Clinical Psychiatry News articles from September 2003

Clinical Psychiatry News archives from September 2003

Child psychiatrists in huge demand: shortage deemed a 'dire problem'.
September 1, 2003... Dr. Mike Franz was enticed into the understaffed field of child and adolescent psychiatry at the last moment, stunning everyone--including himself. A third-year psychiatry resident at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, he...

SAMHSA to initiate cross-agency plan for mental health: critics claim federal report fails to paint clear picture of a comprehensive system: presidents commission report.(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
September 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Mental health services in the United States could be greatly improved if there were better coordination between government agencies, according to Charles Curie, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...

Study looks at interplay of genes + environment : prophylactic rx for genetically vulnerable? (drug therapy).
September 1, 2003... ASPEN, COLO. -- Gene-environment interactions constitute the new frontier in understanding complex psychiatric disorders--and a landmark New Zealand longitudinal study is leading the way, Dr. Robert N. Erode declared at a meeting on stress...

Syphilis is on increase among men worldwide: men who have sex with men.(News)
September 1, 2003... OTTAWA -- The great imitator is resurgent in cities throughout North America and Europe, and is defeating public health efforts to contain it. New York City is a case in point. The city recently experienced a five-fold increase in the...

Most physicians not ready for HIPAA compliance: feds ease standards slightly. (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).(News)
September 1, 2003... Harry Reynolds is worried. Mr. Reynolds is responsible for making sure that his health plan, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, is ready on Oct. 16, the deadline for complying with the part of the Health Insurance Portability and...

West Nile prognosis tied to clinical symptoms: neurologic manifestations.(News)
September 1, 2003... The poliomyelitis-like syndrome that is sometimes associated with West Nile virus is linked with a poor long-term outcome and may be irreversible, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in two articles that...

Mind, body and gut.(Editorial)
September 1, 2003... It's not often in medicine that we turn to 17th-century philosopher Rene Descartes and his theory of dualism, but that is where we should start an examination of the biopsychosocial approach to functional gastrointestinal disorders. This...

Duty to Warn.(Still at large)
September 1, 2003... More and more often, psychiatrists are being held liable for actions taken by patients. Have you ever been forced to warn a third party about a patient's potential action? In other words, is there ever a time when we have a duty to others...

Short-term therapy: let's use it.(Editorial)
September 1, 2003... Perceptions of psychotherapy among the lay public have been influenced by movies and television more than any other force. The films of Woody Allen, for example, portray therapy as an interminable strip mining of the psyche and as cash-guzzling...

Should the patient take the lead in the treatment of depression?(Pro & Con)
September 1, 2003... YES An astute clinician often is the one who diagnoses depression, but that is only the beginning of a process that should be driven by the patient. I tell all of my patients that the best I can do is to help them help themselves....

Shine.(Reel life)(Movie Review)
September 1, 2003... Shine, the Australian film about the life of pianist David Helfgott, became an unexpected success at the box office, garnered an Oscar nomination for best picture, and earned Geoffrey Rush the Academy Award for best actor. The film is...

Approching tx-resistant OCD. (treatment, obsessive-compulsive disorder).(practical psychopharmacology)
September 1, 2003... Most patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder do well with first-line pharmacotherapy--either a selective serotonim reuptake inhibitor or clomipramine--but a sizable proportion do not. As many as 50% fail to respond adequately to the...

A defining error.(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2003... The glossary--not textual-definitions of delusion in various DSMs consistently use the term false belief, but the word false and the word belief are contradictory and therefore incorrect usage. This use of false belief is grounded in...

Constitutional Psychiatry.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Dr. Jamshid Marvasti recently suggested that terrorism was a political term and not a psychiatric term ("Knowledge Dismal on Terrorism," June 2003, p. 28). I agree. If one substitutes the Founding Fathers' use of the word piracy for...

Children are suffering globally.(Editorial)
September 1, 2003... Over the past decade, children from all over the world have been exposed to severe traumatic stresses. The regions in which children have been placed at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder include Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Kashmir,...

Conduct disorder: context key.(Editorial)
September 1, 2003... William sits sullenly in your office with fists clenched and eyes averted from his agitated mother. Yes, he's in trouble again, and this time it's serious. When enough Williams of the world find their way to your office, sooner or...

VA as performance model. (Department of Veterans Affairs).(Editorial)
September 1, 2003... The introduction of evidence-based performance measures has helped to dramatically and rapidly improve the quality of health care delivered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA now sets the national benchmark in 18 of 18 measures of...

D2 receptor levels are higher in schizophrenics: greater dopamine release explained?(Adult Psychiatry)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... NEW ORLEANS -- Schizophrenic patients have elevated levels of dopamine D2 receptors in the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area of the brain, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine. The...

Genetic variation can cloud schizophrenia Tx: African american patients. (treatment).(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... PHILADELPHIA -- Classic neuroleptic drugs are often metabolized more slowly in African Americans than in whites, leading to an increased risk of adverse effects from these drugs in African American patients. Overdosing with classic...

Paranoia neglected as schizophrenia symptom: rapid onset.(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... Aspen, Colo. -- Psychiatry has erred in deemphasizing the importance of paranoia in schizophrenia, Dr. Robert Freedman asserted at a meeting on stress sponsored by the University of Colorado. By the time DSM-III came along, paranoia was no...

Methylphenidate appears to increase motivation: ADHD patients' concentration improves. (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder).(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... New Orleans -- Methylphenidate may improve attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms by making tasks more interesting, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine. "Methylphenidate's improvement of...

Use care in prescribing for bipolar migraineurs: assess for comorbidity.(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... San Francisco -- Forty percent of 108 patients being treated for bipolar disorder had a lifetime history of migraine headache, a factor that affects treatment decisions, Dr. Nancy C.P. Low said at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric...

Schizophrenia drug curbs bipolar mania: Phase III study. (Abilify).(Adult Psychiatry)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Pittsburgh -- Bipolar patients in the midst of a manic episode may benefit from the antipsychotic aripiprazole. Patients who responded to aripiprazole (Abilify) had significantly reduced total scores on the Young Mania Rating Scale after 3...

Benzodiazepines provide quick Tx for GAD: long-term use carries risks. (treatment, generalized anxiety disorder).(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... San Francisco -- Benzodiazepines offer the quickest treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, but the nature of the illness calls for long-term treatment with antidepressants, two speakers said during industry-sponsored symposiums at the...

HIV triggers brain tissue loss despite antiviral Tx: alcohol exacerbates problems. (treatment).(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... TORONTO -- HIV-infected patients have progressive loss of brain tissue, even if they have undetectable plasma levels of virus on combination antiviral therapy, according to results from a preliminary study of 72 patients. Also, heavy...

Provider relationship key in HIV Rx adherence: substance abusers on HAART. (drug treatment, highly active antiretroviral treatment).(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... MIAMI -- A good patient-provider relationship significantly improves adherence to highly active antiretroviral treatment among substance abusers who are HIV positive, Yves Jeanty reported in a poster presentation at a meeting sponsored by the...

Socioeconomic status tied to progression of HIV/AIDS: longitudinal study. (Adult Psychiatry).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... PHOENIX, ARIZ. -- A longitudinal study of 186 HIV-positive patients has revealed a significant connection between socioeconomic status and disease progression markers, including morbidity, mortality, and CD4 cell count. Dr. Gail H....

Depression may predispose women to illness: accelerated onset of perimenopause.(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. -- Women's mental health can have direct repercussions on their reproductive and endocrine health, Dr. Roger McIntyre said at the annual clinical meeting of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. ...

Duloxetine shows promise in depression, pain management: investigational antidepressant.(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO -- The investigational balanced serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor duloxetine has the potential to become a triple-threat drug, investigators said at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Eli...

Alzheimer's psychotic subtypes.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The 30%-40% of Alzheimer's disease patients with psychotic symptoms appear to have two distinct clinical subtypes, Sarah E. Cook and her colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh reported. In a group of 157 patients with probable...

Heart disease and depression.(Clinical capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Depression is associated with several cardiovascular conditions and often is clinically diagnosed before cardiovascular problems, said Jeffrey E Scherrer of St. Louis University and his associates. In 6,903 male twins who responded to...

Parental status and suicide.(Clinical capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Parents are less likely to complete suicide than adults without children, especially if the children are young, reported Dr. Ping Qin and his associates at Aarhus University, Denmark. Databases of 18,611 suicides from 1981 to 1997 and...

Mental illness discrimination.(Clinical capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Nearly three-fourths of people with serious mental illnesses who report being discriminated against attribute the discrimination to their psychiatric disability, reported Patrick Corrigan, Psy.D., of the University of Chicago, and his...

Dementia screening.(Clinical capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... A memory screening day for community-dwelling older adults detects some dementia but leaves concerns about the resources for screening follow-up, said Dr. Janet M. Lawrence and her colleagues at McLean Hospital, Belmont, Mass. During...

BED patients' dream weight goals quixotic: binge eating disorder.(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... DENVER -- Patients seeking treatment for binge eating disorder typically have wildly unrealistic weight-loss expectations, Carlos M. Grilo, Ph.D., said at an international conference of the Academy for Eating Disorders. He reported on 130...

Heed the mind's intrinsic coping methods in PTSD: guide patient to recall events. (posttraumatic stress disorder).(Adult Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Just as the body employs protective physical responses to injury or illness, the mind attempts to heal itself in the early aftermath of trauma, Dr. John Briere said at a meeting on posttraumatic stress disorder sponsored by...

Girls are smoking and drinking earlier than boys: high social competence.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... Washington -- Girls experimented with alcohol and cigarettes at a younger age than did boys in one longitudinal study, Judy A. Andrews, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research. This finding comes from...

Recovery from traumatic events influenced by childhood: coping skills develop early.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The ability of people to move beyond traumatic events might depend heavily on how they learned to cope with stress during childhood, Dr. John Briere said at a conference on posttraumatic stress disorder sponsored by Vancouver...

Drinking, depression in seventh grade can predict teen violence: responsive mothers may be key.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Seventh graders who drink and/or are depressed are among those likely to engage in violence within the next 18 months, Jonathan L. Blitstein said during a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention...

Anxiety disorders have many facets in youths: distinguish from ordinary anxiety.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... MIAMI BEACH -- It is important for clinicians to be able to recognize the signs of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents and to distinguish them from the ordinary anxieties of growing up, Dr. Eugenio M. Rothe said at a meeting on mood...

Don't confuse children with adults when treating OCD: get creative with therapy. (obsessive-compulsive disorder).(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... TORONTO -- Diagnosing and treating children with obsessive-compulsive disorder requires an awareness of how they differ from adults with the disorder and calls for some creativity, experts said at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorders...

Teens' sleep problems.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... About 13% of adolescents report trouble sleeping at night, apparently because of such factors as the use of prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and herbal remedies, results from an online survey suggest. The findings highlight the importance of...

Brain growth, autism.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Both a reduced head size at birth and sudden increases in head size at ages 1-2 months and 6-14 months appeared to precede the clinical diagnosis of autism in young children, said Eric Couches, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of...

Exposure to violence.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... A 3-month, school-based intervention program significantly reduced symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in sixth graders who reported exposure to violence, said Dr. Bradley D. Stein, of the Santa Monica branch of...

Socioeconomics and language.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Children aged 12-36 months with delayed language skills are at risk for poor social and attention skills in their early childhood years, said Sarah McCue Horwitz, Ph.D., of Yale University: Language, New Haven, and her colleagues. Language...

Teen suicide and stress.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The number of stressful life events experienced by teenagers may be a risk factor for suicidal behavior, said Netta Horesh of Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, and her associates. They examined the relationship between stressful life...

Migraine in children often goes undiagnosed: normalizing pain not productive.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... COLUMBIA, MO. -- Physicians are still failing to diagnose uncomplicated migraines in children, Dr. Bernard L. Maria said at a meeting on common pediatric problems sponsored by the University of Missouri-Columbia. As a result, many children...

Treatment for obesity finds greatest success in children: multicomponent behavioral program.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... DENVER -- In the midst of an unprecedented and alarming epidemic of pediatric obesity, there remains a bright spot: treatment outcomes are much, much better than in obese adults, Marsha D. Marcus, Ph.D., said at an international conference of...

Bipolar patients need family-focused treatment: may improve recovery, relapse rate.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO -- Effectively treating pediatric bipolar disorder involves more than just prescribing medications, Dr. Kiki D. Chang said at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. "Because of the extreme debilitating...

Collaborative approach is the best way to address autism: University of Miami's program is a model.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... The best strategy to care for children with autism is to diagnose and treat symptoms early. And optimal success requires a collaborative effort between physicians, local public health officials, parents, and teachers, according to participants...

Vagal tone predicts ADHD in low-birth-weight boys: hyperactivity at 30 months.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder )
September 1, 2003... TAMPA, FLA -- Decreased parasympathetic activity in low-birth-weight infant boys may explain their heightened risk for hyperactivity at age 30 months. This observation emerged from the first study of infants in which estimation of baseline...

Functional MRI may help detect speech delay in children: listen from the right brain.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... CHICAGO -- Children with delayed speech tend to listen from the right side of the brain, while children without delayed speech listen with the left side of the brain, Dr. Nolan Altman said at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of...

Internalizing symptoms no bar to stimulant therapy in ADHD: anxiety and depression.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder )
September 1, 2003... TAMPA, FLA. -- Concerns that children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and comorbid internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression would not respond to stimulant medication have proved to be unfounded. In contrast to...

Geriatric psychiatrist shortage threatens care: medical school exposure proposed.(Geriatric Psychiatric)
September 1, 2003... The United States has half as many geriatric psychiatrists as it needs, and the situation is likely to worsen considerably as the population ages, officials of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry say. Despite this outlook,...

Weight loss in elderly may be sign of neurologic decline: patients with mild cognitive impairment.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... ALBUQUERQUE -- Weight loss in an elderly person with mild cognitive impairment could be a surrogate for neurologic deterioration, Dr. Michael Grundman said. Imaging studies performed by Dr. Grundman and his colleagues showed a relationship...

Cash may motivate college students to drink less at parties: money talks.(Addiction Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- College students who drink in celebration attain higher blood alcohol concentrations than do other college drinkers, Kent E. Glindemann, Ph.D., reported in a poster session at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention...

Users of both alcohol, tobacco may impair sedation: clinical implications unclear.(Addiction Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... SAN DIEGO -- Patients who use both alcohol and tobacco require larger doses of narcotics and benzodiazepines to achieve adequate sedation during endoscopic procedures, Dr. Ting-Wei Yang reported in a poster session at the annual meeting of the...

Combination tx promising for alcoholics: acamprosate, naltrexone. (treatment).(Addiction Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... SANTA FE, N.M. -- Alcoholics who want to quit drinking but need a little help might benefit from combination therapy with acamprosate and naltrexone, Barbara J. Mason, Ph.D., said at a psychiatric symposium sponsored by the University of...

Targeting at-risk families may prevent child neglect: 3-, 9-month intervention.(Community Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Even a short intervention can significantly reduce some of the factors that contribute to child neglect in at-risk families, Diane DePanfilis, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research. A total...

Social skills training benefits mentally ill patients: modeling goalsetting, role playing.(Community Psychiatry)
September 1, 2003... NEW YORK -- Good social skills training can enable many psychiatric patients to succeed in their community; such skills ensure that the needs of these patients are met with less involvement of case managers and other clinicians. Such...

Pituitary adenomas often cause sudden, nonspecific symptoms: cognitive deficits a tip-off.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
September 1, 2003... NEW YORK -- Consider the possibility of pituitary tumors in the differential diagnosis of any patient who presents with sudden and unexplainable onset of nonspecific symptoms such as headache, fatigue, cognitive deficits, weight gain, or...

Demanding criteria needed to assess brain studies: take a cautious approach.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
September 1, 2003... BALTIMORE -- Not all brain imaging studies are created equal, Dr. Patrick Barta said at a symposium on mood disorders sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. Making sense of brain imaging studies requires the application of a series of...

Effects of brain injury may persist in the form of cognitive deficits: may be mistaken for PTSD. (post-traumatic stress disorder).(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
September 1, 2003... SANTA FE, N.M. -- Lingering neurologic and psychiatric sequelae of a brain injury could leave a patient with subtle cognitive deficits and complicate efforts at physical rehabilitation, Dr. Gary Tucker said at a psychiatric symposium sponsored...

Silent strokes increase odds of devastating events later on: newly identified risk factors.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
September 1, 2003... HONOLULU -- The presence of an asymptomatic cerebral infarct increases the likelihood that a patient will have a major debilitating stroke sometime within the next year by 8%-12%, Dr. James M. Gebel reported at the annual meeting of the...

Psychosocial issues hinder back pain recovery: quick return to work is best.(Pain Medicine)
September 1, 2003... ATLANTA -- Managing the psychosocial issues that can prolong work-associated low back pain helps get patients back to work sooner and helps prevent long-term disability. "In the Western culture, we tend to work off a biological model of...

New headache classification to be unveiled: agreement on chronic headache.(Pain Medicine)
September 1, 2003... CHICAGO -- Revisions to the International Headache Society diagnostic criteria fall short of a massive overhaul but reflect a new consensus between U.S. and European physicians on how to define chronic daily headache. Physicians attending...

Same brain regions activated when feeling pain, seeing others in pain: neuroimaging.(Pain Medicine)
September 1, 2003... CHICAGO -- Whether pain is perceived in one's own body or in someone else's, many of the same regions of the brain are activated, Dr. Sean Mackey reported in a poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Pain Society. Previous...

Fluoxetine is Tx of choice for Bulimia, but most continue to Binge: results with CBT longer lasting. (treatment, cognitive-behavior therapy).(Psychosomatic Medicine)
September 1, 2003... DENVER -- Fluoxetine at 60 mg/day is the clear pharmacologic therapy of first choice in bulimia nervosa, Dr. Katherine A. Halmi said at an international conference of the Academy for Eating Disorders. Responders should remain on the drug...

Detective work may be needed to spot eating disorders: clinical pearls.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
September 1, 2003... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- Patients with anorexia nervosa or bulimia often attempt to hide their disorder, Dr. Chelsea L. Chesen said at a psychopharmacology conference sponsored by the University of Arizona. She offered the following list of factors...

Try CBT, drugs for disorder: hypochondriasis. (cognitive-behavioral therapy).(Psychosomatic Medicine)
September 1, 2003... PHOENIX, ARIZ. -- A meta-analysis incorporating 12 treatment studies indicates that antidepressants and cognitive-behavioral therapy both work well in the treatment of hypochondriasis. Treatment with other forms of psychotherapy showed...

Psychiatric care can ease burden of medical illness: coping with stress, depression.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
September 1, 2003... San Francisco -- Integrating psychiatric care with other medical treatments can go a long way toward helping patients deal with the physical, mental, and emotional stressors of illness--and can even improve prognosis and survival, Dr. David...

Study links submissive interpersonal style with more severe IBS symptoms: broad range of problems studied. (irritable bowel syndrome).(Psychosomatic Medicine)
September 1, 2003... Orlando, Fla. -- Identification of irritable bowel syndrome patients with certain interpersonal problems could help clinicians target those at higher risk of more severe disease, according to a presentation at the annual Digestive Disease Week....

Anxiety may hurt sleep quality in women with IBS: undetectable by polysomnography. (irritable bowel syndrome).(Psychosomatic Medicine)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Orlando, Fla. -- Women with irritable bowel syndrome reported poor Sleep quality, but polysomnography did not detect differences in sleep macrostructure compared to controls. The presence of depressive or anxiety symptoms might partly explain...

Allostatic load measures stress, strain of living: may predict individual health outcomes.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
September 1, 2003... ASPEN, COLO. -- The concept of allostatic load is generating a broader view of stress and its rote in expression of physical as well as mental disease. It has long been appreciated that acute stressors and major life events create...

Diet, exercise must accompany RX for obesity: Atkins diet gains new credibility. (drug treatment).(Across Specialities)
September 1, 2003... DENVER -- Weight-loss medications should never be prescribed for obese patients without also enrolling them in a program with behavioral modification and a dietary intervention, Dr. Samuel Klein said at an international conference of the...

Antipsychotic-induced metabolic syndrome proves costly: clinical, economic impact.(Across Specialties)
September 1, 2003... NEW YORK -- Antipsychotic-induced diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome exert a significant clinical and economic impact, Gilbert J. L'Italien, Sc.D., reported at a symposium sponsored by the Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Foundation. ...

Ample supplies sparkling rise in steroid abuse: missed by drug testing.(Across Specialties)
September 1, 2003... SAN DIEGO -- Abuse of anabolic steroids and other performance and physique-enhancing drugs is on the rise in America, driven by a prolific offshore Internet network supplying androgens in veterinary medicines; over-the-counter testosterone...

Anemia tied to physical decline in the elderly: independent lifestyles at risk.(Across Specialties)
September 1, 2003... Anemia appears to significantly increase the likelihood that older people will experience a physical decline that erodes their ability to live independently. The risk of physical, decline is almost as high for those with borderline anemia,...

New erectile dysfunction drug passes QT test: changes in heart rates.(Across Specialties)
September 1, 2003... SILVER SPRING, MD. -- New drugs for benign prostatic hypertrophy and erectile dysfunction are closer to becoming available in the United States, now that a Food and Drug Administration expert panel has agreed that the QT-interval prolongation...

Coronary risk factors in midlife predict future erectile dysfunction: argument for life style change.(Across Specialties)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- If men with an unfavorable coronary disease risk factor profile can't be persuaded to embrace lifestyle modification to reduce cardiovascular risk, perhaps they will do so to prevent future erectile dysfunction. Coronary...

HPV vaccine may prevent infection in women: international phase III trials. (human papillomavirus).(Across Specialties)
September 1, 2003... OTTAWA -- A tetravalent human papillomavirus vaccine now in international phase III trials is expected to prevent up to 70% of invasive cervical cancers, Dr. Laura A. Koutsky said at a congress of the International Society for Sexually...

Studies confirm ill effects of combination HRT: heart diseases, breast cancer risks. (hormone replacement therapy).(Across Specialties)
September 1, 2003... For anyone who held out some hope that the Women's Health Initiative would show that combination hormone replacement therapy isn't so bad in certain subgroups of women, that hope is fading fast. Results from two recent studies in the New...

Rising liability premiums tied to losses on claims: primary contributor.(Practice Trend)
September 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Losses on malpractice claims may be driving up medical liability premiums. Multiple factors have contributed to the increases in medical malpractice premium rates, such as falling insurer investment income, a less competitive...

Higher physician supply found in states that mandate caps on malpractice damage awards: none economic awards.(Practice Trends)
September 1, 2003... The physician supply is 12% higher in states that impose limits on noneconomic damages than in those without caps, a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality said. In 2000, states with caps on average had 135 physicians per...