Internal Medicine News articles from February 2004

Internal Medicine News archives from February 2004

Policy effort puts focus on uninsured: primary care legislative goal.
February 1, 2004... Insuring the uninsured remains at the top of the policy agenda for primary care groups in 2004. The three main primary care organizations are determined to maximize their lobbying power on Capitol Hill to promote their individual plans for...

Would your patients buy drugs at a substantially lower price from a foreign country?(Vital Signs)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
February 1, 2004... Would Your Patients Buy Drugs at a Substantially Lower Price From a Foreign Country? Yes No Not Sure September 2003 48% 26% 26% November 2002 40% 29% 31% Note: Based on an online, nationwide...

Breast cancer risk linked to early dietary fat intake: nurses' health study data: high consumption of vegetable fat in adolescence may reduce risk later in life.(News)
February 1, 2004... SAN ANTONIO -- Dietary fat consumption during adolescence--but not in midlife--may be an important modifiable risk factor for breast cancer, according to Dr. Walter C. Willett. Three separate analyses of data from the Nurses" Health Study...

Panel emphasizes value of total knee replacement: effective, safe for most patients: "myths' may limit primary care referrals.(News)
February 1, 2004... Primary care physicians care for most patients eligible for total knee replacement, yet many are not fully informed about the procedure's efficacy and safety, according to some members of an expert panel convened by the National Institutes of...

Update on lifestyle modification for prevention of breast cancer: a 30%-40% reduction feasible.(News)
February 1, 2004... SAN ANTONIO -- American women aren't going to be able to lower their breast cancer risk to the extent they'd like solely through dietary changes and other lifestyle measures, according to Dr. Walter C. Willett. "It's pretty clear that...

Help for uninsured to be Congressional priority in 2004: medical savings accounts also on agenda.(News)
February 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- What will Congress" health policy priority be in 2004? Two words: The uninsured. "The increasing number of people without health coverage truly represents one of the most daunting policy challenges facing our nation,"...

Mental health system needs 'radical change': Kennedy legacy 40 years later.(News)
February 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Federal officials should tie mental health funding to outcomes and should give states more flexibility in implementing programs, experts said at a briefing on severe mental illness sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute....

Coordination of mental health care key to better outcomes: communication between providers.(News)
February 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Coordination of care between primary care physicians and mental health providers is documented in close to one-third of cases and results in better outcomes, Dr. Gail L. Daumit said at an international conference sponsored by the...

Ask about SUI.(Guest Editorial)(stress urinary incontinence)
February 1, 2004... In my experience, the recognition of stress urinary incontinence--the most common form of incontinence in women--is poor in the primary care setting, regardless of the patient's age. More than 50% of affected women will not voluntarily...

Is tort reform the most important legislative issue for physicians?(Talk Back Online)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
February 1, 2004... Is tort reform the most important legislative issue for physicians? Yes 67% No 33% To Talk Back, visit www.einternalmedicinenews.com Note: Table made from pie chart.

VA as performance model.(Guest Editorial)
February 1, 2004... 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...

Pain relievers.(Opinion)
February 1, 2004... "I'm referring you to a doctor who will be able to pronounce your condition."

Is echocardiographic evaluation for diastolic dysfunction worth the trouble?(Pro & Con)
February 1, 2004... YES Congestive heart failure constitutes an enormous health problem affecting up to 3% of the world's population. Roughly 4.5 million Americans have CHF, and there are half a million new cases per year. And the problem is only going to get...

FDA issues plan to ban sale of ephedra products: linked to deaths.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... The Food and Drug Administration has announced plans to ban the sale of all dietary supplements containing ephedra, marking the first time the agency has moved to ban a dietary supplement. The agency issued a consumer alert advising the public...

Psychotherapy often required to conquer obesity: behavior modification often insufficient.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Psychotherapy often is the key component of a successful weight-loss program, Gwendolyn Pla, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American College of Nutrition. Behavior modification is a widely used tool in...

IOM recommends change in nutrition labeling: push to include trans fatty acids.(Clinical Rounds)(Institute of Medicine)
February 1, 2004... Outdated information on nutrition labels should give way to figures based on new nutrient reference values and should include information on trans fatty acids, according to a report by the Institute of Medicine. The report, published in...

High-fish diet may reduce macular degeneration risk by 36%: may stem from systemic disease.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- Follow-up data from a large randomized study of dietary supplementation appears to show that eating fish more than once a week is associated with a 36% decreased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, Dr. Emily...

Unilateral brain stimulation quells Parkinson's: may reduce surgical risk.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Unilateral deep-brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus provides satisfactory results for many patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, Dr. Jean-Michel Gracies reported at the annual meeting of the American Neurological...

Parkinson's not associated with cognitive decline: declining motor function.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- A 3-year study showed remarkably stable cognitive and affective functioning in patients with Parkinson's disease, although their motor functions continued to decline even with best medical management, Bryan A. Bernard, Ph.D....

Screen for migraines with just three questions: two simple tools can be used.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Clinicians now have at least two simple, three-question screening tools for migraine headaches. One screening survey, given to 3,014 patients with migraine headaches, had an overall sensitivity of 77% for diagnosing...

History is key to migraine-related dizziness dx: few guidelines available.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Suspect migraine as the possible cause of dizziness when episodes of dizziness are associated with migraine headache more than 50% of the time, Dr. John G. Oas advised at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache...

Change in headache could signal brain tumor: neurologic red flags.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Red flag characteristics can help in the diagnosis of brain tumor in patients with headache, Dr. R. Allan Purdy said at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache Society. Headache is the most common general symptom...

Misdiagnosis common in subarachnoid hemorrhage: presentation can be baffling.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- About 25%-40% of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage initially receive an incorrect diagnosis, Dr. David W. Dodick said at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache Society. The chief problem is the...

Modular headache theory may account for atypical symptoms, improve classification: patient-specific phenotypes.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Modular headache theory may improve the classification of headache symptoms and account for seemingly inexplicable symptom combinations, Dr. William B. Young said at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache Society....

To neuroimage or not to neuroimage: identifying secondary headache.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- When a patient's headache symptoms fall outside of the standard criteria for neuroimaging, physicians must grapple with issues of cost and evidence-based medicine in deciding whether imaging is warranted, Richard...

Pain management still a sore spot among providers: objective assessment needed.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- More than half of 950 health care workers incorrectly answered at least 11 of 24 questions about pain management, regardless of their level of medical training, Dr. Claudia Fegan said at the annual meeting of the American...

Patient education eases stress of chronic pain: targeted home-study materials.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... ATLANTA -- Patients with chronic pain benefit from receiving targeted self-study materials as a component of behavioral therapy for living with their condition, Dr. David M. Dush, Ph.D., of Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, reported....

Inappropriate Rx for neuropathic pain common: among elderly.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Elderly patients with a neuropathic disorder are much more likely to be prescribed an inappropriate pain medication than previously believed, said Dr. Bill McCarberg at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Family...

Guidelines address Rx for neuropathic pain: aim to simplify management.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... Chronic neuropathic pain is common and often debilitating, but new evidence-based guidelines promise to simplify the management of this type of pain by offering specific treatment recommendations. Chronic neuropathic pain--caused by lesions...

Exposure to Agent Orange may double risk of peripheral neuropathy: study of Vietnam-era veterans.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- 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...

ABCLabData, PDA Styli.(Digital Assistance)(personal digital assistants)
February 1, 2004... Featured App: ABCLabData ABCLabData is an expansive laboratory test reference program for Palm OS and Pocket PC handheld computers. Originally published (in hard copy) by Dr. Seymour Bakerman in 1983, the ABC's of Interpretive Laboratory...

Simple interventions reduce costs of delirium: hospitalized patients.(Clinical Rounds)(dexmedetomidine)
February 1, 2004... WAIKOLOA, HAWAII -- The impact of delirium on hospitalized patients is profound, yet it often goes unrecognized, underdiagnosed, and incorrectly treated, even in a major university hospital, Stanford University researchers discovered in a trio...

Sexual dysfunction common in women on antidepressants: least likely with bupropion.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... MIAMI BEACH -- Antidepressant treatment is associated with a very high incidence of sexual dysfunction in women who do not exhibit global sexual dysfunction, Dr. Anita Clayton reported in a poster session at the annual meeting of the North...

BP: 144/92 LDL-C: 154: good enough? Or good enough to increase the odds of an MI in the next ten years?
February 1, 2004... The data are clear: concurrently, even mild-to-moderate elevations of blood pressure and cholesterol can mean an increased risk of cardiovascular events. (1-3) Studies such as the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT), an...

Women smokers more likely to develop lung cancer: annual CT detects early cancers.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Women who smoke are twice as likely to develop lung cancer from tobacco as their male counterparts, according to results from the 10-year Early Lung Cancer Action Project. A total of 77 lung cancers were diagnosed in baseline...

Use five A's in smoking cessation counseling with your patients: brief interventions.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SEATTLE -- Follow the "five As" to help patients stop smoking: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange, Dr. Richard C. Pasternak said. "Nurses are more familiar with these than are physicians," he noted at a meeting on modifying coronary...

Elite athletes not alone in anabolic steroid abuse: missed by drug testing.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Abuse of anabolic steroids and other performance- and physique-enhancing drugs is on the rise, driven by an offshore Internet network supplying androgens in veterinary medicines, over-the-counter testosterone derivatives, and...

Look for skin signs of steroid use in athletes: patients rarely admit use.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... LAS VEGAS -- If an athlete presents with a sudden breakout of comedones, sebaceous cysts, or cystic acne, think about abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids as the potential culprit, Dr. Michael J. Scott III advised at the annual meeting of the...

Preventive mastectomy leaves mark on sexuality: breasts 'didn't feel like my own'.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SAN ANTONIO -- Long-term satisfaction with the decision to undergo bilateral prophylactic mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction is often diminished by unanticipated changes in body image and the sexual relationship, Paula J.C....

MRI finds more roles in breast cancer care: an additional screen for women at risk.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SAN ANTONIO -- One of the most promising emerging indications for breast MRI is in staging the contralateral breast in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, according to Dr. Bruce L. Daniel. Three preliminary studies involving a total of...

Radiologists test new technologies in effort to improve specificity of breast MRI: false positives still problematic.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SAN ANTONIO -- Recent technologic advances in breast MRI will likely overcome what until now has been the imaging procedure's Achilles' heel, namely, its limited specificity, Dr. Bruce L. Daniel said at a breast cancer symposium sponsored by...

Modest activity protects against breast cancer: late-life start still protective.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... Even moderate physical activity can reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer and, together with appropriate dietary changes, can help women achieve and maintain long-term weight loss, two studies suggest. With respect to the protective role...

Reducing pap test frequency may be a hard sell: focus group interviews.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... Physicians could be hard-pressed to convince their female patients that some don't need an annual Pap smear, a study has shown. In a series of eight focus groups meant to gauge women's perceptions about risk-based cervical cancer screening,...

Short-term antioxidants reduce endometriosis pain, inflammation: high-dose vitamins E and C.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... SAN ANTONIO -- Two months of high-dose vitamin E and C therapy were associated with significant reductions in endometriosis pain and inflammatory markers in a study of 59 women. "We didn't really expect that patients would actually report...

Prospective study shows prevalence of autoimmune thyroiditis is increased threefold in women with PCOS: higher estrogen/progesterone ratio.(Clinical Rounds)(polycystic ovary syndrome)
February 1, 2004... PALM BEACH, FLA. -- There is a high prevalence of autoimmune thyroiditis in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, according to a prospective study that was presented at the annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association. The study...

Botox may ease chronic pelvic pain: pilot study.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... LAS VEGAS -- Promising results from a pilot study may lead to a role for botulinum toxin in relieving certain kinds of chronic pelvic pain, Sherin Jarvis said at the annual meeting of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists. ...

How to test symptomatic patients for allergies: can be effective in primary care.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Allergy testing can help primary care physicians distinguish between allergic and nonallergic rhinitis, aid in the selection of medications, direct avoidance strategies, identify patients who need additional testing, and convince...

Start with H1 receptor antagonists when treating urticaria: one dermatologist's view.(Clinical Rounds)(Histamine antagonists)
February 1, 2004... LAS VEGAS -- Nonsedating H1 receptor antagonists should be frontline therapy in treating chronic idiopathic urticaria, Dr. Eugene Conte said at the annual meeting of the Pacific Dermatologic Association. As for which works best, "that's...

Dying patients need tailored mental health care: teasing out common mental illnesses.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Mental disorders can be difficult to diagnose in terminal patients, but the right diagnosis and treatment can make all the difference to these patients, Dr. Steve Taylor said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

End-of-life care demands openness and compassion: expert advice.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- When the 43-year-old man checked into the hospital with severe stomach pain, 2 months later it wasn't his doctor who told him and his family that he was dying. It was a palliative care consultant they had not met before. ...

Dying patients can guide you in pain management: reassess pain often.(Clinical Rounds)
February 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- It's important to understand the types of pain that terminal patients experience and what treatments work best for each, Dr. John p. McNulty said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Chronic...

Fish consumption may curb progression of CAD: postmenopausal patients.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(coronary artery disease)
February 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Fish consumption, especially of tuna and other dark-meat fish, is associated with significantly decreased angiographic progression of coronary artery disease in postmenopausal women, Arja T. Erkkila, Ph.D., reported at the...

Dean Ornish's lifestyle modification program racks up big CV reductions: community-based study.(Cadiovascular Medicine)(cardiovascular)
February 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- The Ornish program of cardiovascular risk reduction through aggressive lifestyle modification has now been shown to translate well from any thing-goes California to the hills of West Virginia and I cornfields of Nebraska. ...

Does LDL-lowering diet work in the real world? Vegetarian menu.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Low density lipoproteins)
February 1, 2004... NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Early data from a "real-world" study of a vegetarian diet rich in plant sterols suggest that the results may be less striking than those from an initial study. The diet reduced LDL cholesterol levels in hyperlipidemic...

Prevention earlier in life saves medicare money: updated findings from landmark study.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
February 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Individuals who enter middle age free of the traditional cardiovascular risk factors ultimately cost the Medicare system substantially less money, even though they live longer than those having risk factors in middle age, Kiang...

Exercise training better than stenting in trial: stable CAD.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(coronary artery disease )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Two years into a unique clinical trial in which patients with stable coronary artery disease were randomized to percutaneous stenting or a daily exercise program, those in the exercise arm continue to do significantly better,...

Fitness early lowers risk of heart disease later: fifteen-year study.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
February 1, 2004... Regular activity to improve fitness over the long term probably has a bigger effect on metabolic-related cardiovascular risk factors than it does on cholesterol or blood pressure, according to a longitudinal study that followed its subjects for...

Literature doesn't show [beta]-blocker and depression link: metaanalysis.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
February 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Though the belief is still widespread, [beta]-blockers do not appear to cause depression, Dr. Lawson R. Wulsin said at the annual meeting of the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry. Concern about depression contributed to a...

Cardiac arrest survival up due to public defibrillators: used by trained community volunteers.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
February 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Training community volunteers to use an automatic external defibrillator roughly doubles survival following sudden cardiac arrest in public venues, Dr. Joseph P. Ornato reported at the annual scientific sessions of the American...

Devices, strategies on horizon to cut sudden cardiac deaths: 'smarter,' less-invasive methods.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
February 1, 2004... SANTA FE, N.M. -- Emergency defibrillators that can assess cardiac waves, two-person cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and umbrella-like devices for administering direct heart massage are among the advances that may one day avert the number of...

AEDs using biphasic shocks may achieve greater success: compared with monophasic shocks.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(automatic external defibrillators)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... VIENNA -- Juicing up automatic external defibrillators by using biphasic instead of traditional monophasic waveforms boosts the success rate, Dr. Anouk van Alem said at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology. This could...

Management of supraventricular arrhythmias.(The Effective Physician)
February 1, 2004... Background The treatment of supraventricular cardiac arrhythmias in clinical practice has evolved in the past decade. Guidelines were recently developed and published by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and...

ICDS shown to help in nonischemic disease: first primary prevention trial.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Implantable cardioverter defibrillator)
February 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy may be extended to a whole new patient population as a result of the first-ever large primary prevention trial using the devices in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, Dr. Alan...

Tracer reveals ischemia up to 30 hours later: induced by exercise stress test.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
February 1, 2004... INDIANAPOLIS -- In the near future, nuclear cardiologists may be able to detect ischemia in patients as much as a day after the exercise stress test that induced the ischemic event, according to late-breaking research presented at the annual...

Bone marrow cells appear to boost post-MI heart function: controlled study of 60 patients.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(myocardial infarction)
February 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Transplanting autologous bone marrow cells into the coronary arteries of patients following a myocardial infarction was safe and boosted left ventricular function in a controlled study with 60 patients. This is the first...

Calcium mass called best for risk assessment: international consortium weighs in.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
February 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- An international consortium of radiologists, researchers, and manufacturers has moved to adopt calcium mass as the standard method of coronary artery calcium assessment. The group has been working for 4 years to develop a single...

Blacks with chronic kidney disease face CV risks: more adverse events than whites.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(cardiovascular)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- The risk of death and adverse cardiovascular outcomes is more pronounced among African Americans with chronic kidney disease than among their white counterparts, Dr. Daniel E. Weiner reported in a poster session at the annual...

Respiratory physiotherapy.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Respiratory physiotherapy is routinely performed to head off potential pulmonary complications after cardiac surgery. But a review of 18 clinical trials involving 1,457 patients showed no benefit with this treatment, reported physiotherapist...

Troponin levels in pericarditis.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Cardiac troponin I levels, which are often elevated in patients who have either viral or idiopathic pericarditis, cannot be used as a prognostic marker in these conditions as they are in acute coronary syndromes, reported Dr. Massimo Imazio of...

Aspirin plus ACE inhibitors.(Clinical Capsules)(Angiotensin converting enzyme)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Taking aspirin in addition to ACE inhibitors did not impair survival in a study of patients who had stable congestive heart failure with left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Small doses of aspirin (less than 200 mg/day) therefore can be...

Better arterial compliance.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Adding atorvastatin to amlodipine further improves arterial compliance in hypertensive hyperlipidemic patients, reported Dr. Eyal Leibovitz of Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel, and associates. In an open-label study of 4 men and 17...

Hospital utilization of DNRs varies widely for ischemic stroke patients: data from California.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(do-not-resuscitate )
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Hospital use of do-not-resuscitate orders varied widely in a study of all patients treated for ischemic stroke during a 2-year period in California, Dr. S. Claiborne Johnston reported at the annual meeting of the American...

Stroke outcome after acute MI better than appreciated: new data from the optimaal trial.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
February 1, 2004... VIENNA -- Stroke is common during the first month following acute MI complicated by left ventricular systolic dysfunction or heart failure--but the outcome is much better than generally appreciated, Dr. John G.F. Cleland said at the annual...

TIAs linked to stroke, MI risks: population study.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(transient ischemic attack)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- The risk of having a stroke, having a myocardial infarction, or dying is greater than one in five in the year after a transient ischemic attack, Dr. Michael D. Hill reported at the annual meeting of the American Neurological...

MRI helpful in evaluating plaque.(Carotid Arteries)(magnetic resonance imaging)
February 1, 2004... TORONTO -- High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging is potentially a better way to assess carotid plaque than is conventional carotid arteriography or ultrasound, Dr. Kenneth R. Maravilla said at the annual meeting of the International...

STDs a major problem that falls through cracks: public knowledge is limited.(Infectious Diseases)(Sexually transmitted diseases)
February 1, 2004... COLUMBUS, OHIO -- Examinations and discussions of sexually transmitted diseases too often fall by the wayside in the doctor's office, even though STDs continue to be a major health problem in the United States, Dr. Ted Rosen said at the annual...

Investigational assays for STDs shown to be highly accurate: self-collected vaginal swabs.(Infectious Diseases)(Sexually transmitted diseases)
February 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Investigational assays for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae via self-collected vaginal swabs are just as accurate as nucleic acid amplification tests already approved by the Food and Drug Administration...

Condom use low, even among herpes patients: national survey.(Infectious Diseases)
February 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- A new national survey shows condom use among sexually active adults is notably low, even among those with known genital herpes or other sexually transmitted diseases. Clearly, the public has not heeded the message put forth by...

High anal HPV prevalence in gay men of all ages: unusual infection pattern.(Infectious Diseases)(human papillo-mavirus)
February 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Anal human papillo-mavirus infection is present in a high proportion of HIV-negative gay men in all age groups, Dr. Peter V. Chin-Hong reported at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy This...

MRSA may be an STD problem in homosexual men: preliminary finding.(Infectious Diseases)(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)(sexually transmitted disease)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection may be a sexually transmitted disease among urban men who have sex with men, Chris J. Jimmerson reported at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial...

HIV dynamics may help explain lack of cure: is complete eradication impossible?(Infectious Diseases)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Despite the availability of drugs that greatly decrease the viral burden in patients infected with HIV, it's important to remember that "we haven't cured anyone with this infection yet," Dr. Warner Greene said at a meeting on...

Smoking linked to avascular necrosis in HIV+ patients: also albuterol use.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Smoking may be a risk factor for development of avascular necrosis in HIV-infected patients, Dr. Christina Seed said at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. A second factor linked to...

Revised guidelines streamline HIV/AIDS regimens: prepared by federally appointed panel.(Infectious Disease)
February 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Newly revised guidelines on treating adults and adolescents with HIV and AIDS provide suggestions for regimens that are more definitive than ever before, Dr. Paul Volberding said at a meeting on HIV management sponsored by the...

HIV medication shown safe, effective in phase III trial: enfuvirtide.(Infectious Diseases)
February 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- Enfuvirtide works well against HIV in patients in combination with optimized background antiretroviral regimens and is safe and cost effective, according to new research findings. At the annual Interscience Conference on...