Internal Medicine News back issues from October 2008:
Tracer aids breast cancer detection.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A novel imaging technique appears to be better than standard mammography at detecting breast cancer in high-risk women with dense breast tissue, according to findings from a study involving 940 women. Molecular breast imaging detected three times as many cancers as mammography ...
Vital signs.
Oct 01, 2008 ... Retail Drug Prescriptions Filled at Pharmacies in 2007 (per capita) Note: Data are generated by Verispan, ...
UKPDS data show benefits of glucose control at 30 years: metformin, insulin have a 'legacy effect.'.(News)(United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study )
Oct 01, 2008; ... ROME--Sustained improvements in diabetes-related end points were achieved with early rather than delayed use of intensive glucose control in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, according to results from a landmark diabetes study follow-up. Particular benefits were ...
Vitamin C intake tied to lower hip fracture risk.(News)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... MONIREAL--Consumption of vitamin C at sufficiently high levels is associated with nearly a 50% decrease in the risk of hip and nonvertebral osteoporotic fractures in elderly men and women, according to a 15- to 17-year follow-up of participants in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. ...
Pain reliever may avoid hypertensive effects.(News)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... PARIS--Naproxcinod, a novel pain reliever being developed for osteoarthritis, resulted in significantly lower blood pressure than did naproxen in a pivotal phase III clinical trial. This finding holds the key to the drug's seemingly bright future. Conventional NSAIDs such as ...
FDA posts reports of ongoing drug investigations.(News)(United States. Food and Drug Administration)
Oct 01, 2008; ... The Food and Drug Administration has posted on its Web site the first quarterly report of drugs identified as having "potential safety issues" that are under evaluation, in order to keep health care professionals and the public informed about the latest drug safety information. ...
Cancer concerns over ezetimibe linger for some.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... MUNICH--Many experts have been reassured that the signal of a cancer risk that was reported last July for treatment with the lipid-lowering drug ezetimibe probably was the result of chance, but other cardiologists have lingering concerns. "We're moderately reassured, but not ...
More restrictions placed on rabies vaccine because of supply problems.(News)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Health care providers who prescribe post-exposure rabies prophylaxis must confer with public health officials and obtain a confirmation code from the state health department before they can order doses of the vaccine, because the only rabies vaccine available is in limited supply, the ...
Beware of fructose confusion.(LETTERS)
Oct 01, 2008; ... I only recently become aware of an article titled "Kidney Risk May Rise With High Fructose Consumption" (March 1, 2008, p. 42), which was sent to me by a colleague who knows of the research done in my laboratory and others comparing various metabolic parameters between high-fructose corn ...
Obama: preserve what works, improve what doesn't.(ELECTION 2008: PHYSICIANS' PERSPECTIVES)
Oct 01, 2008 ... As doctors, you know well what ails our health care system. Are there any among us who have not cared for a patient without health insurance? Who hasn't noticed that the cost of care has risen so high that many can no longer afford the care we provide? Who doesn't sometimes feel that we ...
McCain: control costs, ensure access.(ELECTION 2008: PHYSICIANS' PERSPECTIVES)
Oct 01, 2008 ... For the past several months I have closely followed the health care policies of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz). I am impressed how the senator places the individual--patient and physician--at the center of this policy. The McCain plan is not simply about insurance or government programs. It is ...
Eliminate the negatives about glucose monitoring.(Endocrinology)
Oct 01, 2008; ... WASHINGTON--"It's almost as if [health care providers] have a secret strategy for discouraging people" from monitoring their blood glucose levels, according to William Polonsky, Ph.D. To help his colleagues avoid these negative behaviors, Dr. Polonsky, a certified diabetes ...
Fewer diabetic women achieve LDL, BP targets.(Endocrinology)(Low density lipoproteins)(blood pressure )(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... WASHINGTON--Significantly fewer diabetic women than men achieved target LDL cholesterol and blood pressure levels despite equivalent medication prescriptions in a study of 211 underserved inner-city and rural patients. Evidence suggests that diabetic women carry a greater risk ...
Free 2008 diabetes pocket guide.(Endocrinology)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008 ... The National Diabetes Education Program is offering Diabetes Numbers at-a-Glance (for nonpregnant adults). This reference card lists current recommendations on diagnosis and treatment of ...
Nephropathy, mortality cut by glucose, blood pressure control.(Endocrinology)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... ROME New or worsening nephropathy was reduced by 33% with intensive glucose management and routine blood pressure lowering, compared with standard care, according to the latest findings from the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron Modified Release Controlled ...
Intensive glucose control not protective in older diabetics.(Endocrinology)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... ROME--Eye and renal complications were no less frequent in older, difficult-to-treat patients with type 2 diabetes who were randomized to intensive rather than standard glucose control in the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial. Furthermore, there was no difference between the two ...
Metabolic syndrome may hasten 'neuroaging'.(Endocrinology)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Mid-Atlantic Bureau CHICAGO--Older people with metabolic syndrome are significantly more likely to experience depression and deficits in cognition and function as they age than are their healthier peers. The presence of metabolic sydrome explained up to 34% of the ...
Booklet for pregnant diabetic women.(Endocrinology)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008 ... A 44-page guide to pregnancy for women with preexisting diabetes is offered by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. "For Women with Diabetes: Your Guide to Pregnancy" (DM-269) outlines a diabetes care plan, and ...
Weight loss easier with meal replacements.(Endocrinology)
Oct 01, 2008; ... WASHINGTON--What is a safe, drugfree, and effective method for treating obesity and its comorbidities in patients with diabetes or those who are at risk for it? Tell them to try prepackaged, nutritionally balanced, and calorie-controlled meal replacements. "Meal replacements are ...
Spanish-language diabetes pill guide.(Endocrinology)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008 ... A new guide, "Pastillas para la diabetes tipo 2: guia para adultos," offers information for patients in Spanish on 10 generic and 13 brand-name oral diabetes medications. The data are based on a ...
Abuse-deterrent morphine blocks euphoria.(Psychiatry)
Oct 01, 2008; ... TORONTO-A new formulation of extended-release morphine that contains sequestered naltrexone does not provide a sense of euphoria when crushed and taken orally, a study has found. This limits its appeal for recreational use, as the rapid euphoric effects of crushed morphine are ...
Drug selectively inhibits hedonic responses.(Psychiatry)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008 ... TORONTO-Long-term treatment with extended-release naltrexone selectively inhibited the hedonic response associated with drinking alcohol while sparing the experience of pleasure associated with other activities such as reading and listening to music, a study has found. A total ...
Teen use of most illegal drugs drops.(Psychiatry)
Oct 01, 2008; ... WESHINGTON--The rate of illicit drug use among adolescents and young adults stayed relatively the same in 2007, showing mild decreases in use for many drugs, according to the results of the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. But drug use continues to be carried into ...
Illicit fentanyl kills 1,000 over 2 years.(Psychiatry)
Oct 01, 2008; ... At least 1,000 people died in a 2-year period from an overdose of an illegally manufactured non-pharmaceutical fentanyl that hit the streets sometime in 2006, according to a survey of U.S. surveillance data. It was the largest-ever reported epidemic related to nonpharmaceutical ...
Smoking cessation rate in England increased after public smoking ban.(Psychiatry)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... As many as 400,000 smokers have quit their habit as a result of England's ban on smoking in public places, according to a cancer charity. Cancer Research UK said the Smoking Toolkit Study it supports at University College London found that smokers were quitting in greater rates ...
Deep brain stimulation aids resistant depression: DBS may modulate the activity of the brain circuit that malfunctions in cases of severe depression.(Psychiatry)
Oct 01, 2008; ... BARCELONA -- Deep brain stimulation of the subcallosal cingulate gyrus significantly improved the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression, both by suppressing activation of that area and remotely activating other brain regions involved in pathogenesis of the illness, study results have ...
Nortriptyline may beat SSRIs for depression in Parkinson's.(Psychiatry)(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor )(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... PHOENIX--Nortriptyline was more effective than paroxetine or placebo in treating depression in patients with Parkinson's disease, an 8-week pilot study of 52 patients found. The study, while small, is the largest placebo-controlled trial of treating depression in patients with ...
Radiation accessible to both rural, urban women.(Women's Health)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Rural women with breast cancer are just as likely as their urban counterparts to get postsurgery radiation therapy, which contradicts the prevailing belief that mastectomies are more common in rural areas because access to radiation therapy is limited, based on the results of a study of ...
Radiation less likely after lumpectomy in blacks.(Women's Health)
Oct 01, 2008; ... WAHSINGTON--Black women who undergo lumpectomy to treat early-stage breast cancer are less likely than are their white counterparts to receive standard postoperative radiation therapy, results of a large study suggest. The findings, which were derived from an analysis of more ...
Older women benefit from MRI breast screening.(Women's Health)(Magnetic resonance imaging)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Orlando Bureau CHICAGO--Magnetic resonance imaging can detect cancer that is missed by mammography and physical examination in women aged 70 years or older, a retrospective single-institution study suggests. Among 159 elderly women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, ...
Combination treatment improved control in COPD.(Pulmonary Medicine)
Oct 01, 2008; ... TORONTO--Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treated with a combination of formoterol and tiotropium required less rescue medication than did those treated with tiotropium alone. The Global Initiative for Chronic Ob- structive Lung Disease (GOLD) has recommended ...
The effective physician: Allergic Rhinitis.(Pulmonary Medicine)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Background The Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters, representing the major American allergy-immunology professional societies, has issued revised guidelines on the diagnosis and management of rhinitis. The goal of these guidelines is to improve the care of the 30-60 million ...
Lung function measures may predict sleep apnea.(Pulmonary Medicine)
Oct 01, 2008; ... BALTIMORE--Two measures of lung function--a higher forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio and lower total lung capacity--may predict the presence of obstructive sleep apnea in chronic pulmonary disease patients, although the severity of chronic obstructive ...
Lung function continues to improve after gastric bypass.(Pulmonary Medicine)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008 ... PHILADELPHIA--The pulmonary function of gastric bypass patients temporarily drops in the immediate postoperative period but significantly improves in various functional parameters beginning at 3 months and lasting through at least 1 year, according to a prospective study. In a ...
Watch fluid intake, heat illnesses in young athletes.(Sports Medicine)
Oct 01, 2008; ... VANCOUVER, B.C.--Fluid maintenance issues and heat illnesses are especially important in young athletes, who "are uniquely vulnerable to fluid loss," according to Dr. Michele LaBotz. Fluid depletion compromises their athletic performance and impairs their ability to disperse ...
Amenorrheic athletes have altered leptin and ghrelin levels.(Sports Medicine)
Oct 01, 2008; ... SAN FRANCISCO--Athletic teenage girls who are amenorrheic have higher ghrelin and lower leptin levels than do athletic girls who are eumenorrheic or girls who are nonathletic, according to a small study. The findings could help tease out which girls are more likely to stop ...
Direct-to-consumer genetic analysis.(GENETICS IN YOUR PRACTICE)
Oct 01, 2008 ... Have you ever ordered a genetic test to assess a patient's future risk of developing a disease? Are you prepared for a patient to walk into your office with such information already in hand? Direct-to-consumer genetic analysis is now available to anybody with the means to pay ...
When to resume activity after mono is a clinical decision.(Clinical Rounds)
Oct 01, 2008; ... VANCOUVER, B.C. --Physical findings, laboratory values, and imaging results are of little use in determining when it is safe for young athletes with infectious mononucleosis to return to play. Ultimately, the decision on how long to keep them away from physical activity is a clinical one, ...
Diabetes + celiac disease = dietary difficulties.(Gastroenterology)
Oct 01, 2008; ... KEYSTONE, COLO. -- Many type 1 diabeitc patients with comorbid celiac disease say the celiac disease is actually the harder of the two to deal with, according to a presentation at a conference on the management of diabetes in youth. The gluten-free diet is particularly ...
Colonoscopy without sedation had high acceptance rates.(Gastroenterology)
Oct 01, 2008; ... SAN DIEGO--One third of veterans offered colonoscopy without sedation agreed to the procedure, which was conducted safely and successfully with high levels of patient satisfaction, according to results of a prospective study presented at the annual Digrestive Disease Week. A ...
Efficacy of raltegravir sustained at nearly 2 years.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2008; ... MEXICO CITY -- When raltegravir (Isentress) is used as part of combination antiretroviral therapy in treatment-naive patients infected with HIV, its efficacy is sustained and similar to that of efavirenz (Sustiva) and it appears to have a better safety profile, according to updated results ...
Mortality gap has narrowed for HIV-infected patients.(Infectious Diseases)(human immunodeficiency virus)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Mortality rates of people infected with HIV now approach those of the general population, at least for the first 5 years of the infection, according to a large multinational study. The gap in mortality rates between people with HIV infection and the general population has ...
HIV/AIDS diagnoses rising in young black men in most states.(Infectious Diseases)
Oct 01, 2008; ... From 2001 through 2006, the number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses among men who have sex with men increased by nearly 9% in 33 states, with particularly high increases among black men and Asian/Pacific Islanders under the age of 25 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ....
Fish oil cuts heart failure morbidity, mortality.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... MUNICH -- Supplementation with a single daily low-dose fish oil capsule in patients with chronic heart failure resulted in modest but clinically meaningful reductions in mortality and cardiovascular hospitalization in a nearly 7,000-patient randomized trial presented at the annual congress ...
Statin therapy offers no benefit in chronic heart failure.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... MUNICH -- Rosuvastatin at 10 mg per-day had no impact on clinical outcomes in patients with chronic heart failure in a large clinical trial. Results of the GISSI-HF trial, in which 4,574 Italian patients with chronic heart failure were randomized double blind to the statin or ...
Data watch.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008 ... <Pre> Number of People Buying Statins Increased by Nearly 88% Over 5 Years 2000 15.8 million 2005 29.7 million ...
U.S. falling short on key health care indicators.(Practice Trends)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Access to care has declined significantly since 2003, with 42% of all working-age adults either uninsured or underinsured in 2007, according to a national health system scorecard from the Commonwealth Fund, which found that health care system performance in the United States has worsened ...
Demo helps define what makes a medical home.(Practice Trends)
Oct 01, 2008; ... If patient-centered medical homes are to be the new standard in care, fee-for-service practices will have to convert to the new model. Dr. Richard Baron and his four-physician practice in Philadelphia are part of a growing contingent devoted to finding out exactly what that will ...
Privacy should be main criterion for personal health records.(Practice Trends)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Privacy should be the top priority when developing certification criteria for personal health records, a task force created by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology has recommended. Adequate security and interoperability also must be included in ...
Medical home demo seeks four coordinating centers.(Practice Trends)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... The Commonwealth Fund is gearing up to turn 50 safety net clinics into models of the patient-centered medical home. The demonstration project, called the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative, will run for 5 years with the goal of creating an implementation plan that can be ...
Trinkets out, 'educational' gifts ok under new code.(Practice Trends)
Oct 01, 2008; ... The free pens and mugs adorned with the names of commonly prescribed drugs are soon to be a thing of the past, thanks to a new set of voluntary guidelines from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. But the real impact of the guidelines is still up for debate ....
Media influences tobacco use.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Media communications--including movies, advertising, and news--play a key role in shaping tobacco use, according to a lengthy report from the National Cancer Institute. The report noted that cigarettes are among the most heavily marketed products in the United States, and that most of the ...
Tobacco control support drops.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Budgets for tobacco control programs in most states are either staying level or declining, despite increases in payments from the 1997 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, designed to compensate states for some of the cost of smoking-related illnesses, the American Lung Association ...
Grants to doctors in hurricanes.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... The AMA Foundation's Health Care Recovery Fund will provide grants of up to $2,500 to physicians in places declared disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the foundation is accepting donations to help physicians who have been directly ...
'Free' Rx samples expensive.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Free drug samples provided to physicians by pharmaceutical companies actually could cost uninsured patients more in the long run, because those patients are prescribed brand-name drugs rather than generics, according to a study done by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical ...
Tools' usefulness limited.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Although health plans are developing tools to help consumers compare price and quality information across hospitals and physicians, the tools' pervasiveness and usefulness are limited, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change. The information provided as part of ...
Many reach 'doughnut hole'.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... One in four Medicare Part D enrollees who filled prescriptions in 2007 reached the gap in coverage known as the "doughnut hole," and most remained in the doughnut hole for the rest of the year, according to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The analysis suggested that about ...
Internist abroad: hospitalist practice in New Zealand.(WORLD WIDE MED)(Interview)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Dr. Clark Parrish is an internal medicine physician with an outsider's perspective on hospital-based medicine. Although Dr. Parrish currently practices as a partner in the former Madrona Medical Group in Bellingham, Wash., now known as PeaceHealth Medical Group Whatcom Region, he has ...
WHO recommends steps to reduce global health inequities.(Practice Trends)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Improving living conditions, reducing income disparities, and measuring the effects of specific steps to reduce inequities in health care all are necessary to eliminate the effects that deprivation has on global public health, the World Health Organization said in a report. The ...
Physician groups protest timeline for ICD-10.(Practice Trends)(International Classification of Diseases)(Chronology)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plan to replace the ICD-9-CM diagnosis and procedure code set with a significantly expanded set of codes--the ICD-10--by Oct. 1, 2011. But physician groups are calling the agency's plan rushed and unworkable and want ...
Regulation of off-label drugs warrants attention.(Practice Trends)
Oct 01, 2008; ... PHILADELPHIA -- The Food and Drug Administration needs to change the way it regulates promotion of off-label drug use, according to the chair of the department of health policy and public health at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. This year, the FDA issued draft ...
Indications.(Clinical report)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Whoa, That's Heavy, Man When 29 young men in Leipzig, Germany, last year presented with possible poisoning symptoms--stomach cramps, nausea, anemia, and fatigue--public health doctors and officials were puzzled. But there were quite a few clues: The patients were all young (aged ...
Pain relievers.(Cartoon)
Oct 01, 2008 ... "With today's technology, why can't ...
Site offers skin cancer info for Seniors.(FYI)(www.nihseniorhealth.gov.)(Brief article)
Oct 01, 2008 ... The National Institute of Health's Senior Health Web site has added information on skin cancer. Seniors can research causes, risk factors, ...
Multiple-language CD from NIAMS.(FYI)(The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
Oct 01, 2008 ... The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases is offering "Easy-to-Read Health Information on Bones, Muscles, joints, and Skin," for consumers. The CD-ROM contains ...