(December 10, 2009 - Insidermedicine)

From Ottawa - Canadians should be wary of taking certain acai berry products, according to a warning from Health Canada. The warning comes following the discovery that shipments of acai berry products crossing the Canadian border were found to contain sildenafil--a medication for erectile dysfunction. Sildenafil should not be taken unless supervised by a doctor, as it is a prescription medication and people with heart problems may be at increased risk of stroke and heart attack should they take the drug.

From Leeds - According to a report published in the journal Cell, researchers may have found a new approach to treating blood clots. Currently, most patients with blood clots are treated with the anticoagulant Warfarin--a medication that thins the blood but also puts the patient at risk of excessive bleeding if they get injured. Researchers have now discovered, however, that the molecule polyphosphate contributes to the blood clot in the artery without adversely affecting the patient's wound healing ability--a discovery that could make the molecule a new target in blood clot treatments.

And finally, from California - Moderate alcohol consumption significantly increases a woman's risk for breast cancer recurrence, according to research presented at the 2009 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Researchers studied nearly 1,900 breast cancer survivors for eight years. They found that three to four alcoholic drinks per week, regardless of the type, increased breast cancer recurrence risk by 30%, with obese women and postmenopausal women at the greatest risk.