Family Practice News back issues from October 2005:
Floods show need for emergency plan.(News)
Oct 01, 2005; ... The recent disaster in New Orleans may be a wakeup call for all physicians to establish some kind of emergency backup system for their businesses. "Physicians don't always think of themselves as running a business, but they're going to think of it now," Rosemarie Nelson, a ...
Fewer CV events seen with combo blood pressure Tx; amlodipine plus perindopril saved lives.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Stockholm -- An antihypertensive combination of amlodipine plus perindopril was strikingly superior to a combination of atenolol and a thiazide diuretic in a major study that followed nearly 20,000 patients for 5.5 years. The Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT) "is ...
FDA panel cautiously favors inhaled insulin.(News)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Silver Spring, Md. -- Advisors to the Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend approval of inhaled insulin, but at the same time expressed concern about the product's long-term pulmonary effects as well as the level of training that patients would need to properly use the inhaler ...
Ultra-endurance sports: bad for the heart?(News)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Stockholm -- Speculation that ultra-endurance athletics results in myocardial damage predisposing to subsequent serious cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death has been boosted by the findings of a new study of Australian Ironman Triathlon finishers. "The entity that I'm suggesting ...
Report: all children need advice, comfort after a disaster.(News)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Doctors play a key role in caring for the young victims of Hurricane Katrina and educating patients on the importance of community response, the author of a new clinical report on the aftereffects of disasters from the American Academy of Pediatrics stated. Evacuees from the ...
Disrupted ecology may protect La. from West Nile.(News)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Amosquito-eradication program is underway in storm-ravaged Gulf coast states, and federal officials hope that effort, combined with the hurricane's impact on the vector cycle, will prevent a surge in West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases. The aerial spray program ...
First responders share their stories of Katrina.(News)
Oct 01, 2005; ... While television relentlessly conveyed Hurricane Katrina's destructive impact on property, the catastrophe's human costs emerged most powerfully in the clarity of individual voices. In the following e-mail, one physician shared his experiences in the first chaotic days after the storm. ...
Pioglitazone improves heart outcomes in diabetes.(News)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Pioglitazone significantly reduced the combined risk of myocardial infarction, strokes, and death in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes, investigators reported at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. The Prospective Pioglitazone Clinical ...
FDA panel recommends muraglitazar alone, with metformin.(News)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Silver Spring, Md. -- A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel endorsed the approval muraglitazar for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, as monotherapy and in combination with metformin, but rejected its use in combination with sulfonylureas due to cardiovascular safety concerns. ...
Feds shouldn't have health care role.(Letters)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Predictably, neither of the commentators in the health savings accounts debate made an effort to correctly diagnose the problem; they just want to treat symptoms, an approach that we physicians should know is not optimal ("Will health savings accounts leave people vulnerable to ...
Picking up the pieces.(Guest Editorial)
Oct 01, 2005; ... My entire professional career, except for 2 years in the U.S. Army, has been centered in New Orleans--at Tulane Medical School, the U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and for the past decade on the faculty of Louisiana State University. Although the city has weathered many storms, ...
Female genital cutting.(Guest Editorial)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Female genital cutting, a practice seen in parts of Africa and Asia, is becoming more relevant to health providers here in the United States. More than 130 million women worldwide have undergone female genital cutting (FGC), and approximately 228,000 women and girls in this ...
Reducing homocysteine doesn't cut cardiovascular risk.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Stockholm -- Lowering plasma homocysteine with B vitamin therapy does not prevent subsequent MIs and strokes in patients who have had an MI--to the contrary, it may even be harmful, according to the results of the first large randomized treatment trial to examine the issue. "The ...
Society issues backwoods cardiac care guidelines.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Snowmass, Colo. -- You're camping in remote backcountry when someone in your party develops chest pain that you believe is due to an acute coronary syndrome. Now what? New practice guidelines from the Wilderness Medical Society tackle this issue for the first time ....
Intense activity, emotion can spur aortic rupture.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Vancouver, B.C. -- At the moment acute aortic dissection occurs, two-thirds of affected patients are engaged in extreme physical exertion or have just experienced profound emotional distress, John A. Elefteriades, M.D., reported at a meeting sponsored by the International Academy of ...
Aerobic fitness decreases mortality in hypertensive women.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Nashville, Tenn. -- Higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with lower all-cause mortality in hypertensive women, Carolyn E. Barlow said in a poster presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. Ms. Barlow, director of data management at the ...
Soy protein lowered blood pressure in Chinese trial.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Vancouver, B.C. -- Increased intake of soybean protein may provide an important means of preventing and treating hypertension, Jiang He, M.D., declared at a meeting sponsored by the International Academy of Cardiology. He presented results from a multicenter, double-blind, ...
Diet lowered LDL by 30%.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Oct 01, 2005; ... New York -- Diet can work almost as well as a statin for cutting a patient's level of LDL cholesterol. Patients who stuck with a highly structured diet rich in plant sterols, soy protein, viscous fibers, and almonds maintained their serum LDL-cholesterol level at 30% below their ...
Fibrate/statin called safer combo therapy.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Oct 01, 2005; ... New York -- The combination of fenofibrate and a statin appears to be safer than gemfibrozil and a statin, according to an analysis of adverse event reports to the Food and Drug Administration. From January 1998 through March 2002, the FDA received 0.6 reports of rhabdomyolysis ...
High-quality carbs may reduce C-Reactive protein.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Washington -- A high-quality carbohydrate diet is associated with reduced levels of C-reactive protein, Emily B. Levitan reported at conference on cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention sponsored by the American Heart Association. The finding, from the Women's Health ...
Aceon, invader UGT1A1 molecular assay.(New & Approved)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Aceon (perindopril, Solvay Pharmaceuticals and CV Therapeutics) An angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor approved for reducing the risk of cardiovascular mortality or nonfatal MI in patients with stable coronary artery disease. Approved for treating essential ...
British data back efficacy of selective EVAR use.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(endovascular aneurysm repair)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Midterm findings from two British studies of endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms may have limited relevance to U.S. practice because the aneurysms were relatively large and the wait for surgery was long. Still, the findings offer another boost to the documented ...
New resuscitation guidelines to emphasize compression.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Montreal -- Although the content of new resuscitation guidelines will not be released until December, the elimination of interruptions to chest compression during CPR is likely to be one of the major issues that is addressed. The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation ...
Metabolic syndrome Dx upheld by heart groups.(Metabolic Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Less than a month after two major diabetes organizations called metabolic syndrome a poorly defined and misleading diagnosis, the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute issued a joint statement reaffirming that the syndrome is valid and clinically ...
Stress reduction may benefit heart disease, diabetes patients.(Metabolic Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Washington -- Increasing evidence suggests that patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease who receive "coping skills" training do better physically and mentally, Redford B. Williams, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Association of Diabetes ...
Radioiodine therapy low risk for eye disease.(Metabolic Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Washington -- Graves' ophthalmopathy is uncommon in the first year after ablative radioiodine therapy, Julie E. Hallanger-Johnson, M.D., and her associates reported in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Graves' ophthalmopathy ...
Radioactive iodine rarely induces thyroid storm: patients with severe thyrotoxicosis can be treated, but they should receive [beta]-blockers and counseling.(Metabolic Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Toronto -- The risk of provoking thyroid storm with administration of radioactive iodine appears to be vanishingly small even in cases of severe thyrotoxicosis, Vani Vijayakumar, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine. Patients undergoing such ...
Hypothyroidism linked to lower risk of breast cancer.(Metabolic Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Women treated for hypothyroidism were less likely to develop primary breast carcinoma--and more likely to have more indolent disease when they did develop cancer--than women with normal thyroid function in a retrospective, case-control study. The findings "strengthen the ...
Evidence supports aggressive papillary thyroid ca treatment.(Metabolic Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Multifocal tumors in papillary thyroid cancer appear to often arise as independent tumors--a finding that supports the use of bilateral thyroidectomy and radioablation of remaining tissue, according to Trisha M. Shattuck of the University of Connecticut, Farmington, and her associates. ...
Hospital system begins to see success in MRSA screening.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... A Chicago-area hospital system has launched an ambitious effort to sharply reduce the rate of in-hospital methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections by screening all patients. The new admissions screening process at each of three Evanston Northwestern Healthcare ...
Strategies can help curb multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Bethesda, MD. -- The supply of weapons against multidrug-resistant gram-negative pathogens is running low, Henry M. Blumberg, M.D., said at an annual conference on antimicrobial resistance sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. "We are struggling to treat ...
Stool cultures rarely useful in managing diarrhea.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Aspen, Colo. -- Stool cultures cost millions of dollars annually, but rarely turn up meaningful information for physicians managing diarrhea in the United States, according to Ann-Christine Nyquist, M.D. Cultures should be ordered only when the results would affect treatment or ...
MMRV approval should boost immunization rate.(Infectious. Diseases)(measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella)
Oct 01, 2005; ... The Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of the first combination vaccine designed to protect children against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella is raising expectations of improved immunization rates, but is also eliciting some concerns. The quadrivalent MMRV ...
MMRV efficacy similar to MMR II plus Varivax.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... A quadrivalent measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccine was well-tolerated and effective in children aged 12-23 months, according to data from a pair of studies conducted by Henry Shinefield, M.D., of the University of San Francisco, California, and his colleagues. The ...
'Herd immunity' keeps varicella hospitalizations down in wake of vaccine.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Hospitalizations for varicella have declined 88% since 1994-1995, with the biggest decrease seen among infants. Because infants are not eligible to receive the vaccine, "The decline reflects reduced force of varicella infection in the population (i.e., herd immunity)," as do ...
Fast track vaccinations for young globetrotters.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Aspen, Colo. -- Routine vaccinations can be accelerated to protect very young travelers against infectious diseases in developing countries, Sarah K. Parker, M.D., advised at a conference on pediatric infectious diseases sponsored by Children's Hospital, Denver. "They can be ...
Visits to families abroad pose risks.(Infectious. Diseases)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2005 ... Foreign-born families taking young children to meet relatives in their home countries face significantly greater health risks, compared with other travelers, according to Dr. Parker. The youngsters are often very young; mothers may travel while pregnant; and, sometimes, family ...
HPV-related vulvar diseases persist in HIV-positive women.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Bethesda, MD. -- HIV-infected women shed more human papilloma virus, have higher rates of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, and are diagnosed more frequently with vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) than are women who are not infected, Thomas C. Wright Jr., M.D., said at a ...
Drug resistance factors into HIV treatment failures.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Bethesda, MD. -- Drug resistance poses a problem in treating HIV patients, in part because of the virus's high mutation rate, Roy M. Gulick, M.D., said at an annual conference on antimicrobial resistance sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Factors ...
Rabies death signals need for clinical vigilance.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Rabies should be part of the differential diagnosis of any patient hospitalized with encephalitis of unknown etiology, and rabies should be considered in people who have been bitten by a dog, especially if the bite occurs in a country where canine rabies is enzootic, according to the ...
Caution warranted in immunocompromised kids.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Aspen, Colo. -- Two groups of immunocompromised children present special challenges in community-based practices, Elizabeth J. McFarland, M.D., said at a conference on pediatric infectious diseases, sponsored by Children's Hospital, Denver. Weakened immune systems can make some ...
Teach parents about zoonoses.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2005 ... Many physicians--Dr. McFarland among them do not have the heart to banish all pets from the home of an immunocompromised child. "The better you can take care of your animal ... the less likely your pet will get sick," is the message she urged physicians to give to parents of ...
List of skin cancer prevention agents grows: evidence suggests a role for retinoids, statins, NSAIDs, and vitamins E, C, and D.(Skin Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Naples, Fla. -- Retinoids, NSAIDs, and perhaps statins lead the increasingly long list of possible skin cancer chemo-preventive agents, James Spencer, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Florida Society for Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery. In a wide-ranging discussion ...
Family history and age increase risk of skin cancers in women.(Skin Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... St. Louis -- Family history is a strong risk factor for melanoma in women, while age appears to be the biggest risk for the development of basal cell carcinoma, Abrar Qureshi, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology. Dr. Qureshi of Harvard ...
Hit atopic dermatitis on several fronts: cleansers, emollients, topical steroids, antihistamines, baths, and topical calcineurin inhibitors all can help.(Skin Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... San Francisco -- Atopic dermatitis is a multifactorial disease requiring multi-modal treatment, Jeffrey Sugarman, M.D., said at a meeting on clinical pediatrics sponsored by the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Sugarman of the university offered a number of tips to ...
Steroid, calcineurin inhibitor best for AD at different times.(Skin Disorders)(atopic dermatitis)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Glasgow, Scotland -- A rational approach to the treatment of atopic dermatitis is to use calcineurin inhibitors and topical corticosteroids in different therapeutic niches, based on a scientific understanding of the effects of the drugs on the stratum corneum and a recognition of the ...
Don't rely on "ABCD" for nodular melanoma.(Skin Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Glasgow, Scotland -- The success in recent years of public- and professional-relations efforts to spread awareness of early signs of melanoma has had one unfortunate downside: The common checklists that identify worrisome features of skin lesions do not apply to the highly lethal nodular ...
Derm dx.(Skin Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... A 57-year-old Asian woman presented with a recent eruption of a dozen dull, erythematous papules and nodules on her extremities and numerous, well-demarcated, faintly erythematous patches on her chest and back. She had had symptoms of peripheral neuropathy for the past 10 years. What's ...
Melanoma investigators look beyond genetics.(Skin Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Vienna -- There are multiple genetic targets and combinations of therapies that hold great promise for changing the fate of melanoma patients, Christoph Hoeller, M.D., said at the 10th World Congress on Cancers of the Skin. A major focus of targeted therapies has been the ...
Promising approaches are on horizon for treating nonmelanoma skin cancer.(Skin Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Vienna -- Imatinib, a protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor indicated for chronic myeloid leukemia and certain stages of gastrointestinal stromal tumors, has shown clinical activity against dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, Jens Gille, M.D., reported at the 10th World Congress on Cancers of the ...
Purpura morphology setting may indicate cause.(Skin Disorders)
Oct 01, 2005; ... CHICAGO -- The morphology and distribution of purpura can help to narrow a differential diagnosis, Warren W. Piette, M.D., said at the American Academy of Dermatology's Academy 2005 meeting. Purpura is the result of one of three hemorrhagic mechanisms: simple, inflammatory, and ...
Rx delivery systems in pipeline for depression, ED.(Mental Health)(erectile dysfunction)
Oct 01, 2005; ... NEW YORK -- Two new transdermal and intranasal drug delivery systems, for which approval is foreseeable, may have utility in treating depression and erectile dysfunction, Donald S. Robinson, M.D., said at a meeting on psychopharmacology sponsored by New York University. Oral ...
To reveal root of incomplete SSRI response, ask.(Mental Health)(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor)
Oct 01, 2005; ... SAN FRANCISCO -- Thegoal of anti-depressant treatment should be remission, but most clinical trials use a 50% response in 50% of patients as the criterion for effectiveness. Only about 20%-30% of patients achieve complete remission, and this suggests that additional treatment will be ...
Prior antidepressant use predicts treatment adherence.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005; ... ATLANTA -- Patients who are taking antidepressants for the first time are at greatest risk for discontinuing the therapy, Mark Vanelli, M.D., said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. The research shows that patients are most ...
Pilot study: drug combo spurred speedier antidepressant effects.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Boca Raton, Fla. -- A combination of escitalopram and bupropion might produce early remission in as many as one-third of patients with unipolar depression, according to a pilot study presented at a meeting of the New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit sponsored by the National Institute of ...
Many bipolar patients are also ailing and obese.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005; ... PITTSBURGH -- Patients with bipolar disorder have an unexpectedly high prevalence of medical comorbidities, based on findings from a study of 175 patients. These 175 patients, with an average age of 35, had a high prevalence of gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, genitourinary, ...
Bipolar-specific psychosocial therapy reduces episodes.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005 ... PITTSBURGH -- Psychosocial therapy can be a useful adjunct to drug therapy in patients with bipolar disorder, based on results from a study with 175 patients. The study's findings also documented the high prevalence of medical comorbidities in patients with bipolar disorder ....
Spectrum mania bridges gap between unipolar and bipolar.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005 ... PITTSBURGH -- About a third of patients with unipolar depression actually have "lifetime spectrum mania," which means they also have symptoms of mania and anxiety disorders, based on results from a study with 148 patients. Lifetime spectra mania "bridges the gap between bipolar ...
Childhood anxiety disorders challenge entire family.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005; ... ATLANTA -- A significant burden is placed on the family members of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, regardless of the age of the child, Catherine Mancini, M.D., said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. The ...
Comorbidities don't block talk therapy in children.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005; ... SEATTLE -- The presence of a comorbid anxiety disorder in children with phobias does not interfere with the child's ability to respond to cognitive-behavioral therapy. The children who responded to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) were also able to reduce the symptoms of their ...
Strong association found between anxiety and general health.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005; ... SEATTLE -- Anxiety disorders are associated with a wide range of physical health problems, even after adjusting for other common mental disorders such as depression, Jitender Sareen, M.D., said in a poster presentation at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorders Association of ...
Stimulants for ADHD: No link to later drug abuse.(Mental Health)(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
Oct 01, 2005; ... YOSEMITE, CALIF. -- Will my child become a dope fiend? That's a common question Robert S. McKelvey, M.D., fields from parents of children who are prescribed a class II stimulant for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). "The answer is no," Dr. McKelvey said ...
Health Canada reinstates Adderall XR after review of children's deaths.(Mental Health)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Patients in Canada with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are now able to obtain Adderall XR. Sales of the drug, distributed by Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC, had been suspended earlier this year in Canada after the release of postmarketing reports of sudden death in 12 ...
No withdrawal syndrome seen with modafinil for ADHD.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Boca Raton, Fla. -- Children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder did not experience withdrawal or discontinuation syndrome after abrupt cessation of modafinil film-coated tablets in a phase III, double-blind, multicenter trial. Researchers also found ...
Sleep-disordered breathing and inattention are linked in teens.(Mental Health)
Oct 01, 2005; ... Denver -- Adolescents with symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing had a 2.5-fold increased prevalence of inattention-type attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in the first large, population-based study to examine this relationship, Eric O. Johnson, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting ...