Clinical Psychiatry News articles from July 2007

Clinical Psychiatry News archives from July 2007

Psilocybin results inspire researchers.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- A cadre of academics has begun conducting new research into the use of psychedelic drugs for mental illness; initial results are intriguing enough to warrant further exploration, several of the researchers said at a symposium at...

Neuroimaging as tool for diagnosis, treatment in sight: identifying bipolar disorder is a priority.(News)
July 1, 2007... PITTSBURGH -- Neuroimaging may soon become an important clinical tool for the diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders, Dr. Mary L. Phillips said at the Seventh International Conference on Bipolar Disorder. Emerging data suggest that...

Antidepressants may lift metabolic syndrome risk.(Practice Trends)
July 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Antidepressant use could be associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome among adult psychiatric inpatients, Stephen B. Woolley, D.Sc., reported at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr....

Worldwide cost of nicotine, alcohol, and drug abuse.(VITAL SIGNS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Worldwide Cost of Nicotine, Alcohol, and Drug Abuse (in billions of dollars) Alcohol addiction $885 Drug abuse $880 Smoking $400 Total cost: $2,165 billion Note: Based on 2005 world market data. Source:...

Drug use, sexual behavior surveyed.(News)
July 1, 2007... More than one in five of U.S. adults aged between 20 and 59 years have experimented with cocaine or other street drugs during their lifetime, according to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center...

Antioxidants studied for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia.(News)
July 1, 2007... PITTSBURGH -- Antioxidant treatment may represent a novel therapeutic approach for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Dr. Michael Berk said at the Seventh International Conference on Bipolar Disorder. Studies have suggested that oxidative...

Are warnings on antidepressants backfiring?(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... Our ability to recognize and effectively treat mental health conditions has improved over the last 20 years. As a result, suicide rates across all age groups had been on a steady decline since the early 1990s. But recent data show a disturbing...

For patients, parent advocacy matters.(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... Many people believe that the most daunting tasks in navigating the mental health system are the fights for access to care and to get insurance companies to pay. I readily admit those fights are formidable, but in my opinion, the hardest thing...

Pain relievers.(GUEST EDITORIAL)(Cartoon)
July 1, 2007... "Were there any red flags? What do you think triggered my rage to begin with?"

Preventing gun violence: we must act.(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... Working in a trauma center at Loyola, I see gunshot victims often--I see the devastation that guns cause. As I was working with a medical student on a Grand Rounds presentation on gunshot violence, I came across some of the following...

Industry and psychiatry: physician, heal thyself.(Viewpoint essay)
July 1, 2007... The current relationship between the pharmaceutical industry, medical researchers, and clinicians is driven by a combustible mix of professional values and market incentives. As the business side of medicine becomes exposed both in the popular...

Focus on treatment is imperative.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... Dr. Paul J. Fink's analysis of the Virginia Tech shootings puts him on shifting sands ("The murders at Virginia Tech by a man who should have been under mental health care raise a question for psychiatry: What can we do to prevent such...

Wrong-headed arguments.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... I found Dr. Paul J. Fink's analysis of the Virginia Tech tragedy to be both well written and comprehensive. However, I would like to take exception to two of his points. First, Dr. Fink's contention that "the desire to kill is present...

Correction.(Correction notice)
July 1, 2007... In an article published in CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY NEWS ("For Girls on Risperidone, Don't Measure Prolactin," June 2007, p. 29), Dr. Harold E. Carlson's statement about hyperprolactinemia should have read: "If prolactin is elevated in a symptomatic...

Many at risk for undiagnosed bipolar disorder.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... PITTSBURGH -- About one out of seven of patients who are diagnosed with unipolar depression have experienced manic symptoms within the last year and are likely to actually have bipolar disorder, Kevin Nanry of GlaxoSmithKline and coauthors...

Lamotrigine, lithium effective--for a while.(Adult Psychiatry)(for treating bipolar disorder)
July 1, 2007... PITTSBURGH -- Lamotrigine and lithium perform similarly well in preventing depressive or manic episodes in patients with bipolar disorder, but neither drug remains effective as monotherapy beyond 5 years, Dr. Rasmus W Licht reported at the...

Th1/Th2 imbalance affects kynurenine in schizophrenia.(Adult Psychiatry)(thiamine)
July 1, 2007... SANTIAGO, CHILE -- A Th1/Th2 immune imbalance affecting kynurenine metabolism may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, Dr. Markus J. Schwarz said at an international conference sponsored by the World Federation of...

Are features of schizotypal disorder protective?(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... SANTIAGO, CHILE -- Several pathophysiologic features of schizotypal personality disorder appear to protect against the emergence of the psychotic features of schizophrenia, according to Dr. Larry Siever, professor of psychiatry at Mount Sinai...

Metabolic assessments should precede atypicals.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- With increased use of atypical antipsychotics like olanzapine in managing bipolar disorder has come an increase in insulin resistance, weight gain, and elevated cardiovascular risk. Over the last decade, it has become clear that...

The art of Suzanne Edmiston Worrell.(VISIONARY ART)
July 1, 2007... Suzanne Edmiston Worrell's creativity became apparent early. As a very young child, she made a stop-motion animated film, made flip books and clay sculptures, and carpeted--and even wallpapered--her Barbie's dollhouse. Today, Ms. Worrell's...

Tamoxifen reduces mania in bipolar patients.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... PITTSBURGH -- Tamoxifen alleviated the symptoms of acute mania in patients with bipolar disorder in a small study, Dr. Carlos A. Zarate Jr. reported at the Seventh International Conference on Bipolar Disorder. The finding provides proof of...

Polymorphisms linked to risk of suicidality in men.(Adult Psychiatry)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Men with a polymorphism near a gene associated with antidepressant response have a significantly increased risk for suicidality when taking antidepressants, said Dr. Roy H. Perlis of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and his associates....

Video/EEG 'test' can diagnose pseudoseizures.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... SANTA FE, N.M. -- When a patient appears resistant to antiepileptic drugs and continues to have seizures, Dr. Alexander E. Obolsky recommends a pseudotest for pseudoseizures. Use real video/electroencephalography to record changes in brain...

Helping OCPD patients break free.(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)
July 1, 2007... Making a breakthrough with a patient with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder can be daunting. But once you begin to evaluate the patient's anxiety or depressive symptoms and the patient begins to describe in exquisite detail the...

Dissociation alters neural activation patterns in borderline.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... SANTIAGO, CHILE -- People with borderline personality disorder show altered neural activation in response to aversive stress, Dr. Christian Schmahl said at an international congress sponsored by the World Federation of Societies of Biological...

For anxiety, look beyond status quo drugs: augmentation most commonly involves atypicals; benzodiazepines or buspirone; and anticonvulsants.(PRACTICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY)
July 1, 2007... Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are first-line pharmacotherapy for most patients with generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder, but a substantial number of patients need...

Patients surgically assigned as women may face depression.(Adult Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... ORLANDO -- Genetic females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and ambiguous genitalia who, as infants, were surgically corrected to a female phenotype had a lower feminine sexual role and a tendency toward depression as adults, based on...

Maternal depression predicts ADHD in kids.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
July 1, 2007... BOSTON -- A diagnosis of maternal depression any time between 1 year before and 9 years after giving birth is a risk factor for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in school-age children, according to a study presented at a meeting of the...

Video training tool improves ADHD symptoms in teenagers.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... BOSTON -- Working memory training can significantly improve symptoms in adolescents receiving medical treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Dr. Bradley S. Gibson said in a poster presentation at a meeting of the Society for...

Treating obstructive sleep apnea surgically may improve ADHD.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... Surgical treatment of mild obstructive sleep apnea in school-aged children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and mild obstructive sleep apnea resulted in big improvements in ADHD symptoms, compared with those treated with...

Irritability, aggression rule in early bipolar.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Significant differences are apparent in the rates of mania and types of externalizing comorbidity between children, adolescents, and adults with bipolar disorder, Dr. Gabrielle A. Carlson reported at a psychopharmacology update...

Co-occurring mental illness: early intervention matters.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... MIAMI -- Co-occurrence of mental health and substance use disorders is a substantial problem among American adolescents, Jorielle R. Brown, Ph.D., said at the annual conference of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Many teenagers...

Don't overlook infrequent adolescent smokers for cessation counseling.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... AUSTIN, TEX. -- Adolescents who smoke infrequently or occasionally are prime candidates for smoking cessation counseling, Kathleen A. Kealey said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and...

Native Americans have highest smoking rate among 12- to 17-year-olds.(DATA WATCH)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Native Americans Have Highest Smoking Rate Among 12- To 17-Year-Olds Note: Data from 68.611 responses to the 2002-2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ELSEVIER GLOBAL...

Four reinforcers predict school refusal behavior.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... ST. LOUIS -- Problematic family functioning merges with children's perceptions of positive and negative reinforcements to produce school refusal behavior, according to research presented at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorders...

Build on basic strategies to treat trauma-exposed kids.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. -- In treating children exposed to trauma, think about the DEFs once the ABCs are taken care of. That's the message Nancy Kassam-Adams, Ph.D., delivered at the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress...

Suicide attempts linked to dating violence, sexual assault.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... Urban adolescent girls who have been hit or physically hurt by a boyfriend in the past year are 60% more likely to attempt suicide than those who have not, reported Dr. Elyse Olshen of Columbia University, New York, and her associates. For...

Biomarker could track Alzheimer's progression.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... SALZBURG, AUSTRIA -- The investigational Pittsburgh B compound that binds to cerebral [beta]-amyloid and is visible on positron emission tomography maintains its promise as a way to distinguish the elderly patients presenting with memory...

Evidence-based medicine does not support cholinesterase inhibitor use.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... CARMEL, CALIF. -- The evidence for using cholinesterase inhibitors in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease "is pretty darned poor," Dr. Laura Mosqueda said at the Western regional meeting of the American Federation for Medical Research....

Herpes simplex may play a role in some Alzheimer's cases.(Geriatric Psychiatry)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... SALZBURG, AUSTRIA -- Herpes simplex virus-type 1 may be the root cause of some cases of Alzheimer's disease, according to research presented at an international conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Dr. Matthew Wozniak and...

Brief scales can measure dementia, mental illness: each battery should measure patient's memory, executive function, and activities of daily living.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- The dizzying array of scales available for measuring dementia and mental illness in the elderly can be whittled down to create an essential picture of an individual patient. Most importantly, these scales can be used to establish...

Pain called a major sign of depression in older patients.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... SEATTLE -- Pain complaints are so common in older patients with depression, and vice versa, that pain can be used as a signal to pick up depression that would otherwise be missed, Dr. Sumer Verma said at the annual scientific meeting of the...

Alliances with patients help foster adherence.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- Adherence with medication regimens is poor among the mentally ill and tends to worsen as those patients age, but there are ways to help patients stick to their regimens, several speakers said at the annual meeting of the American...

Collaborative, evidence-based approach encouraged for depression.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- The development of guidelines to treat depression in the elderly using evidence-based research is important, said a panel of experts at a joint conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging. However,...

Genes may explain some depression after fracture.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- New-onset depression after hip fracture is fairly common and may be explained in part by certain polymorphisms of the serotonin 1A and 2A receptors, Dr. Eric J. Lenze said in a poster presented at the annual meeting of the...

Most college students use stimulants on occasion.(Addiction Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... MIAMI -- College is "ground zero" for nonmedical use of prescription stimulants. But most college students who use stimulants do so only on occasion to enhance studying or boost concentration. More frequent users are at increased risk for...

Intervention helps smokers with psychotic disorders.(Addiction Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... AUSTIN, TEX. -- Despite a generally low rate of participation in smoking-cessation programs among persons with psychotic disorders, cessation intervention is effective in this population, at least in the short term, Amanda Baker, Ph.D., said at...

Dealers, friends, family are key drug sources for opioid abusers.(Addiction Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- Most opioid abusers report that they get their drugs from dealers, friends, and relatives, according to a survey of individuals entering methadone maintenance treatment programs. But prescriptions from physicians still rank...

Perspective.(Community Psychiatry)(National Commission on Correctional Health Care)(Column)
July 1, 2007... The best way to deliver correctional health care is to have standards that spell out the relevant issues and include position statements that call attention to the unique needs of population subgroups, such as women and adolescents. The...

Helping female inmates heal from the inside.(PREVENTION IN ACTION )
July 1, 2007... Most women incarcerated in the United States are in trouble long before the door on their prison cell slams shut. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics, at year end 2005, 107,518 women were in U.S....

Suicide bombers don't fit psychological profile.(Forensic Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... SANTA FE, N.M. -- Psychological profiling of suicide bombers will not work because they are a heterogeneous population and do not fit any diagnostic criteria for mental illness, Dr. Jamshid A. Marvasti said at the annual meeting of the American...

Victims more likely to binge drink.(Forensic Psychiatry)(intimate partner violence )(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... MIAMI -- Victims of intimate partner violence are more than twice as likely to binge drink than are individuals who have not been victimized, Dr. Nicole Flowers said in a poster at the annual meeting of the American College of Preventive...

Psychological injury does not equal disability.(Forensic Psychiatry)
July 1, 2007... SANTA FE, N.M. -- Forensic assessment of psychological injuries must go beyond diagnosis and consider the effect on a person's ability to function, William J. Koch, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American College of Forensic...

First transdermal drug OK'd for Parkinson's.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)(Neupro from Schwarz Pharma AG)
July 1, 2007... For the first time, a transdermal drug delivery system is available for treating Parkinson's disease patients, a treatment option that provides both practical and theoretical benefits for this population, according to experts not involved in...

Criteria inadequate for postconcussional disorder.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
July 1, 2007... SANTA FE, N.M. -- The suggestions for diagnosing postconcussional disorder that appear in the text revision of the DSM-IV are inadequate for the assessment of mild traumatic brain injury, Dr. Stephen D. Anderson said at the annual meeting of...

Brain enzyme may help to flag severity of traumatic injuries.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
July 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- An enzyme found in brain cells may become the first bedside biomarker for assessing the severity of traumatic brain injury, according to Dr. Linda Papa. In a multicenter trial, levels of the enzyme ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase...

Brain injuries difficult to diagnose in U.S. troops.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
July 1, 2007... CAMP PENDLETON, CALIF. -- Brain injuries may be the most common wounds suffered by American troops in Iraq, but they can also be the most difficult to diagnose, Mark McDonough, Ph.D., said at an international conference on civilian and military...

Small-fiber dysfunction may underlie pain.(Pain Medicine)
July 1, 2007... BETHESDA, MD. -- A growing body of research suggests that dysfunction of the small-fiber axons that mediate pain sensation and autonomic function underlies complex regional pain syndrome, Dr. Anne Louise Oaklander said at a meeting sponsored by...

Most neuropathic pain patients on combo see improved VAS scores.(Pain Medicine)(visual analogue scale)
July 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- Antidepressants and antiepileptics are both effective in treating neuropathic pain, but a combination performs best, according to Dr. Damon Robinson. Dr. Robinson and colleagues found that nearly 80% of patients who took a...

Chronic headache linked to depression, not obesity.(Pain Medicine)
July 1, 2007... BOSTON -- Chronic daily headache was not associated with obesity but was significantly associated with depression in a study of more than 300 neurology patients in Brazil. The lack of an association between obesity and headache in the...

When treating insomnia, consider comorbidities.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(Disease/Disorder overview)
July 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Insomnia is a disorder of hyperarousal rather than one of sleep deprivation, Thomas Roth, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists. "Mothers of newborn babies don't have insomnia;...

Serum testosterone could be marker for OSA.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(obstructive sleep apnea)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... CARMEL, CALIF. -- If preliminary results from an ongoing study are accurate, low baseline total serum testosterone levels could be a marker for obstructive sleep apnea in older men, Yao Schmidt reported at the Western regional meeting of the...

Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea.(EVIDENCE-BASED PSYCHIATRIC MEDICINE)
July 1, 2007... The Question Last month, we examined the neurocognitive effects of obstructive sleep apnea in a patient with an elevated body mass index that was not to the result of muscle hypertrophy. What does the evidence show regarding the link...

Migraine associated with psychiatric disorders.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- Major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, and social phobia were diagnosed twice as often in those with migraine as in those without headache in a major Canadian population survey, Dr. Nathalie Jette said at the...

Psychosocial risk factors weigh on heart patients.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Psychosocial risk factors contribute a level of risk for cardiovascular events in clinically symptomatic women that is similar to the traditional major risk factors, Thomas Rutledge, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the...

Depression tied to 36% increased risk of MI.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(myocardial infarction)
July 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- Depression is common among patients with heart failure and is independently associated with poor outcomes, Dr. Aldo P. Maggioni said at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. He presented a retrospective...

Treating 'invisible' symptoms may be beneficial in Parkinson's.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2007... BOSTON -- Depression, anxiety, and sleep problems rather than disease explain why some patients with Parkinson's disease call their physicians more frequently than others, according to results of a study presented by Dr. Melissa J. Nirenberg in...

Depression rates may reach 30% in transformed migraine.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- Depression prevalence may be as high as 30% in transformed migraine, according to a preliminary analysis of the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention study presented on June 8 at the American Headache Society meeting. By...

Depression, anxiety take toll on cardiac rehab.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
July 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Depressed or anxious patients who are referred to cardiac rehabilitation programs are significantly more likely to comply poorly or have a poorer outcome than are patients without the conditions, Angele McGrady, Ph.D., reported at...

Melanoma cases dip, but other data 'alarming'.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2007... SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. -- For the first time in about 25 years, the number of malignant melanoma cases in the United States has dropped, Dr. Darrell S. Rigel said at a meeting of the American Society for Mohs Surgery. According to data...

Waistline can predict health problems in men.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- A tape measure may be one of the most useful tools to predict whether male patients have diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease, a large prostate, a high prostate-specific-antigen level, erectile...

Factor in triglyceride when assessing patients' visceral fat.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... BARCELONA -- Combining waist circumference with fasting triglyceride measurements can help physicians tell whether their patients are carrying visceral fat--which increases diabetes risk--or subcutaneous fat, which does not, Dr. Jean-Pierre...

Watch for hypogonadism in patients with type 2 diabetes.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2007... BARCELONA -- Consider measuring testosterone levels in all male type 2 diabetes patients with symptoms of hypogonadism, Dr. Eric Meuleman of the Free University Medical Center, Amsterdam, advised at an international congress on prediabetes and...

Cardiologists err on side of caution in stable CAD.(Across Specialties)(coronary artery disease)
July 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- When it comes to recommending angioplasty for stable coronary artery disease, evidence can take a backseat to worry, guilt, and the fear of legal liability. "It appears that both cardiologists and primary care physicians...

Phenol-rich cocoa beats tea for reducing blood pressure.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... Cocoa--but not tea--consumption appears to be associated with blood pressure reductions comparable with those achieved with a [beta]-blocker or an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. That conclusion comes from a meta-analysis of 10...

Methadone at therapeutic levels linked to sudden cardiac death.(Across Specialties)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... DENVER -- Methadone in therapeutic doses appears to be associated with increased risk of sudden cardiac death, Dr. Carmen Socoteanu reported at the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society. This observation, which is from a prospective...

Sexual activity continues into old age for many.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... SEATTLE -- Sex remains an important part of life for seniors, with almost one-third of persons between the ages of 65 and 74 years continuing to have sex at least once a week, according to a survey of sexual behavior in seniors. "We hope...

Moderate levels of activity benefit overweight postmenopausal women.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... Even as little as 72 minutes of moderate physical activity per week--half the amount recommended by various national health groups--significantly improves cardiorespiratory fitness in previously sedentary overweight postmenopausal women. ...

Caffeine, smoking protect against Parkinson's.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... Caffeine consumption appears to protect against the development of Parkinson's disease, and smoking has been confirmed as another protective factor. In contrast, the use of NSAIDs does not appear to be protective, Dana B. Hancock and her...

Acne care: first assess teen's level of concern.(Across Specialties)
July 1, 2007... MIAMI BEACH -- Most teenagers believe that acne can be cured, but fewer than 10% of teens with acne see a dermatologist. That puts pediatricians and other primary care physicians on the front lines of acne treatment, Dr. Lawrence A. Schachner...

One to three is a critical age range for obesity development.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... TORONTO -- A critical period for the development of obesity in early childhood appears to be between the ages of 1 and 3 years, according to a study of inner-city youth presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. ...

Severe asthma exacerbations are possible in mild disease.(Across Specialties)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2007... TORONTO -- Current classifications of pediatric asthma fail to capture the potential for severe exacerbations in patients with mild disease, according to Dr. Christopher Carroll of Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford. In a...

CMS proposes Medicare Advantage changes.(Practice Trends)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services )
July 1, 2007... Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are proposing changes to the Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans in an effort to strengthen oversight of the programs. The proposal includes...

Federal team arrests 38 for Medicare fraud.(Practice Trends)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... A multiagency "strike force" targeting fraudulent Medicare billing related to infusion therapy and durable medical equipment recently made 38 arrests. The arrests, all in south Florida, mark the first phase of operations of the team of...