番茄社区

Geriatrics

News, opinions and meeting coverage in geriatrics.

ACC: FDA Announces Review of ACCORD Data

ATLANTA -- The FDA said it will conduct a full review of findings from a study which concluded that neither aggressive lipid-lowering therapy nor tight blood pressure control reduced cardiovascular events in persons with diabetes.

ASCO GU: BP Reveals Hit or Miss for Targeted Tx

SAN FRANCISCO -- Early response to preoperative targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma may indicate efficacy, while treatment-induced hypertension may be another marker after surgery, according to studies reported here.

Nursing Mothers Should Avoid Yellow Fever Vaccine

A single case report has raised concern that yellow fever vaccine virus may be transmitted through breast milk, suggesting the need to avoid administering the vaccine to breastfeeding women.

Ending Statins May Not End Associated Muscle Pains

Patients experiencing muscle pain and weakness as a result of statin treatment may continue to suffer symptoms long after stopping the drugs, French researchers reported.

Canadian Politician Comes to U.S. for Heart Surgery

The top politician in Canada's easternmost province has set off fireworks by deciding to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.

Hidden Dangers of Herbal Meds Reviewed

Herbal medicines are not always the harmless nostrums that many patients and even some physicians think, but may actually contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, researchers warned.

The Top 10 Medical Advances of the Decade

From genome to hormones, doctors pick the top medical advances of the decade.

CDC Watching H1N1 Mutation, but No Cause for Alarm

The CDC is keeping a careful eye on a mutation in some strains of the pandemic H1N1 flu that Norwegian researchers isolated from three patients with severe disease.

AHA: FDA Drops Clopidogrel Bomb at AHA

ORLANDO -- The FDA has issued a public health advisory warning patients and physicians that concommitant use of clopidogrel (Plavix) and omeprazole (Prilosec and Prilosec OTC) blunts the antiplatelet effect of clopidogrel, so the combination should be avoided.

CT Safety Warnings Follow Radiation Overdose Accident

Reports of stroke patients who were accidentally exposed to eight times the normal radiation dose during diagnostic CT scans at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles are prompting safety warnings and soul searching in radiology.

Drop in Oxygen Saturation in Apnea Tied to Obesity

Obese patients may experience more severe blood oxygen desaturation during apnea and hypopnea events, researchers say.

Drug Combo Brings Better Pain Relief

For people with neuropathic pain, a combination of two commonly used drugs works better than either alone, researchers said.

Heavy Daily Drinking Boosts Chances of Lethal Brain Hemorrhage

WHEELING, W.Va. -- Fatal hemorrhagic strokes were more than three times as common in men who had at least six drinks a day, researchers found.

Medicare Finalizes Denial of Virtual Colonoscopy Coverage

BALTIMORE -- CT colonography for colorectal cancer screening will not be covered under Medicare, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has confirmed.

Medicare to Cover More PET Scans for Cancer Diagnosis

BALTIMORE -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced expanded coverage of PET scans for Medicare patients suspected of having most cancers.

Nursing Homes Called 'Dumping Grounds' for Mentally Ill

BALTIMORE -- Young and middle-aged people with serious mental illnesses are increasingly being housed in nursing homes alongside elderly residents, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data show.

Is Cash-Only Medicine the Next Big Thing?

As increasing numbers of physicians work longer and harder to maintain income levels in the face of declining third-party reimbursements, some have opted out -- they're running cash-only practices, and respondents to a 番茄社区 online spotcheck think more doctors will join them.

No Need for PSA Testing After Age 75

BALTIMORE -- PSA testing for prostate cancer can be safely discontinued at age 75 in men who have PSA values less than 3 ng/mL, data from a large cohort study suggest.

Diastolic Dysfunction Predicts Reduced Exercise Capacity

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Exercise may be good for the heart, but good diastolic function also appears to protect the capacity for exercise, researchers found.

RSNA: Portable CT Scan Saves Time to Save Brain in Stroke Patients

CHICAGO -- Bringing the CT to the stroke patient, rather than the other way round, dramatically reduced door-to-scan time in a community hospital, researchers said here.

Melamine Found in U.S.-Made Baby Formula

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- A trace amount of melamine, the toxic chemical that has sickened tens of thousands of infants in China, was found in a U.S.-manufactured infant formula, the FDA confirmed.

Recall of Three Little Words Helps Quick Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment

ATLANTA -- Mild cognitive impairment can be determined in less than five minutes with a three-word memory test and a clock- drawing task, according to researchers here. The words are apple, penny, and table.

Macular Degeneration Linked to Sunlight and Low Antioxidants

LONDON -- Some cases of age-related macular degeneration may arise from a combination of low plasma levels of antioxidants and exposure to blue light from the sun, a multi-national European study suggested.

ESC: Peto Analysis Called Short on Proof of Simvastatin/ Ezetimibe Cancer Safety

SEATTLE -- Simvastatin/ezetimibe (Vytorin) may increase the risk of cancer after all, concluded a leading American biostatistician who dismissed as prematurely reassuring an analysis by Richard Peto, Ph.D., F.R.S., that found the link with excess malignancy to be overblown.

Ginseng Safe for Short-Term Pediatric Use

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Ginseng appears safe for treating children with cold and flu symptoms, researchers here found.

FDA Warns of Toxic Tomalley in Maine Lobsters

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA warned today against eating the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of Maine lobsters, called tomalley, which is considered a delicacy by some. But the meat of the claw and tail were not part of the caution.

Herpes Virus Linked to Ketosis-Prone Diabetes

PARIS -- A herpes virus is associated with an atypical form of type 2 diabetes found in people of African origin, researchers said here.

False-Positive TB Skin Tests Prevalent in U.S. Army

BETHESDA, Md. -- Clusters of positive tests for latent tuberculosis infection in the U.S. Army appear to reflect a high number of false-positive readings from a more than century-old skin test, researchers found.

Oral Prednisolone and Naproxen (Aleve) Equal for Gout Pain

NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands, May 29 -- For the acute pain of monoarticular gout over four days, it's a tossup between oral prednisolone and naproxen (Aleve), a randomized trial found.

Seasonal Flu Starts in Asia and Migrates Throughout World

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Seasonal influenza starts in east and southeast Asia and follows a highly predictable path to infect the rest of the world, researchers here said.

One in Every 20 Healthcare Workers Is MRSA Carrier

GENEVA -- One in every 20 healthcare workers carries methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the vast majority without symptoms, researchers here said.

Parents Pass On Hypertension Risk to Their Children

BALTIMORE -- Men whose parents have hypertension are at an increased risk for developing high blood pressure themselves, a longitudinal cohort study showed.

MRSA Implicated in Majority of Post-Facelift Infections

NEW YORK -- Although surgical-site infections after face-lift procedures are uncommon, those that occur are usually caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, making them difficult to treat.

Five SSRIs Endorsed as Effective for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

LONDON -- Five antidepressants given for obsessive compulsive disorder all seem to confer twice the likelihood of modest symptom relief compared with placebo, found a systematic review.

If the Hairball Is a Human's, the Danger is Great

CHICAGO -- When Rush University physicians operated to remove an abdominal mass from an 18-year-old woman, no one expected to find a 4.5-kilogram trichobezoar, a rare condition, but one that can be fatal.

State Warns Against Drinking Metromint Flavored Bottled Water

SACRAMENTO -- The California Department of Public Health has warned against drinking Metromint, a flavored water bottled in California and sold on the Internet and in grocery stores nationwide, because of possible contamination with Bacillus cereus.

High Normal ALT Limit Lowered for Male Adolescents

SYDNEY, Australia -- The upper limit of normal for the ALT liver enzyme in adolescent males has been too high, said researchers here.

Antibiotics and Steroids Ineffective in Sinus Infection

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- Amoxicillin and nasal budesonide were no more effective than placebo in treating acute sinus infections, researchers here found.

AHA: Some Statins May Disrupt Sleep

ORLANDO -- If patients taking simvastatin (Zocor) develop sleep disturbances, changing statins may be a good idea, researchers suggested here.

Chinese Herbs Ease Menstrual Cramps Better than NSAIDs

SYDNEY, Australia -- Traditional Chinese remedies may ease painful menstrual cramps better than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and other drugs, according to a Cochrane systematic review.

鈥�

93