Here’s some recent health news for the day.
Dabigatran – a Potential Alternative to Warfarin
In an issue that is close to my own heart, there may be a new, better medication for controlling chronic blood clots. The drug, called Dabigatran Etexilate, is just as effective at controlling clots as Warfarin/Coumadin, but is far easier to manage.
Regarding Dabigatran, Dr. Sam Schulman of McMaster University and the Henderson Research Center in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada said this:
“For patients and health-care providers, Dabigatran is a far more convenient drug than Warfarin because it has no known interactions with foods and minimal interactions with other drugs and therefore does not require routine blood-coagulation testing.”
In studies, Dabigatran was just as effective, and in some cases was even more effective, at preventing medical emergencies involving heart problems and strokes, as Warfarin. In addition there were far fewer bleeding issues related to the potential interactions between Warfarin, certain foods, and other medications.
Dabigatran is marketed as Pradax in Canada and Pradaxa in Europe; it is not yet approved for use in the United States.
Read more about it here: New Blood Thinner Could Replace Warfarin to Fight Venous Clots
DNA Once Again Tied to Obesity
Research on obese children has once again determined that DNA mutations or deletions can be responsible for childhood obesity. Part of the responsibility clearly rests on the shoulders of parents, but if you are a responsible parent who attempts to teach your child to eat right, but the kid still ends up weighing 2 bills when he or she is only 10 years old, you’ve probably got a kid with a DNA problem. Is there a solution? I just don’t know yet.
Read more about it here: Obesity in some children tied to DNA, study finds
The New England Patriots Lose Again
If you didn’t know, the Patriots lost to the Dolphins yesterday, 21-22, which puts them at only a 1 game lead in the AFC East. Yes, that’s right – they could actually lose the AFC East… they won’t, but theoretically they could.
Earlier in the season, before that debacle at New Orleans, I figured the Pats to be one of the top 4 teams in the NFL. They lost fair and square to the Jets, then barely lost in OT to the Broncos – a game they should have won, then barely lost to the Colts at the last second – a game they should have won.
New Orleans and Miami exposed the Patriots weaknesses, and now I’m not sure they will even run the table for the rest of the year, though clearly they should be able to.
My observations from recent Patriots games:
- They can’t win on the road. Period.
- They stink at converting scoring attempts in the red zone.
- They under-perform when trying convert on 4th down.
- They under-perform in the second half of games, especially when carrying a lead into the third quarter.
- They can’t establish a REAL running game. Maroney has been improving but he doesn’t bust out 50 yard breakaway scores.
- They can’t establish a solid 3rd receiver. Sam Aiken is OK but he is not a star.
- They keep leaving points on the field, specifically field goals that should be kicked rather than going for it on 4th and 6 at the 15 yard line.
- The pass rush leaves much to be desired.
- The secondary seems slow and inexperienced.
It makes me sad to see my beloved New England Patriots flailing in the wind against mediocre teams, but what else can I say? They will probably make it into the playoffs, but I can’t expect much else this year.
Read more about it here: In second half, Brady a road woe-rrior and here: Patriots vs. Dolphins
Tags: children, coumadin, dabigatran, nfl, obesity, patriots, warfarin
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I am a chef, certified personal trainer and a mom. I have discovered that the mindset regarding eating is the most important thing, not necessarily the diet methods that don’t fit you. I discovered this when trying to get my toddler to eat and wrote a book about it – Diet Secrets of A Toddler, By Laura Andolini. It is on my website if you are interested. http://www.cooking-for-fitness.com , or amazon.com. I hope you enjoy it!
At least you’re not in my position. My Seahawks are now legitimate bottom feeders. Last year we were picked by Chris Berman to win the super bowl (My point being that we were hyped, not that we were super bowl caliber) and now our GM was just fired and we are rebuilding. To add insult to injury, we have the Broncos 1st round pick who were predicted to be terrible but are now projecting to give us a late round pick. No good