Health Highlights: Aug. 13, 2009

ByABC News
August 13, 2009, 2:18 PM

Aug. 14 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Stent Study Expanded

A study of the widely used Xience V heart stent will be expanded by more than 2,000 patients, Abbott Laboratories announced Thursday.

The main study, launched in late 2008, includes more than 25,000 patients. The patients in the new portion of the study will be followed for five years to see how many develop a potentially fatal blood clot near the site of the stent, the Associated Press reported.

The new patients will also be eligible to enroll in the larger study, which is examining the best time for patients to take blood-thinning drugs after they undergo a procedure to clear a blocked artery and have a stent implanted to keep the artery open.

The Xience V stent is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but the agency requested the large study to help physicians determine the optimal treatment for patients, the AP reported.

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Canadian Isotope Reactor Down Till 2010

It will be at least early 2010 before a Canadian reactor that produced one-third of the world's supply of medical isotopes is back in operation, officials said Thursday.

The facility in Chalk River, Ontario was closed in May for repairs. Its shutdown has caused a worldwide shortage of medical isotopes used to diagnose cancer and heart patients, Agence France Presse reported.

Initially, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited predicted the shutdown would last a few months, but a new analysis revealed more problems with the reactor, the agency said.

As more data becomes available, AECL said it will have a better idea of when the National Research Universal reactor will be back in service, AFP reported.

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Chocolate Helps Heart Attack Survivors