A young woman’s treatment with a common prescription painkiller for her chronic bladder pain eventually landed her in the emergency room. The 24 year old had started taking the pain reliever celecoxib (Celebrex) for interstitial cystitis (IC), a chronic condition that causes pelvic pain and urinary problems. This syndrome has no cure, with treatment based on trial and error. The … Read More
Study strengthens link between gene variants and bleeding risk in warfarin patients
New research offers more evidence for the connection between CYP2C9 and VKORC1 variants and increased bleeding risk in patients taking warfarin. A large-scale study published in the March edition of the Lancet found that atrial fibrillation patients whose CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genetic variations made them highly sensitive to warfarin were nearly three times more likely to experience bleeding than those … Read More
Raising awareness of diabetes in November
November is diabetes awareness month in the U.S., a time to learn more about a disease that affects an estimated 30 million American children and adults. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of adults with diabetes nearly tripled between 1980 and 2011, going from 5.6 million people to 20.9 million. The American … Read More