a first cardiovascular event, such as heart attack or stroke.
The individuals in the trial had low cholesterol but high levels of C-reactive protein. Levels exceeding 2.0 mg per litre are at high risk of heart disease even if no other risk factors are present.
Crestor is manufactured by AstraZeneca.
Three incidents involving injured infants have led to the recall of more than 39,000 high chairs sold in Canada over a six-year period.
Health Canada announced on Thursday that the Graco Harmony high chair was being recalled from the market due to an engineering hazard. According to the public health agency, the screws holding the front legs of the high chair may loosen and fall out, or the plastic bracket on the rear legs can crack, causing the high chair to become unstable or tip over unexpectedly.
While Health Canada has not received any reports of injuries or deaths related to the use of the product, importer Elfe Juvenile Products of Toronto and Montreal has received three reports of minor injuries including bumps, bruises and scratches from the high chair tipping over when the child was seated in it.
Health Canada has listed 21 model numbers of Graco Harmony high chair associated with the recall at www.healthycanadians.gc.ca that were sold in Canada between November 2003 and December 2009. Consumers who are using the high chairs should stop doing so immediately and contact Elfe Juvenile Products for a free repair kit. Call 1-800-667-8184.
Some 40 per cent of household disinfectants fail to eliminate a group of viruses that are responsible for half of all gastroenteritis outbreaks, according the Journal of Food Protection.
Researchers at the Université Laval tested how well three major categories of household disinfectants worked in eliminating noroviruses, the group responsible for gastroenteritis. The team examined bleach-based, alcohol-based and quaternary ammonium-based products to see how well they eliminated noroviruses. Lab tests showed that five minutes of contact with a bleach-based cleaner reduced the concentration of norovirus on stainless steel by a factor of 1,000. Quaternary ammonium and alcohol-based cleaners were 100 times less effective.
The teams stressed the importance of using a good cleaner to reduce the risk of spreading noroviruses via contact with infected people or indirectly through contaminated objects, foods and surfaces at home.
The research team wrote that it was particularly concerned because “some 40 per cent of the commercial surface disinfectants on the market are alcohol or ammonium based,” wrote professor Julie Jean. “Once attached, these viruses can survive for weeks and potentially contaminate anyone who touches them.”
Women who eat primarily fruits, vegetables and healthy grains could be more likely to survive a bout with ovarian cancer.
Published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers in Chicago examined a longitudinal study on self-reported diets of 351 women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer within the last three to five years.
Researchers found that women who ate more fruits, vegetables and healthy grains lived longer than those who did not. On the subject of vegetables alone, only those of a cruciferous nature, such as broccoli, were linked to longer survival.
The authors stated more research is necessary to understand how diet actually influences survival time.
Women older than 40 years of age who consume alcohol in light to moderate amounts gain less weight and have lower risk of becoming obese than women who don’t drink, according the Archives of Internal Medicine.
A group of researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health examined the records of 19,220 women aged 39 and over with no signs of cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes with a normal body mass index (BMI). At the start of the study, each participant filled out a questionnaire about their daily alcohol consumption, then questionnaires about their weight every year for the last 13 years.
The results showed that, over 13 years the average weight increased steadily. In total, 41.3 were considered overweight and 3.8 were obese. Interestingly, women who consumed less than 40 grams of alcohol a day, compared to women who did not drink at all, had a lower risk of becoming overweight or obese. Specifically, women who drank between 15 and 30 grams of alcohol per day were the least likely to gain weight.
