FDA OK's first percutaneous heart valve

FDA OK's first percutaneous heart valve

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has approved the first heart valve to be implanted through a catheter and then guided into the heart. The FDA said the Medtronic Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve and Ensemble Delivery System is a new approach to the treatment of adults and children with previously implanted, poorly functioning pulmonary valve conduits. Officials said the new system can delay the need for open-chest surgery. "The FDA's approval of Melody allows patients to undergo a much less invasive procedure to treat their heart condition," said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radio- logical Health. "Congenital heart defects represent the number one birth defect worldwide and this approval repre- sents a new, first-of-a-kind treatment option for some of those patients." As a condition of the FDA's approval, the system's manufacturer, Medtronic Inc. of Minneapolis, will conduct two post-approval studies to assess long-term risks and benefits, as well as to evaluate the physician speciali- zation needed to perform the implantation procedure.

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Reducing Salt Could Save Thousands of Lives

Reducing Salt Could Save Thousands of Lives

• BOSTON - Shaving 3 grams off the daily salt intake of Ameri- cans could prevent up to 66,000 strokes, 99,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths in the United States, while saving $24 billion in health costs per year. The benefit to the U.S.

• population would be comparable to cutting smoking by 50 per- cent, significantly lowering obesity rates and giving chol- esterol drugs to virtually everyone to prevent heart attacks, said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of Cali- fornia, San Francisco and colleagues. Such a goal, they said, is readily attainable. Salt, which contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease, is widely overused in the United States, with 75 to 80 percent coming from processed food. Men typically consume 10.4 grams per day. For women, the average is 7.3 grams. Its use is rising. A reduction of 1 gram would prevent 11,000 to 23,000 strokes, 18,000 to 35,000 heart attacks and 15,000 to 32,000 deaths from any cause, the researchers reported in New England Journal of Medicine.
  

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Drug could slow ALS muscle weakening

Drug could slow ALS muscle weakening

• BALTIMORE - A drug used to treat symptoms of epilepsy could slow muscle weakening in patients with Lou Gehrig's disease, scientists in Baltimore said. In a clinical trial on amyo- trophic lateral sclerosis patients, the drug talampanel showed the potential to slow the progression of the disease, helping to preserve patients' ability to speak, walk and dress themselves, researchers at Johns Hopkins University said. The trial, involving 50 volunteers with ALS, showed talampanel to be safe with limited, and tolerable, side effects, Johns Hopkins neurologist Jeffrey Rothstein wrote in a recent issue of the journal Amyotrophic Lateral Scler- osis. Talampanel is a member of the benzodiazepine family, which are anti-anxiety and muscle-relaxing agents that work in the brain and spinal cord. The promise of talampanel is especially important in ALS because only one other drug, riluzole, exists to treat the fatal neurodegenerative dis- ease. "Riluzole can extend life only modestly and hasn't been shown to slow ALS symptoms so the need for better ther- apy is real," Rothstein said.

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CDC: Most parents want H1N1 shot for kids

CDC: Most parents want H1N1 shot for kids

• ATLANTA - A study of two counties in North Carolina found most parents wanted their children to get the H1N1 vaccine, official say. To assess intent to receive the H1N1 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention performed a survey in August among residents of two counties in North Carolina. The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Wednesday says of 207 households surveyed, 64 percent of adults reported intent to receive the H1N1 vaccine, while 65 percent reported intent to vaccinate all of their children. In addition, 51 percent reported an intent to vaccinate all of their children with both seasonal and H1N1 vaccines. For those not intending to get the vaccination, among the reasons cited included a belief in a low likelihood of infection and concern regarding side effects, the report said. Eighty-five percent of the respondents say they receive information about the H1N1 vaccine from television.

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