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Geriatrics

News, opinions and meeting coverage in geriatrics.

Colonoscopies: The Longer the Better

Polyp and adenoma detection rates were highest when the colonoscopy withdrawal time was 9 minutes long, near the upper limit of the recommended 6 to 10 minutes withdrawal time, researchers found.

Testosterone Level Affects Flu Shot Response

Men with high testosterone and a certain genetic cluster may not experience an antibody response after a flu shot, researchers suggested -- a finding that could affect men taking prescription testosterone.

Killing Pain: Tramadol the 'Safe' Drug of Abuse

Almost 2 decades have passed since the FDA approved tramadol as a 'safe' opioid, but the intervening years provide evidence to question that 'safe' claim, as this latest investigation by John Fauber for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-番茄社区 revealed.

Debate: Who Should Prescribe CPAP?

Should primary care physicians and other nonspecialists be able to prescribe sleep apnea treatment after home testing? Experts debated that issue this month in Chest.

Testosterone Levels: Middle Range Best in Old Age

Older men whose natural testosterone levels were in the middle range tended to live longer than those with the highest and lowest levels, a study found.

FDA Flags Risk of Nuclear Stress Test Drugs

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Two agents used in cardiac nuclear stress tests may carry a greater risk of heart attack and death than previously believed, the FDA said Wednesday.

SGR Repeal Still Gets AMA Support

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- The AMA's policymaking House of Delegates voted nearly unanimously to continue its support of congressional efforts to repeal Medicare's payment formula despite its opposition to a 10-year pay freeze that's part of a draft proposal.

Fast-Acting AMA Group Hopes to Fix SGR

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- A large coalition of American Medical Association members met in seclusion Sunday morning here at the interim meeting of the House of Delegates and rapidly found consensus on a proposed resolution for the repeal of Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.

ACE Inhibitors Linked to Severe Allergic Reactions

BALTIMORE -- Antihypertensive treatment with ACE inhibitors may prime oral allergy syndrome patients for severe reactions, a case-report suggested.

Exercise May Allay Anxiety, Depression

SAN DIEGO -- Exercise may have modest benefits as a treatment for patients suffering from anxiety or depression, researchers reported here.

ACA: When Is a Screening Not a Screening?

A provision in the Affordable Care Act that waives patients' payments for colonoscopies is an example of how good intentions in the law can lead to a tangle of unforeseen consequences.

Antidepressants, Lyrica OK Combo in Fibromyalgia

SAN DIEGO -- Patients with fibromyalgia who were taking antidepressants found that their pain was successfully managed with pregabalin (Lyrica), a researcher said here.

Striking a Nerve: Heinz Kerry Recovers

Teresa Heinz Kerry is back at work less than 4 months after a mysterious seizure hospitalized her. Striking a Nerve is a blog by John Gever for readers interested in neurology.

Few Lupus, IBD Patients Getting HPV Vaccine

SAN DIEGO -- Despite being at greater risk of infection, few children and young adults with autoimmune diseases are being vaccinated against human papillomavirus, according to a study.

Sleep Problems, Poor Angioplasty Outcomes Linked

Disturbed sleep is common in heart patients following coronary angioplasty and is an independent risk factor for poor cardiac outcomes, researchers reported.

Common Cause for Bruxism, Restless Legs, Migraine?

NEW ORLEANS -- About half of patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) seen in a single neurology practice also qualified for diagnoses of bruxism and migraine, suggesting a possible common cause for these disorders, a researcher said here.

MoCA Beats MMSE to Assess Dementia

NEW ORLEANS -- The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was better than the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at teasing out subtle differences in cognitive performance among mildly impaired individuals, researchers reported here.

Xyrem Helps With Nighttime Sleep in Narcolepsy

NEW ORLEANS -- Narcolepsy patients troubled by frequent nighttime awakenings had less sleep disruption when taking sodium oxybate (Xyrem) than modafinil (Provigil) in a randomized trial, a researcher reported here.

Opioid Use Common After Spine Surgery

NEW ORLEANS -- One year after surgery to relieve back pain, about of third of patients still were using narcotic painkillers, according to a study that raised new concerns about the long-term use of opioids.

New Nerve Tracer Not Ready for Routine Use?

CHICAGO -- The radiotracer iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine may be a new tool for cardiac imaging, but whether it's ready for routine use in most practices was debated by nuclear cardiologists here.

FDA Approves Device to Treat Enlarged Prostate

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An implanted suture-based system to help men with enlarged prostates urinate more freely has been approved by the FDA, the agency said Friday.

Antidepressants Have No Effect on Bone Loss

The use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or tricyclic antidepressants among women in midlife didn't lead to a greater rate of bone loss, a prospective cohort study found.

Medicare's DME Bidding Program Criticized

Despite complaints from multiple parties, Medicare's bidding program for durable medical equipment -- including diabetes supplies -- now includes suppliers to half of all program beneficiaries.

Low BP May Be Fatal in CKD

Chronic kidney disease patients, including those with diabetes, who were not on dialysis were more likely to die when blood pressure was too low, even if only on the diastolic measure, a veterans cohort showed.

Lab Notes: Meth May Worsen Fungal Infection

Mice injected with methamphetamine and exposed to Cryptococcus fungi showed more extensive and hard-to-eradicate infections. Also this week: an organic pesticide fights parasitic worms.

FDA Warns of Fatal Skin Reactions with Acetaminophen

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Acetaminophen is associated with rare but severe and sometimes fatal skin reactions at usual doses, the FDA said Thursday.

New Version of Fibromyalgia Drug OK'd for Depression

The FDA has approved levomilnacipran (Fetzima), a single-enantiomer version of the fibromyalgia drug milnacipran (Savella), for treating major depression, its developers said.

Oncology Clinics Caught in Financial Vise

Community oncology clinics continue to feel the squeeze of a changing reimbursement structure that has forced 288 clinics to close in the past 6 years.

Exposing the Truth About ED: An Hour 'Changed the World'

Medical conferences come and go, but memories live on. Just ask anyone who attended the 1983 American Urological Association meeting.

FDA Panel Nixes Humira for Spinal Arthritis

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An independent panel of FDA advisers overwhelmingly rejected AbbVie's bid to gain approval of Humira (adalimumab) for treatment of spinal arthritis.

FDA Adds GI Warning to Benicar Label

WASHINGTON -- The FDA ordered the maker of the blood pressure drug olmesartan (Benicar) to add a warning about risk of the intestinal condition known as sprue-like enteropathy to the drug's label.

Xarelto Gets a No for Stent Thrombosis

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- The FDA has rejected an application for a new indication allowing rivaroxaban (Xarelto) to be used to reduce the risk of stent thrombosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Honey, Cola May Disrupt Heart

A detailed history of patients with arrhythmia or syncope might need to include their cola intake or the origin of the honey they consume, two case studies suggest.

A Little Estrogen Goes a Long Way in Preventing UTI

Short-term estrogen therapy induced cellular changes in urothelium consistent with improved ability to fight off urinary tract infection, results from clinical and preclinical studies suggested.

Aricept Helps Cognition in Parkinson's

SYDNEY -- Parkinson's disease patients who have impaired cognition appeared to benefit from the Alzheimer's disease medicine donepezil (Aricept) with no detriment to their motor skills, researchers reported here.

Medicare to Pay for More FDG-PET Scans

WASHINGTON -- Up to three scans using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-enhanced positron emission tomography technology can be covered by Medicare for oncology treatment planning, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.

Zilver Stent Recalled, System May Break

Cook Medical's Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent for peripheral artery disease has been recalled because of a defect in its associated delivery system, the company and the FDA said.

Hypothyroidism Hikes Death Risk in Blacks

African Americans with hypothyroidism face an increased risk of death, and in patients with congestive heart failure, even mild underactive thyroid disease raises mortality risk, a retrospective cohort study found.

APA Leaders Defend New Diagnostic Guide

SAN FRANCISCO -- The fifth edition of the "psychiatrist's bible" was officially released here in all its 947-page glory, with its developers offering a spirited rebuttal to their critics.

Hangover Risk Prompts Ambien Label Changes

New dosing recommendations for products containing zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar) are now included in their labels, along with warnings of next-day hangover effects, the FDA said Tuesday.

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