Skin & Allergy News articles from October 2008

Skin & Allergy News archives from October 2008

Varenicline helps curb alcohol cravings in smokers, study finds.(Across Specialties)
October 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The antismoking drug varenicline also appears to curb alcohol cravings in smokers who are heavy drinkers, results of a small study show. Nondependent heavy drinkers taking varenicline (Chantix) were nine times more likely to...

Type of liquor consumed plays role in next-day hangover risk.(Across Specialties)
October 1, 2008... BALTIMORE -- Drinking clear liquors--such as vodka and gin--and drinking more than one type of alcoholic beverage are both associated with an increased risk of having a hangover among college students, even after the number of drinks are...

Alcoholism is increasingly seen as medical illness.(Across Specialties)
October 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The public became more likely to regard alcohol dependence as a medical illness over a 10-year period, but stigmatization of alcoholism increased over that period as well, the latest results of a biannual survey addressing public...

Cancer screening not needed with vasculitis Dx.(Across Specialties)
October 1, 2008... PARIS -- Patients with newly diagnosed antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody--associated vasculitis do not have an increased rate of underlying malignancies, according to the findings of a large Danish case-control study. "The overall...

Studies deem Rituximab effective for Wegener's.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... PARIS -- Rituximab displayed impressive efficacy as rescue therapy in refractory Wegener's granulomatosis and other forms of antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis in the two largest-ever case series reported to date. ...

Happily married women report less insomnia.(Across Specialties)
October 1, 2008... BALTIMORE -- Women who are happily married in midlife report fewer sleep problems than unhappily married or unmarried women, based on data from nearly 3,000 women. Previous studies have shown that married people, especially women,...

Marital status may influence Alzheimer's risk.(Across Specialties)
October 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- People who are married from mid- to late life are significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's, while those who remain single face up to an eightfold increased risk, Krister Hakansson said at the International Conference on...

Calcium, cohosh often replace hormone therapy.(Across Specialties)
October 1, 2008... NEW ORLEANS -- Among women who have discontinued hormone therapy for vasomotor symptoms, black cohosh and multivitamins with calcium were two of the most common substitutes, according to survey data from more than 500 women. Elizabeth M....

Pregnancy mortality risk much higher for blacks.(Across Specialties)
October 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States during 1998-2004 indicates that black women have nearly a fourfold higher incidence of pregnancy-related mortality than do white...

MedSpa bill fails in California.(Policy & Practice)(International Medical Spa Association )(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... A bill that could have shuttered a huge number of medical spas in California essentially expired after a failed floor vote in the state Senate and protracted negotiations over a competing bill in the Assembly. Introduced in February, AB 2398...

FDA warns on laser brush.(Policy & Practice)(Food and Drug Administration)(Sunetics International Corp)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The Food and Drug Administration has warned Sunetics International Corp. of Las Vegas that it is illegally marketing its Laser Hair Brush and Laser Skin Brush. The company advertises the products as laser devices that can grow hair and treat...

PQRI frustrating, but not costly.(Policy & Practice)
October 1, 2008... A total of 90% of physicians answering a Medical Group Management Association survey said that they had trouble accessing their confidential 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) reports from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's...

Midlevel practitioners help drive bottom line.(Practice Trends)
October 1, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- Physician assistants and nurse practitioners can enhance the bottom line of a dermatology practice, but it is important to take a hard look at the numbers before hiring a midlevel practitioner. At the annual meeting of the...

Companies target patients as agents of change: Microsoft and Google executives believe that digitally enabled patients will push doctors to implement EMRs.(Practice Trends)
October 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Search engine giant Google has joined software giant Microsoft in an attempt to revolutionize health care information technology, one patient at a time. Google launched Google Health this spring with an aim of establishing...

Revering the work of physician writers.(The Rest of Your Life)
October 1, 2008... Well before he attended medical school at Columbia University, New York, Dr. Daniel C. Bryant had been captivated by reading and writing, underscored by an undergraduate degree in French literature that he earned from Princeton (N.J.)...

Health care equality views shaped by med school diversity.(Practice Trends)
October 1, 2008... White students attending more racially diverse medical schools consider themselves better prepared to care for patients of racial and ethnic minority group, according to a study of more than 20,000 graduates. Attitudes about providing...

Cleansing bar for sensitive skin.(Products)
October 1, 2008... Sukibody Sensitive Cleansing Bar gently softens the skin and relieves dryness. The bar is made with 100% organic ingredients, including saponified vegetable oils; pure shea butter, an easily absorbed natural emollient from the fruit of an...

Topical gel for hyperhidrosis.(Products)
October 1, 2008... Hydrosal Professional is available as a first-line treatment for excessive sweating. It is available only through a physician. The gel contains 15% aluminum chloride hexahydrate, which has proven to be more effective than other aluminum salts...

Creamy cleanser.(Products)
October 1, 2008... Stelatopia Cream Cleanser is designed to help control eczema flares in infants and children by replenishing the lipids in the skin. The cleanser contains sunflower oil distillate, which promotes skin hydration by enhancing the skin's own...

Dark spot cream.(Products)
October 1, 2008... Mela-D Dark Spots cream corrects dark spots, evens pigmentation, and restores the uniformity of the complexion. Not only does it reduce the size of dark spots, it also reduces the color intensity. Ingredients include Kojic acid, which helps...