Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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New Uses for Blood Pressure Drug Approved
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THURSDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved expanded use of the blood pressure medication Diovan (valsartan) to include improving certain patients'' chances of surviving a heart attack, manufacturer Novartis Pharmaceuticals said Thursday. The new indication applies only to high-risk heart attack survivors who have a condition called left ventricular dysfunction, the company said. The FDA also broadened the drug''s labeling to allow doctors to prescribe it to a wider range of heart-failure patients, Novartis said. Up to now, the drug had been officially limited to heart-failure patients who were intolerant to a class of medicines called ACE inhibitors. The company warned that Diovan should be discontinued as soon as a woman learns she is pregnant because the drug could cause serious harm, even death, to a fetus. To learn more about Diovan, visit the National Library of Medicine.
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