Family Practice News articles from April 2004

Family Practice News archives from April 2004

Opinions mixed on AOM guidelines: 'nontreatment' option a concern.(acute otitis media)
April 1, 2004... Some child health experts are questioning the reliability of evidence behind at least one recommendation that is part of long-awaited guidelines released last month that outline diagnostic and treatment standards for acute otitis media. ...

Technology, new model key to future of family medicine: financing still being developed: slight increase in U.S. seniors matching to family medicine seen as hopeful.(Future of Family Medicine project)
April 1, 2004... The future of family medicine is here, and it's about standardization, according to several people involved in the specialty's Future of Family Medicine project. The project's final report, released late last month, outlines a "new model"...

After coronary event, push LDL far below 100 mg/dL: the PROVE IT-TIMI 22 trial: send patients home on high-dose statins.(Low density lipoproteins)
April 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Aggressively lowering LDL cholesterol far below the currently recommended 100 mg/dL starting right after an acute coronary event further cuts the risk of death or major cardiac events, according to the findings of a landmark...

FDA flexes its regulatory muscle to eradicate andro: manufacturers targeted.(News)(androstenedione)
April 1, 2004... The Food and Drug Administration has begun a crackdown on companies that manufacture, market, and distribute products containing androstenedione, commonly known as "andro." The first step the FDA took was to send warning letters to 23...

Imiquimod gets the nod for actinic keratosis: FDA approval.(News)
April 1, 2004... Food and Drug Administration approval of imiquimod for the treatment of actinic keratosis gives physicians a new topical tool for fighting these precancerous skin lesions. The FDA last month approved the immune-response modifier for the...

Computer models underestimate breast ca risk: commonly used tools.(News)
April 1, 2004... LOS ANGELES -- Mathematical models commonly used to predict a woman's risk of developing breast cancer profoundly underestimated that risk in a British study of 3,170 subjects tracked for 5 years for evidence of cancer after a baseline...

HT not tied to endometrial ca recurrence: results qualified.(News)(Hormone therapy )
April 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Hormone therapy was not associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence in women who had undergone surgery for endometrial cancer, according to the lead investigator of the largest study ever to examine the effects of...

FDA moves to minimize mad cow disease risks: tracking, testing.(News)
April 1, 2004... SILVER SPRING, MD. -- Tracking infected cows, banning cattle feed made from cow parts, and testing cows are three of the Food and Drug Administration's actions in response to the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as "mad cow...

Experts preparing for West Nile virus, 2004 edition: risk factors, early diagnosis.(News)
April 1, 2004... ATLANTA -- As public health authorities brace for the possibility of another epidemic of West Nile virus this summer, researchers are racing to piece together the clinical, pathologic, and epidemiologic puzzles that the virus presents. ...

Low preschool dairy intake linked to later weight gain: parents: get milk (or yogurt or cheese).(News)
April 1, 2004... FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Low dairy intake during the preschool years strongly predicted increased body fat over the next 8 years in a study of 99 children, Dr. Lynn Moore said at the annual meeting of the North American Association for the...

Counsel parents to stop smoking.(Guest Editorial)
April 1, 2004... Each day, those of us who care for the health needs of children see two who will die 10-20 years prematurely because of tobacco use. Yet when they visit us in our offices for otitis media, a well child exam, or an immunization, their futures...

Are tax credits the best way to cover the uninsured?(Pro & Con)
April 1, 2004... YES Providing health insurance to the swelling ranks of the uninsured has become one of America's most pressing health care issues. As physicians, we know that when our patients don't have insurance, their health is in jeopardy. In...

Medicine losing doctors.(Letters)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... Long after their friends graduate from college and begin their lives, physicians are just beginning their training. During residency, it is not unusual to work 80-100 hours a week. In private practice, most physicians still work 80-hour...

Consistent message needed.(Letters)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... I read with interest what Dr. John B. Winfield, a rheumatologist, thinks about the management of fibromyalgia patients ("Be Honest About Fibromyalgia," Guest Editorial, Jan. 15, 2004, p. 12). I think it is reasonable for primary care...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2004... The article, "Uninsured Are a Top Priority for Election Year," (Feb. 1, 2004, p. 1), should have said that under federal law, physicians may charge Medicare patients less than the amount allowed by the Medicare fee schedule, but they cannot...

Isotretinoin risk management.(Guest Editorial)
April 1, 2004... In late February, two advisory panels to the Food and Drug Administration voted to adopt a more restrictive risk management program for the four available forms of isotretinoin based on a program proposed by Accutane manufacturer...

New drug class shown to reverse metabolic syndrome: aids weight loss, smoking cessation.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... New ORLEANS -- A single drug helped patients lose weight, quit smoking, cut inches from their waistline, and corrected their metabolic syndrome. And it had a fairly benign adverse effect profile. It might sound too good to be true, but...

HIV: patients more likely to die of other causes: fewer AIDS deaths.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- People with HIV are less likely to die of AIDS since the introduction of better AIDS medications in 1996, which means they are more likely to die of other causes. Three studies hacked this truism with results presented in...

Just like the rest of the population, HIV patients are getting fat: wasting no longer applies.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- As people with HIV live longer on modern antiretroviral therapies, they're becoming more and more like the general U.S. population--fat. Although wasting still affects some patients, the image of skin-and-bones bodies that...

Special bone care not needed in HIV: osteoporosis, osteopenia.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Osteoporosis and osteopenia are common in HIV-positive patients and should be treated no differently than in the rest of the population, Dr. Joan C. Lo said at a meeting on HIV management sponsored by the University of...

More cardiovascular events with HIV therapy: direct drug effects unclear.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Three studies provided additional evidence of an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in HIV-positive patients on combination antiretroviral regimens but left unclear whether the drugs have any direct effect on...

Traditional hypertension risk factors at play in HIV patients: antiretrovirals not a risk factor.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Rising blood pressures or hypertension was associated with traditional risk factors--male sex, older age, and a higher body mass index--but not with the use of antiretroviral drugs in a study of 16,002 patients with HIV, Dr....

Statin model helps negate hyperlipidemia in HIV: culprit: protease inhibitors.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Pravastatin modestly reduced elevated lipoprotein levels in patients being treated for HIV with protease inhibitors in the first double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the statin in these patients, Dr. James M. Sosman said...

'8 glasses of water a day' no longer the mantra: let thirst be the guide.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Most healthy individuals can maintain adequate hydration by letting thirst be their guide, an Institute of Medicine panel concluded in a report that rejects the conventional wisdom that people need to drink eight glasses of water...

Sinus headache complaints may actually be migraine: more than 3,000 patients studied.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- Patients who think they have a sinus headache may actually be suffering from a migraine, Dr. Roger K. Cady said at a meeting sponsored by the Diamond Headache Clinic. Migraine presentations can vary in real-life...

Sinusitis almost never presents as headache alone: look for other causes.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- A patient may complain of a "sinus" headache, but if the headache is that person's only or major symptom, the cause is almost never sinusitis, Dr. Howard L. Levine said at a meeting sponsored by the Diamond Headache...

Daily tension-type headaches pose a therapeutic challenge: migraine often present.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- Daily tension-type headaches are difficult to treat, so it's important to diagnose them correctly and identify any comorbidities, Dr. Robert Kaniecki said at a meeting sponsored by the Diamond Headache Clinic. By...

Prophylaxis may spare patients migraine misery: give drugs time to work.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- Patients on a good prophylactic regimen may be spared many of the disabling consequences of migraine attacks, Dr. Thomas N. Ward said at a meeting sponsored by the Diamond Headache Clinic. They may experience fewer...

Little evidence for serotonin syndrome exists: anecdotal reports.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- The fear that combining migraine medication with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can increase the risk of serotonin syndrome may be overstated, Dr. Stewart J. Tepper said at a meeting sponsored by the Diamond...

Treatment of fistulizing Crohn's.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Crohn's disease patients with draining fistulas who respond to short-term infliximab can maintain their response with continued use of infliximab, reported Dr. Bruce E. Sands of Harvard Medical School, Boston, and his associates. The 195...

Inflammation and CV risk.(Clinical Capsules)(cardiovascular)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Patients with chronic kidney disease show marked inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and platelet activation, even when their renal impairment is mild or moderate, reported Martin J. Landray, Ph.D., of the University of Oxford (England) and...

HIV: partnership and prognosis.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A stable partnership was associated with slower disease progression in a recent study of HIV patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy. A total of 3,736 adults with HIV who began receiving HAART prior to 2002 were involved in...

Vitamin E and pneumonia.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Vitamin E and [beta]-carotene supplementation, which has been shown to affect immune function, did not reduce overall pneumonia risk in a recent study of smokers but may have had some effect in those who started smoking at a later age. In...

Agent Orange, polyneuropathy.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Vietnam-era veterans who were exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange are more than twice as likely to develop peripheral polyneuropathy than are age- and sex-matched controls, Dr. Mian Li reported at the annual meeting of the American...

USPSTF cool to subclinical thyroid dysfunction screen: insufficient evidence.(Clinical Rounds)(United States. Preventive Services Task Force )
April 1, 2004... The quality of evidence for or against screening for thyroid disease in asymptomatic adults is not sufficient to determine the balance of benefits and harms that result from screening, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announced. The...

Improved therapies available for Graves' ophthalmopathy: follow-up of adjunctive IV steroids.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... PALM BEACH, FLA. -- Patients with moderate Graves' ophthalmopathy treated with glucocorticoids fared better after total thyroid ablation than after near-total thyroidectomy or methimazole treatment, according to preliminary study results. ...

Antibody status can predict recurrence of differentiated thyroid cancer: cancer staging.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... PALM BEACH, FLA. -- The presence of thyroid antibodies at thyroidectomy strongly predicts long-term persistence or recurrence of differentiated thyroid cancer and should be included in surgical staging, according to a presentation at the annual...

M. officinalis and S. officinalis for Alzheimer's.(Alternative medicine: an evidence-based approach)(Melissa)(Salvia)
April 1, 2004... * Extracts of MELISSA OFFICINALIS and SALVIA OFFICINALIS have long been considered in traditional medicine to have memory- and cognition-enhancing properties. * The results of two small clinical trials suggest potential benefits from these...

Vitamin combo may ward off Alzheimer's: population-based study.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... Combined use of vitamin C and E supplements appears to help protect the brain from development of Alzheimer's disease, researchers report. "Our findings are promising," said lead investigator Peter P. Zandi, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins...

High DHA intake linked to less dementia development: fish oil fatty acid.(Clinical Rounds)(docosahexaenoic acid)
April 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- People who ate an average of 180 mg or more a day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid found in fish oil, had about 40% less Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, compared with people who consumed less DHA, according...

Sacral nerve may hold key to constipation Tx: stimulation procedure.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Constipated patients who have not benefited from conservative therapy may obtain relief from sacral nerve stimulation, Dr. Richard Cohen said at a symposium on colorectal disease sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic...

Chronic constipation may call for colectomy in some patients: improves bowel movements, not symptoms.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Some patients with severe, chronic constipation may benefit from colectomy once they have exhausted conservative therapies. But these patients must be selected carefully to ensure that they are likely to have...

Word power: handouts may spur interest in prostate screen: patients with low health literacy.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Use of a simple patient-education tool in populations with low health literacy may help promote patient-physician discussions about prostate cancer screening. Little research has been done to examine how to best promote such...

Brothers unlikely to share prostate ca knowledge: failure to get screened.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Even when they have a brother diagnosed with prostate cancer, most men acknowledge that they know little about the disease and do not undergo screening that could save their lives, according to a study conducted at the University of...

Opioids offer chronic pain relief at expense of testosterone: permanent damage possible.(Clinical Rounds)
April 1, 2004... PHILADELPHIA -- Men with chronic nonmalignant pain who take long-acting opioids are subject to decreased sexual function and depressed mood, Dr. Harry Daniell reported at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. "Long-acting opioids...

New asthma drug: no HPA suppression: women on hormones excluded.(Clinical Rounds)(hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis)
April 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- The investigational asthma drug ciclesonide does not suppress hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function, unlike traditional inhaled corticosteroids, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the American College of...

Optimal dosing necessary to optimize proton pump inhibitor treatment: nocturnal acid reflux-induced asthma.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- More than half the physicians using proton pump inhibitors to treat acid reflux-induced asthma aren't using the optimal dosing regimen for nighttime incidents. Although 78% of physicians surveyed treat nocturnal cases of acid...

Annals.org Reader, Presenter-to-Go.(Digital Assistance)
April 1, 2004... Featured App: Annals.org Reader Document readers for Palm and Pocket PC handheld computers come in all shapes and sizes. Fundamental differences between these applications include file format compatibility (such as Palm or Word, Adobe PDF)...

Ovarian cancer test stumbles on road to approval: no release date set.(Women's Health)(OvaCheck)
April 1, 2004... Expanded validity testing has delayed the release of OvaCheck, a new ovarian cancer screening test, and a government inquiry may complicate its journey to market. The blood test, which identifies a specific pattern of metabolites...

COX-2 inhibitors may protect against ovarian ca: small study.(Women's Health)(Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors may offer chemoprotection against ovarian cancer by decreasing serum, and possibly follicular, levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, according to results of a small pilot study. "This is a...

Detecting early ovarian ca: know your options: evaluate risk factors.(Women's Health)
April 1, 2004... UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIF. -- The most effective thing a physician can do to detect ovarian cancer is to perform regular rectovaginal examinations on his or her patients, according to Dr. David A. Fishman, director of the National Ovarian Cancer...

Dismissals shake up president's bioethics council: stem cells at issue.(Women's Health)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... President Bush has reshuffled his Council on Bioethics, dismissing two members and adding three new ones. The departing members are Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D., a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San...

New ovarian ca diagnostic paradigm on horizon: revolutionizing early detection.(Women's Health)
April 1, 2004... UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIF. -- No single test will revolutionize the diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer, but success may come in the form of a multipronged detection paradigm being developed by the National Ovarian Cancer Early Detection...

Refined techniques brighten ovarian cancer detection hopes: blood test 100% accurate.(Women's Health)
April 1, 2004... UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIF. -- Researchers who reported in 2002 that they could identify ovarian cancer by viewing serum protein patterns with a mass spectrometer now say that with advanced techniques, the test is 100% accurate. "A blood test...

Breast ca survival has risen steadily for 20 years: new drugs, techniques.(Women's Health)
April 1, 2004... SAN ANTONIO -- Overall survival in metastatic breast cancer patients markedly improved during a recent 20-year period, Dr. Tobias Lekberg said at a breast cancer symposium sponsored by the Cancer Therapy and Research Center. He credited...

Calcium--an emerging element in weight management: mounting evidence.(Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition)
April 1, 2004... Did you know that calcium may be important for weight management as well as for bone health? Researchers are drawing this conclusion as a growing number of studies show a relationship between calcium intake and body weight. Calcium's...

Breast reconstruction growing in popularity: microsurgical technique.(Women's Health)
April 1, 2004... SAN ANTONIO -- The perforator flap technique offers major advantages over other more popular methods of breast reconstruction following mastectomy, Dr. Robert J. Allen asserted at a breast cancer symposium sponsored by the Cancer Therapy and...

Adiponectin in pregnancy.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Low plasma adiponectin in early pregnancy is associated with development of gestational diabetes, Dr. Surab Vadachkoria reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. In a nested case-control study of 41 pregnant...

Less-invasive breast cancer Tx.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation offers patients the prospect of a less invasive alternative to surgical resection of small breast cancers, according to presentations at a breast cancer symposium sponsored by the San Antonio Cancer...

Pregnancy and fatigue.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Many women with chronic fatigue syndrome fear that pregnancy will worsen their condition, but symptoms improved or remained unchanged during pregnancy in 71% of women answering a questionnaire. The study involved 86 women with chronic...

Not living the dream.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Americans average more than 7 days a month of inadequate sleep, Daniel P. Chapman, Ph.D., reported at the American Psychiatric Association's Institute on Psychiatric Services. Lack of sleep was more closely associated with depression than...

Cover four bases when checking for patients' migraine comorbidities: requires coordination of care.(Women's Health)
April 1, 2004... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- Women with migraines often have comorbid conditions that require coordination of care in order to address what may be intertwined problems, Dr. Lisa K. Mannix said at a meeting sponsored by the Diamond Headache Clinic....

Age of 55 or older confers a 1:5 lifetime risk of stroke: risk is 1:6 in men.(Women's Health)
April 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Women aged 55 and older have a 1 in 5 chance of developing a stroke during their lifetimes, while the risk among men in the same age group stands at 1 in 6, Dr. Sudha Seshadri reported at the 29th International Stroke Conference....

Less social support reported for female heart transplant candidates: men smoked and drank more.(Women's Health)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Women who are selected for a heart transplant may be less likely than men to receive social support to help them cope with the stress of the procedure, Dr. Curley Bonds reported at the annual meeting of the Academy of Psychosomatic...

Neoangiogenesis revealed as missing piece of melanoma outcome puzzle: treatment implications.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Neoangiogenesis is emerging as an important histologic predictor of survival in patients with melanoma, Dr. Robert J. Friedman said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Increasing evidence suggests...

Foot melanoma: do some sole searching: think 'sandal generation'.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Think of aging baby boomers as "the sandal generation," and remember to check their feet for primary melanomas, Dr. Hubert T. Greenway said at a melanoma update sponsored by the Scripps Clinic. A cluster of eight cases of...

Scleroderma research makes some headway: prostacyclins, relaxin under study.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Scleroderma research is making headway, but consistently good results are hard to come by, Dr. Stephen Katz said at a meeting of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology. "In scleroderma, more so than most other diseases, the...

Breast ca radiation dermatitis: a time for topicals: avoid metal-containing agents.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Emollients and hydrogels are effective for treating radiation dermatitis in patients with breast cancer--as long as these topicals don't delay or interfere with radiation therapy, Dr. Sharon R. Hymes said at the annual meeting of...

Clearance rates vary with actinic keratosis topicals: cancer precursor.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Management of actinic keratosis is a multipronged effort, Dr. Roger I. Ceilley said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Both actinic keratosis (AK) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are on the rise...

0.5% fluorouracil before cryosurgery boosts actinic keratosis prognosis: topical therapy.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Treatment of actinic keratosis lesions with 0.5% fluorouracil followed by cryosurgery was more effective than cryosurgery alone in a controlled study. This is the first randomized, controlled study that evaluates the...

Address mental distress in skin disease patients: more than skin deep.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Primary care physicians rarely recommend psychosocial interventions to patients who present with skin manifestations of mental distress, Stephen R. Rapp, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychocutaneous...

Urea, ciclopirox combo tested for nail fungus: boosting drug entry into nails.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Combination treatment of onychomycosis using two topical treatments--40% urea gel and 8% ciclopirox lacquer--resulted in 100% mycologic cure in a pilot study with 18 patients, This is the first study to assess the efficacy of...

Pregnancy-related conditions can recur with OCs, menses: 'murky and confusing area'.(Focus on Skin Disorders)(oral contraceptives)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Women who had either pemphigoid gestationis or cholestasis of pregnancy should be counseled that later oral contraceptive use may trigger a disease flare-up, Dr. Thelda M. Kestenbaum said at the annual meeting of the American...

Laser effective for saphenous reflux Tx: 2-year follow-up.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Endovenous laser therapy is highly effective in treating reflux in the greater saphenous vein, and the procedure has several advantages over surgical ligation, Dr. Robert J. Min said at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society...

Derm diagnosis.(Focus on Skin Disorders)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A 61-year-old white male presented with a 2-week history of worsening erythema and edema of the lower left leg. Physical examination revealed a nontender, deeply erythematous plaque that was partially blanchable and warm to touch. He had been...

Corrective cosmetics can make a difference: boosting quality of life.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Severe facial pigmentary disorders have a substantial effect on health-related quality of life in women, but corrective cosmetics can boost quality of life, making this a valuable treatment option to offer patients with...

Researchers seek to quantify prevalence of piercings, tattoos: are tattoos, piercings mainstream?(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- A survey underway could provide the first prevalence data on body piercing in the United States, as well as an update on tattoo prevalence, Dr. Anne Laumann and Dr. Amy Farmer said during a joint presentation at the annual meeting...

Insights into treating the itch in atopic dermatitis: future therapies will target 'cross talk'.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Antipruritic therapy in patients with atopic dermatitis should combine peripherally acting anti-inflammatories, immunomodulating agents, moisturizers, and centrally-acting inhibitors, Dr. Gil Yosipovitch said at the annual meeting...

Genetic testing can lead to better treatment: flags at-risk family members.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Trying to narrow down a diagnosis for an uncertain skin condition? Genetic testing can be quite helpful under the right circumstances, Dr. Kenneth Rosenbaum said at a meeting of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology. "With...

Watch for distress in young skin disease patients: chronic diseases leave emotional scars.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Physicians may be the last to know whether a child's chronic skin disorder is leaving her with emotional impairment. Physicians scored far behind parents and the patients themselves in predicting which children with chronic...

Pimecrolimus, tacrolimus both effective for atopic dermatitis: children with AD.(Focus on Skin Disorders)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Pimecrolimus cream had better local tolerability than tacrolimus ointment among 125 children with moderate atopic dermatitis, but efficacy and safety were not significantly different, Dr. Michael Jarratt reported in a poster at...

Ask teens about substance use: doctor's advice can cut drug use.(Children's Health)
April 1, 2004... MIAMI BEACH -- A doctor's advice against using drugs is associated with decreased use in adolescents according to some data, so it's better to ask about drug use in some way than not to ask at all, Dr. Lorena Siqueira said at a pediatric update...

Girls beat boys to alcohol, cigarette use: reverses the trend.(Children's Health)
April 1, 2004... 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...

Atomoxetine improved ADHD, didn't worsen tics: comorbid ADHD, Tourette's syndrome.(Children's Health)(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
April 1, 2004... MIAMI -- Atomoxetine improved symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and did not worsen tics in a study of comorbid children and adolescents presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent...