Recently added articles from Internal Medicine News:
Coalition aims to cut growth in costs.(NEWS)
Jun 01, 2009; ... Leaders of several health care and labor organizations who met with President Obama proposed ideas to reduce the growth in health care costs by up to $2 trillion over the next decade. In a letter sent to the president, the six organizations--the American Medical Association, the ...
Dutasteride shown to lower risk of prostate cancer: agent lowered risk by 23.5% at 4 years.(NEWS)
Jun 01, 2009; ... CHICAGO--Dutasteride, prescribed for benign prostatic hyperplasia, reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 23.5% over 4 years in a randomized trial of at-risk men. The drug's effects were consistent across key baseline subgroups and at 2- and 4-year follow-up, reported Dr. Gerald ...
Hypertension improves with combo intervention.(NEWS)
Jun 01, 2009; ... MIAMI BEACH--A combination of home blood pressure monitoring plus a tailored behavioral intervention delivered by a nurse significantly improved control of hypertension, compared with usual care, in a study of 636 patients. In contrast, either intervention alone did not ...
Health care reform options include primary care boost.(NEWS)
Jun 01, 2009; ... The health care reform package being crafted in Congress could include Medicare payment bonuses to primary care physicians and general surgeons, according to policy options released by leaders of the Senate Finance Committee. The 52-page paper is a first look at the proposals ...
Vital signs.(NEWS)(physicians' earnings)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... Physicians in Private Hospitals and Practices Earned Over $78 per hour Note: Data are ...
Novel diabetes drug approved.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(Cycloset)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... Cycloset, a quick-release oral formulation of bromocriptine mesylate, was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, according to the manufacturers, VeroScience and S2 Therapeutics Inc. Cycloset is taken by mouth once daily in the ...
Warning issued on testosterone gels.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... Two prescription topical testosterone gels will now include a boxed warning following confirmed adverse effects in eight children, the FDA announced. The children did not have the gel directly applied, but rather incurred secondary exposure through contact with the application ...
TNF blocker wins approvals.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonist Golimumab)(Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... Golimumab, the first once-monthly, injectable tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonist, was approved for treating adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, active psoriatic arthritis, and active ankylosing spondylitis, based on data from five studies of more than 2,500 ...
New botulinum product approved.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(Dysport by Ipsen)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... Dysport (abobotulinum toxin A) has been approved for the treatment of cervical dystonia and glabellar lines, bringing competition to Botox (botulinum toxin type A). Ipsen will market Dysport in the United States for the therapeutic indication (cervical dystonia), while Medicis ...
Hydroxycut recalled for liver risks.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(Iovate Health Sciences Inc.)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... Reports of severe liver injuries--including one fatality--associated with Hydroxycut brand dietary supplements have prompted a nationwide product recall. The products are marketed as weight-loss aids, energy enhancers, low-carbohydrate diet aids, and diuretics. The 23 reports ...
Warnings strengthened for pain drugs.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... The FDA is requiring manufacturers to place more prominent warning labels on certain over-the-counter drug products to alert consumers to the potential risks of liver injury from acetaminophen and stomach bleeding from NSAIDs. Many consumers may not be aware of the risks, and ...
Botulinum toxin labels updated.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... The FDA will require all botulinum toxin manufacturers to add boxed warnings to the label that address the potential for paralysis-like symptoms resulting from the toxin's distant spread. The drug has been associated with an unexpected loss of strength, dysphagia, loss of ...
Panel votes in favor of AF device.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(Watchman for atrial fibrillation)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009 ... More than half of a federal advisory panel voted in favor of approving a device designed to reduce the risk of stroke in people with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, but the recommendation was contingent on certain conditions, including physician certification and postmarketing studies. ...
Data needed on cognitive-enhancing drugs.(Editorial)
Jun 01, 2009; ... If we had drugs that would make people smarter, wouldn't that benefit society? And would using drugs in this way be a bad thing? The reality is: We do have such drugs. And, more and more, we are hearing accounts of normal people taking agents to enhance their mental acuity and ...
Herbal pharmacopeia is 'wild west'.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jun 01, 2009 ... We write to protest what we perceive as editorial irresponsibility in Internal Medicine News' near-promotional presentation of herbs to treat erectile dysfunction ("Herbal Options Exist for Erectile Dysfunction," March 15, 2009, p. 15). The herbal pharmacopeia as marketed in the ...
Keeping it confidential.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jun 01, 2009; ... Dr. S.Y. Tan makes several good points regarding how physicians' communication methods and skills can mitigate against the subsequent initiation of a malpractice lawsuit (Law & Medicine, "Communication and Malpractice," April 15, 2009, p. 37). However, I must point out that his ...
Botox benefits overactive bladder patients.(UROLOGY)
Jun 01, 2009; ... CHICAGO--Patients with idiopathic overactive bladder refractory to anticholinergics reported significant improvements in health-related quality of life, symptom severity, and satisfaction for at least 24 weeks after treatment with botulinum neurotoxin type A (Botox) in a randomized trial ...
Prostate cancer risk lower in digoxin users.(UROLOGY)
Jun 01, 2009; ... DENVER--Men on digoxin were roughly one-quarter less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than digoxin nonusers, according to findings from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The longer the duration of digoxin use, the lower the risk of prostate cancer. Indeed, men ...
NASH treatments controversial, unproven.(GASTROENTEROLOGY)(nonalcoholic steatohepatitis)
Jun 01, 2009; ... SAN DIEGO -- Treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is difficult territory for clinicians because no therapy has been proved effective, Dr. Arthur J. McCullough said at a meeting on chronic liver disease sponsored by Scripps Clinic. "All therapies I consider emerging, because, at ...
Diabetes may increase risk of liver cancer.(GASTROENTEROLOGY)(Brief article)
Jun 01, 2009; ... DENVER--Diabetes appears to be an independent risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, with the risk rising as duration of the endocrine disease increases, according to an ongoing, prospective case-control study. Also, the magnitude of risk for HCC seems to vary with the type ...