Scientists at the Silesian Medical Academy, Zabrze, Poland, have found that an increased blood level of cancer marker CA-125 is also associated with a high likelihood of miscarriage in pregnant women with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding. They suggest that the test may help doctors decide which women with symptoms that suggest imminent miscarriage are at high risk.
Source: Journal of Reproductive Medicine, December 2003.
Scientists at the University of Oxford, UK have reported that in type 2 diabetes, elevated HbA1c, measured close to diagnosis of diabetes, is a risk factor for myocardial infarction and stroke fatality. They found that the HbA1c was higher in patients with fatal MI that in those with nonfatal MI (odds ratio 1.17 per 1% HbA1c). The findings are part of the UK Prospective Diabetes Study that included diabetics who had data available during a median follow-up of 7 years. They suggest that glycemia control should be thought of as a continuous risk factor for MI and stroke fatality as well as for predicting MI events.
Source: Diabetes Care, January 2004;27:201-207.