Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases.

BACKGROUND: We performed this study to examine the association between egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular diseases and mortality in a nationally representative cohort of 9734 adults aged 25 to 74 years. MATERIAL/METHODS: Egg consumption was categorized into no or less than 1 egg, 1 to 6 eggs, or greater than 6 eggs per week. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to identify the relative risk (RR) of incident stroke, ischemic stroke, coronary artery disease and mortality over a 20-year follow-up in all participants and subsequently in diabetic participants. RESULTS: After adjusting for differences in age, gender, race, serum cholesterol level, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, systolic blood pressure, educational status and cigarette smoking, no significant difference was observed between persons who consumed greater than 6 eggs per week compared to those who consume none or less than 1 egg per week in regards to any stroke (RR, 0.9; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.7 to 1.1), ischemic stroke (RR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.7 to 1.1), or coronary artery disease (RR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.9 to 1.3). In subgroup analysis among diabetics, consumption of greater than 6 eggs per week was associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease (RR 2.0, 95% CI 1.0-3.8). CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of greater than 6 eggs per week (average of 1 egg or greater per day) does not increase the risk of stroke and ischemic stroke. The increased risk of coronary artery disease associated with higher egg consumption among diabetics warrants further investigations.

Intracranial hemorrhages associated with intravenous platelet glycoprotein IIB/IIIA receptor inhibitors in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the rates of intracranial hemorrhages associated with GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors in routine practice. BACKGROUND: Rates of intracranial hemorrhages (ICH) among patients treated with platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors for coronary interventions and acute coronary syndromes have been studied within clinical trials but not in routine practice. METHODS: We evaluated the rates of ICH in routine practice in United States (US) using national estimates of rates, in-hospital outcomes, and mortality obtained from National Hospital Discharge Survey. RESULTS: There were 367 294 patients aged 18 years or greater who were treated with platelet GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors between 2000 and 2002 in United States. ICH was observed in 479 (0.13%) of the 367,294 patients with a 100% associated mortality. ICHs related to GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors comprised 0.12% of the total number of ICHs (n = 411 621) observed in United States between 2000 and 2002. CONCLUSIONS: ICH related to platelet GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors is uncommon but associated with high mortality.