Netflix and … Clot ?
No Benefit , No Problem ?
Aged to Perfection
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Netflix and … Clot ?
Spending the whole weekend inside binge-watching a new series isn ’ t just bad for your social life , it could also raise your risk of blood clots .
Among 15,158 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study , researchers found that , compared with people who “ never or seldom ” watched TV , the risk of developing a first venous thromboembolism ( VTE ) was
1.7 times higher
in people who watched TV “ very often ” ( p = 0.03 ).
This was true even for people who met recommended physical activity guidelines : VTE risk was
1.8 times higher
for “ very often ” viewers than “ never or seldom ” viewers .
Watching TV itself isn ’ t likely bad , the authors wrote , but behaviors during TV-watching ( like snacking or sitting still for a prolonged period ) contribute to the VTE risk .
Source : Kubota Y , Cushman M , Zakai N , et al . TV viewing and incident venous thromboembolism : the Atherosclerotic Risk in Communities Study . Abstract # S5169 . Presented at the 2017 American Heart Association Annual Meeting , November 12 , 2017 ; Anaheim , CA .
No Benefit , No Problem ?
Several cancer drugs approved by the European Medicines Agency ( EMA ) in recent years entered the market without any available evidence about overall survival ( OS ) or quality-of-life benefit , according to a review of EMA regulatory actions on 48 anti-cancer drugs between 2009 and 2013 .
Of the 68 approved indications :
44 ( 65 %) were approved without evidence of a survival gain
Aged to Perfection
When it comes to transfused red blood cells ( RBCs ), fresher is not always better , according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine .
In the randomized , international TRANSFUSE trial , 6-month survival outcomes were similar between patients who received the freshest-available RBCs ( stored for an average of 11.8 days ) and those who received the oldestavailable RBCs ( stored for an average of 22.4 days ; p = 0.75 ):
7 ( 10 %) were approved without evidence of quality-of-life improvement
Three years after market authorization , “ there was still no conclusive evidence that these drugs either extended or improved life ,” the authors noted .
Responding to the report , EMA representatives said that the results “ are not surprising to anyone familiar with cancer drug development ,” given the difficulty of detecting OS benefit and the rarity of “ giant leaps ” in benefits .
Source : Davis C , Gurpinar E , Pinto A . Availability of evidence of benefits on overall survival and quality of life of cancer drugs approved by European Medicines Agency : retrospective cohort study of drug approvals 2009-13 . BMJ . 2017 ; 359 : j4530 .
8 ( 12 %) were approved on the basis of a single-arm study stored ~ 11.8 days
28.5 %
( n = 687 / 2,410 ) stored ~ 22.4 days
28.1 %
(n = 678 / 2,414 )
“ The current practice is safe , and doctors no longer need to try [ to ] get the freshest available blood for their patients ,” said study co-author Alistair Nichol , PhD , adding that “ blood availability for transfusion will increase worldwide , because transfusion services will now avoid providing fresher blood for selected patient groups .”
Source : Cooper DJ , McQuilten ZK , Nichol A , et al . Age of red cells for transfusion and outcomes in critically ill adults . N Engl J Med . 2017 ; 377:1858-67 .
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