A round-up of today's other stories in brief
'Magic bullet' pill to halve coronary risk
An all-in-one “polypill” containing a cocktail of potentially life-saving drugs could halve rates of heart attacks and strokes in healthy middle-aged and older people, a major trial has found.
The research in India involved more than 2,000 people aged 45-80 and was the most comprehensive study yet of the controversial “magic bullet” pill.
Scientists compared Polycap, a five-drug polypill, with combinations of its different components to assess effectiveness and safety. They concluded that if the pill was given to healthy adults with at least one risk factor, such as raised blood pressure, obesity or smoking, it could slash the number of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events by half. As the study looked at a relatively low-risk population, it suggests that the polypill might have a significantly bigger impact in practice.
Another important finding was that the pill caused no unpleasant side effects.
Polycap contains a cholesterol-lowering statin, aspirin to combat clotting, and three blood pressure-lowering drugs.
Action on bowel cancer awareness
The Irish Cancer Society has launched a month-long campaign to highlight the issue of bowel cancer which kills more than 900 people each year.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the cancer’s early warning signs as well as highlight the benefit of a bowel cancer screening programme.
“The aim of this campaign is to save lives – by letting people know what the early warning signs of this cancer are, and to press for a screening programme which would certainly save lives,” said Kathleen O’Meara of the Irish Cancer Society.
A key feature of the campaign will be the National Cancer Helpline on Freefone 1800 200700, e-mail helpline@irishcancer.ie, or people can call into the Irish Cancer Society offices at 43/45 Northumberland Road, Dublin 4, to discuss their concerns about bowel cancer, the society said.