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(Best Syndication News) New research indicates that a prescription version of the B-vitamin niacin is more effective at slowing the buildup of plaque on the artery walls than prescription Zetia. This falls in line with a study earlier this year which showed that Vytorin, a combination of Zetia and Zocor, didn’t work any better than Zocor alone.

Researchers are now wondering whether the drug works at all. Zetia is unique in that it is supposed to work in the digestive track to reduce cholesterol. This was not necessarily bad news for Merck, the maker of Zetia, as their shares rose 2.3 percent on Monday. Abbott was up about 1.6 percent.

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[Best Syndication News] Researchers see a link between increased phosphorus levels in the blood and an increased risk for calcification in the coronary arteries, which is considered a key measurement for heart disease risk. The study will be published in the November 5th issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

The co-researcher, Katherine R. Tuttle M.D., from Providence Medical Research Center in Spokane, Washington pointed out that early stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) is often seen with the person having an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease.

The researchers studied 900 healthy adults from the Spokane Heart Study. Previous studies found relationships with Coronary Artery Calcification (CAC) and atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries. At the beginning of the Spokane Heart Study there were 28 percent of the participants that had CAC. After 6 years the researchers found 33 percent of the participants developed CAC. Those that had CAC initially had an increased amount during the follow up assessment.

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Champix, a prescription drug marketed by Pfizer, is prescribed for the treatment of smoking addiction. Its generic name is Varenicline Tartarate, and it belongs to a family of agonists known as nicotinic receptor partial agonists. Thus, the intake of Champix not only reduces the craving for a cigarette, but also, helps in decreasing the gratifying effects of smoking a cigarette or using various other tobacco products.

Champix Varenicline

The intake of Champix leads to the activation of specific receptors in the brain. In doing so, nicotine is stopped from attaching itself to these receptors. Typically, when people smoke they experience a feeling of reward in the form of pleasure. Champix prevents this specific feeling of reward. A person, thus, gradually loses his/her dependency on nicotine. At the end of the course, the person can quit smoking without any difficulty whatsoever.

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[Best Syndication News] Eating a diet full of whole grains could help to prevent developing high blood pressure concluded a study that was recently published in the September 2009 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study found that the men that ate the hightest amount of whole grains in their diet had reduced there chances of developing high blood pressure by 19 percent.

The researchers think that the outer coating of the grains have vital nutrients in the bran and germ that more than likely contribute to the reduced risk of developing high blood pressure. The outer portion of grains have been shown in other research to be beneficial at lowering LDL cholesterol levels.

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[Best Syndication News] The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that flavored cigarettes are illegal in the United States. The flavors were fruit, candy or clove and they issued the ban using the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. They FDA sees the flavored cigarettes as an attraction for children and teenagers to pick up the addictive habit of smoking cigarettes and want to prevent this.

"Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. in a public statement. "The FDA will utilize regulatory authority to reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco products to enhance our Nation's public health."