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Hormone Danger; Fast Track Drugs; Massage & Pain Control
Tuesday, March 4
In tonight's Medical Watch -- it's as good as drugs ... relieving pain without medication. Pills popping up too easily on the market -- two blockbuster drugs are under fire. And the prescription for women that's putting them at risk years after they stop taking it.
Hormone Danger
Hormone replacement therapy was found to increase the threat of heart disease and breast cancer. After the Women's Health Initiative study experts urged women to stop taking HRT. Now years later a new study finds women are still at an increased risk for breast cancer three years after they stop taking HRT.
Fast Track Drugs
Patients have stopped taking the diabetes drug Avandia and the cholesterol lowering Vytorin but health experts say they still have concerns about the medications. A federal watchdog group says both drugs may have been fast tracked without sufficient proof of safety or efficacy. An investigation is underway of the approval process after Avandia was linked to increased heart attack risk and Vytorin simply wasn't working.
Massage & Pain Control
Massage does work to relieve pain and a new study finds it can replace medication. The Archives of Surgery reports massage is not only effective, it is safer than drugs to offset pain after surgery. Patients received either standard drug care or 20 minutes of massage for five days after surgery. The massage group reported less pain and less overall sickness following surgery than those in the drug group.
Copyright © 2008, WGN-TV
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