One study excluded that AEDs increase the risk of suicide


Since the U.S. Food and Drug Agency (FDA) warned in 2008 the increase of suicides associated with the use of antiepileptic drugs, the debate about the veracity of this phenomenon has not ceased. A Spanish research now joins the voices that defend the safety of these drugs. Their findings show that can be used safely in epileptic patients.
Following a clinical trial indicating that AEDs increased suicidal thoughts and actions, the FDA decided to include a warning (called 'black box' in English) in the listing of these drugs. However, "a measure was considered not entirely proven, that needed to be endorsed in a population of users of these drugs," explained one of the authors, Alejandro Arana, MR cabinet Pharmacovigilance Risk Services (based in Zaragoza).
"That's what we have done in this study," added José Luis Ayuso, Department of Psychiatry at the Autonomous University of Madrid, who also signs the job. Clinical trials, explains both, have the disadvantage that the population analyzed that meet certain criteria and follow-up period is short.
AEDs don´t increase the risk of suicide

To overcome these obstacles, the researchers obtained information from a database of British patients and analyzed the correlation between suicide attempts-consummated or not, and the use of antiepileptic drugs in people with epilepsy, depression, bipolar disorder or any of these three diseases.
Although the absolute numbers indicating a higher incidence of these episodes among those taking antiepileptic drugs, when the authors eliminated confounding factors, the risk was higher in epileptic patients not taking this medication, as reflected in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine.
As for people with depression or bipolar disorder, "noted an increased risk of suicide, but we can not know if it is for AEDs or the underlying disease," said Arana. Their analysis "suggests that the disease is more important than drugs," they explain in the pages of the magazine.

"In general," say the authors, our results confirm the findings reported by the FDA and reaffirm the safety of antiepileptic drugs, which are using more than 100 years, "added

Low-carbohydrate diet would increase good cholesterol


Reducing carbohydrates works similarly to remove the fat from the diet to lose weight, but could be better for the heart.In the long term, low-carb diet works the same way that a diet low in fat to lose weight, and might be better for the heart, new research suggests.
Both diets improved the cholesterol level in a two-year study that included intensive group counseling. But those who were under the low-carb diet was a significant increase in the so-called "good cholesterol", almost twice the number who underwent a diet low in fat.In previous studies, low-carbohydrate diets have been better to lose weight in six months, but long-term results have been mixed. And it was suggested that cholesterol levels have been better to eat food low in carbohydrates.

The latest study is one of the longest to compare approaches. At the end of two years, the average weight loss was the same for both: about 6.8 kilograms (15 pounds), 7%.
The crucial difference was in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL, by its initials in English), known as good cholesterol, a 23% increase in the low-carbohydrate diet compared with an improvement of 12% in the diet low in fat, said Gary Foster, director of the Center for Research and Education on Obesity, Temple University, who led the study funded with federal resources.

Foster noted that the improvement achieved by the low-carb diet is the type that could be obtained from the HDL-enhancing drugs.

The beneficts to Low-carbohydrate diet

The findings, published in Tuesday's edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine, are based on a study of 307 adults, of whom two thirds were women. The participants were obese, but had no problems with cholesterol or diabetes.

Half followed a diet low in carbohydrates modeled on the Atkins plan and the other half took a diet low in calories and low in fat. Every attended group sessions to help change bad eating habits, become more active and stick to their diets.
The volunteers had regular reviews of their weight, blood bone density and body composition (percentage of fat, bone and muscle). After two years, there were no major differences between the two diet groups, except in terms of good cholesterol. It is unknown why low-carbohydrate diet had a greater effect on this type of cholesterol, the researchers said.
As plans low carb diet became more popular, experts feared that it would increase the risk of heart disease because it allows more fat. Recent findings suggest that those concerns are unfounded, said Foster.