(August 30, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

From Bethesda - A new report published in The Lancet Neurology identifies a genetic factor associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Researchers compared over 400 ALS patients to nearly 500 controls and found two genetic variations occurring in 70% of ALS patients with a family history of the disease. 


From Washington - According to a report published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, African Americans are at raised risk of blood clotting after receiving a drug eluting stent. Studying over 7,200 patients who underwent stenting, researchers found that African Americans had 3x increased risk of clotting following the procedure.

And finally, from the Netherlands - Margarines with omega 3 fatty acids do not appear to reduce cardiovascular risk, according to a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers studied more than 5,000 patients who had a previous heart attack, finding that adding margarine with omega-3 fatty acids  did nothing to prevent a second heart attack or stroke.