番茄社区

Pulmonology

News, opinions and meeting coverage in pulmonology.

Yoga May Be Good for COPD

CHICAGO -- With its focus on breathing exercises, yoga may improve some of the symptoms of chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) along with boosting quality of life, researchers said here.

Scoliosis Tied to HTN Risk in Adolescents

ORLANDO -- Children with severe spinal curving from scoliosis were more likely to have worsening risk indicators for pulmonary hypertension, researchers reported here.

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.

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.

MERS Knowledge Gaps Troubling to Many

SAN FRANCISCO -- Although much is known about the Middle East coronavirus (MERS-CoV), "unfortunately some issues are still unresolved," according to the man in charge of battling the outbreak.

Kalydeco: A Price Too High to Pay?

A 番茄社区/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report revealed the staggering annual treatment cost for the cystic fibrosis drug ivacaftor (Kalydeco) as part of an investigation of venture philanthrophy -- now a JAMA Viewpoint echoes those findings.

'Nose Knows' Devices Not Ready for Clinic

BARCELONA -- Within a decade, doctors may be able to diagnose cancer, asthma, and tuberculosis simply by having an electronic nose analyze a person's breath, researchers reported here.

Range of Due Dates Better for Expectant Moms

Pregnant women may be better off with a range of delivery dates rather than a set date due to variability in gestation times, researchers found.

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.

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.

ASCO: Targeted Agent Has Slim NSCLC Benefit

CHICAGO -- The novel kinase inhibitor nintedanib may slightly delay relapse of non-small cell lung cancer when added to chemotherapy, with perhaps greater benefit in adenocarcinomas, the LUME-Lung 1 trial showed.

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.

Cystic Fibrosis: Charity and Industry Partner for Profit

When a disease-related charity becomes a venture capitalist, count the pharmaceutical industry among the winners, but the charity is not far behind as John Fauber explains in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/番茄社区 investigation.

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.

Cinnamon Game Harms Players

The "cinnamon challenge鈥� -- a party trick among youths who accept a dare to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon -- has led to a surge in calls to poison control centers with reports of spice-induced choking and aspiration, according to a new report.

Ricin Deadly, but Not an Effective WMD

It may have been a preferred tool of Soviet hit men, but ricin generally flops as a weapon of mass destruction, several bioterrorism experts told 番茄社区.

FDA: Booze and Xyrem Are Dangerous Mix

WASHINGTON -- The FDA is warning healthcare professionals that patients taking the muscle weakness and narcolepsy drug sodium oxybate (Xyrem) should not consume alcohol or use central nervous system depressants.

Advair: How Safe Is This Drug?

The asthma drug Advair is used by millions of patients worldwide and for many patients it is an effective treatment, but the drug is often used as first line therapy, an unapproved and possibly dangerous indication as this investigation by MedPageToday/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reveals.

Fainting in PE Signals High Risk

ATLANTA -- Patients with pulmonary embolism brought to emergency rooms because they had passed out tended to have the most ominous risk factors for poor outcomes, a researcher said here.

Novel Drug Stars in Phase III PAH Trial

ATLANTA -- Macitentan, a next-generation endothelin receptor antagonist for pulmonary arterial hypertension, met its efficacy endpoint and was said to be well tolerated in a large clinical trial.

Subjective Effects Drive COPD Outcomes

ATLANTA -- For patients with COPD, their own assessment of breathing problems is more predictive of outcomes than spirometry or doctor-diagnosed exacerbations, a researcher said here.

Pot Smokers Who Quit Find It Harder to Function

The more severe a person's marijuana withdrawal symptoms when they quit using the drug, the bigger the effect on their functional ability and the more likely they were to start using again, results of an Australian study showed.

Adult Lungs Can Sprout New Growth

The lungs may have greater capacity for regeneration in adults than thought, according to a case report of new growth after lung cancer resection.

Oxygen Devices Recalled

WASHINGTON -- The FDA has issued a class I recall of several models of oxygen concentrators because of a potential fire hazard.

Child's Epilepsy Keeps Household Up All Night

Children with epilepsy and their parents reported suffering from sleep problems, researchers found.

DSM-5: What's In, What's Out

PHILADELPHIA -- Reports here provided what may be the last public update on DSM-5, the next edition of American psychiatry's diagnostic guide, before it is formally released in May 2013.

Most DSM-5 Revisions Pass Field Trials

PHILADELPHIA -- Field trials of proposed new diagnostic criteria for many mental disorders showed that, for the most part, they were at least adequately reliable.

Latest Use for Botox: Teeth Grinding

茂禄驴NEW ORLEANS -- Patients who ground their teeth so hard during sleep that they required medical attention achieved significant relief from botulinum toxin shots, researchers said here.

Smoking Cuts Risk of Benign Brain Tumor

The risk of developing an acoustic neuroma was greatly reduced among male smokers, but not among those who take snuff, researchers reported.

Doctors Say 45 Common Tests 'Overused'

Nine specialty groups have listed tests and treatments that are frequently overused, such as antibiotics for sinus attacks and CT scans for low back pain, in the first phase of a long-term project.

Food Allergy Common in Joint Disorder

ORLANDO -- Children with the inherited disorder known as Ehlers Danlos type 3 syndrome may be at high risk for severe food allergy, British researchers reported here.

Clinical Notes: Beware the Seat Heater

番茄社区 debuts a new regular feature, a roundup of clinical news you might otherwise have missed. This week we led with a report that heated car seats can leave passengers with "toasted skin syndrome."

Side Effects of Loxapine Aerosol Raise FDA Concerns

WASHINGTON -- Although staccato loxapine (Adasuve) appears to be effective in calming schizophrenic and bipolar patients, concerns remain about the drug's pulmonary side effects, according to a review by FDA staff members.

Low-Dose Zolpidem Gets FDA Okay for Wee-Hours Awakening

A new formulation of the insomnia drug zolpidem tartrate (Ambien) has been approved to treat middle-of-the-night awakenings followed by difficulty returning to sleep, the FDA said.

Air Temp, Moisture Determine How Stuffy Nose Feels

Complaints of a "stuffy" nose may have as much to do with air temperature and humidity as with actual congestion of nasal passages, researchers said.

Lung Biopsy Risks Not Uncommon

Needle biopsy of suspicious lung nodules isn't as benign as often thought, according to a population-based study that quantified the risks in community practice.

Japan Stops Some Vaccinations After Deaths

Japanese health officials have suspended the use of two pediatric vaccines as a precaution following the deaths of four young children, according to multiple media reports.

Cigarette Smoke Ups Mucus in Lungs

Cigarette smoke suppresses a protein whose normal function is to prevent an overpopulation of mucus-producing cells in the lungs, researchers reported.

Smokeless Tobacco Dangerous and No Help for Quitting

Although less harmful than cigarette smoking, smokeless tobacco products are not safe as a smoking cessation tool and carry a number of potentially fatal health risks, an American Heart Association scientific statement said.

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