Nathan Seppa

Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)

All Stories by Nathan Seppa

  1. Health & Medicine

    Smoking laws limit heart attacks

    A county that banned smoking in bars, restaurants and other workplaces saw a one-third decrease, a new study finds.

  2. Health & Medicine

    Aspirin has selective benefit in colorectal cancer

    Patients with a common gene mutation survive longer, which might enable doctors to predict who would get results from the drug.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Body & Brain

    Blood pressure decreases with apnea treatment, vitamins fail to protect against colorectal cancer, and more news from this week’s medical journals.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Tomato compound might prevent some strokes

    Men with high blood concentrations of lycopene are less vulnerable, a study finds.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Common heart treatment fails to help

    People prescribed beta blockers are no more likely to avoid a heart attack or stroke than those not getting them.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Oral MS drug passes tests

    A drug called BG-12, similar to a psoriasis medicine used in Germany, supresses multiple sclerosis relapses well, two studies find.

  7. Health & Medicine

    First dengue vaccine trial disappoints

    The shots protect against three of the four viral subtypes, failing to deliver full protection, a study in Thailand shows.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Anti-inflammatories tied to cardiac risk

    Heart attack survivors who take ibuprofen or diclofenac appear more likely to die or suffer another attack, a large Danish study finds.

  9. Health & Medicine

    MRI spots silent heart attacks

    Scanning elderly population finds many people with telltale cardiac damage that was not diagnosed.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Low-cal longevity questioned

    Limited food intake in rhesus monkeys fails to extend the animals’ survival, in a departure from earlier reports.

  11. Life

    Kick in the gut may lead to IBD

    Short-term infection could create conditions for long-term intestinal illness, a study suggests.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Tattoo rashes linked to ink

    Tainted supplies caused outbreak of stubborn bacterial skin infections.