Internal Medicine News articles from July 2001

Internal Medicine News archives from July 2001

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Pandemic.
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- A pandemic of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease may exist in the United States. During 1988-1994, 24% of U.S. adults aged 17 or older had findings consistent with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), Dr. Jeanne M. Clark...

Angiotensin II Inhibitors Offer Renal Protection.(for people with type 2 diabetes)
July 1, 2001... In people with type 2 diabetes, benefits were independent of blood pressure. SAN FRANCISCO -- Angiotensin II inhibitors protect against kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes, results of three multinational, randomized, controlled...

Low-Dose HRT Good for Hot Flashes, Bone Density.(hormone replacement therapy)
July 1, 2001... Estrogen at 0.3 mg/day is adequate. WASHINGTON -- Low-dose hormone replacement therapy is as effective as conventional HRT in decreasing both the number and severity of hot flashes and in raising bone density, speakers said in separate...

Top 10 Drugs in Year 2000 Retail Sales.
July 1, 2001... Top 10 Drugs in Year 2000 Retail Sales * 2000 Avg. Annual % 2000 Sales Price per % Change Change in (In Billions) Prescription In Price Utilization Prilosec ...

Oral Contraceptives Fail to Prevent Bone Loss in Anorexic Adolescents.
July 1, 2001... TORONTO -- Oral contraceptives do little to prevent bone loss in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa, based on the results of a recent study. Among 50 adolescent girls with low bone mineral density and anorexia, there were no...

Halve the HRT Dose of Women With End-Stage Renal Disease.(hormone replacement therapy)
July 1, 2001... ORLANDO, FLA. -- The usual dose of hormone-replacement therapy should be cut in half when given to women with end-stage renal disease because women with severely impaired kidney function have much slower estrogen clearance, compared with those...

Colorectal Cancer Survival Rates Did Not Improve During 1989-1997.
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- Survival rates from colorectal cancer still hover where they did more than a decade ago, Dr. Linda Rabeneck reported at the annual Digestive Disease Week. In an analysis of 108,057 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer...

Unexplained Ear, Nose, and Throat Symptoms May Benefit From GERD Therapy.(gastroesophageal reflux disease)
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- Hoarseness, chronic cough, throat clearing, and sore throat are increasingly recognized as being associated with gastroesophageal reflux. So, the obvious question is: If you treat the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), will...

Sigmoidoscopy Doesn't Up MI Risk.
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- Concerns that screening flexible sigmoidoscopy puts people at a higher than general risk of cardiovascular events were effectively laid to rest in two studies at the annual Digestive Disease Week. The theory is that flexible...

FDA Panel Says ALLHAT Findings On Doxazosin Should Be Issued.(Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial finds that doxazosin therapy has higher risk of congestive heart failure and stroke in hypertensive patients)
July 1, 2001... BETHESDA, MD. -- The conclusions from an interim analysis of data on doxazosin from the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial should be communicated to physicians, according to the Food and Drug...

Hypertension Control Improved Cognitive Function.
July 1, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO -- Rigorous control of blood pressure in 66 patients with mild to moderate hypertension and cognitive impairment improved cognitive function in a prospective, randomized trial, Dr. Edwin J. Jacobson reported in a poster...

Doxazosin Effective Add-On Drug in Hypertension With BPH.(benign prostatic hypertrophy)
July 1, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO -- The [alpha]-adrenergic receptor blocker doxazosin lowered blood pressures in men with poorly controlled hypertension and symptomatic benign prostatic hypertrophy, Dr. Robert M. Guthrie said in a poster presentation at the...

Oncologists Drowning in a Sea of Paperwork.
July 1, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO -- Dealing with documentation requirements is the number one concern of oncologists, who ranked the problem above loss of income and coping with patients' death and dying in the results of a survey initiated by the American...

McCarthyism in Medicine.(ferver of combating health care fraud is taking its toll on patient care)
July 1, 2001... When Janet Reno was attorney general, she declared health care fraud to be public enemy number two, right behind murder but ahead of drug abuse. Three hundred new Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were hired to combat and rectify these...

LETTERS.(A Genuine Disaster)(Restructuring Patient Choice)(Change in Lipid Focus Confusing)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2001... A Genuine Disaster Dr. Paul G. Rochmis suggested in a letter to the editor that insurance companies train simulated patients who could serve as spies and thus ferret out "physicians who were practicing substandard medical care or coding...

About 20% of Adults Have Pituitary Tumors.
July 1, 2001... SAN ANTONIO -- One in five adults has a pituitary tumor, according to a metaanalysis of nine carefully designed autopsy and radiographic studies. "About one-third of these [tumors] may result in pituitary excess syndromes," with symptoms...

Tumor Size, Prolactin Levels Guide Decision to Treat Prolactinoma.
July 1, 2001... SAN ANTONIO -- Not every prolactinoma requires therapy Dr. Gary S. Wand said at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. "Ten to 15 years ago it was hard to get people to use [dopamine agonist] drugs in...

Long-Term Survival Benefits of Early Diagnosis, Treatment of Acromegaly.
July 1, 2001... SAN ANTONIO -- Surgery remains the quickest, most effective route to curing acromegaly but a number of medical approaches are available or on the horizon for the 40%-60% of patients with residual disease after surgery. Dr. Laurence...

Tamoxifen Not for Receptor-Negative Breast Ca.(estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer)
July 1, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO -- Tamoxifen should not be used for the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer when the tumor is estrogen-receptor negative, Dr. Sandra M. Swain said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Numerous...

Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Survival Has Risen to 44%.
July 1, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO -- The survival rate for epithelial ovarian cancer has risen dramatically over the past decade, and 5-year survival may now be about 44%, according to a Swedish population study. The study found that 2-year survival for...

Chemotherapy Goals Often Aren't Imparted to Patients.
July 1, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO -- Physicians and their patients are more likely than not to disagree about the goals and the benefits of chemotherapy, demonstrating possible shortcomings in the in formed-consent process, Dr. Geetha N. Varma reported at the...

Results of BRCA Gene Testing Often Affects Choice of Therapy.(for breast cancer)
July 1, 2001... DANA POINT, CALIF. -- A positive test for BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations frequently alters the initial treatment decisions of breast cancer patients, many of whom subsequently elect to undergo bilateral mastectomy, Dr. Claudine Isaacs reported at the...

THE EFFECTIVE PHYSICIAN: Peripheral Arterial Disease.
July 1, 2001... Background Peripheral arterial disease confers significant morbidity and risk for cardiovascular mortality. The Sixth American College of Chest Physicians Consensus Conference on Antithrombotic Therapy recently published guidelines for...

Occasional Antihistamines Safe in Pregnancy.
July 1, 2001... Antihistamines comprise a large, fairly diverse group of compounds that are so prevalent that many women are probably exposed to these drugs at some point during pregnancy according to Mr. Gerald G. Briggs, clinical professor of pharmacology at...

Drug Update: Insulin and Insulin Analogues.(analysis of types of insulin therapy)
July 1, 2001... Insulin is necessary for treating type 1 diabetes and is often the best choice for patients with type 2 diabetes and women with gestational diabetes. New insulin analogues are now available that allow fine-tuning of glucose control. ...

Finger Length Ratio May Predict Early MI Risk.(comparison of the length of the index finger with the length of the ring finger may help predict heart attack risk)
July 1, 2001... DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA -- Identification of individuals at risk for early MI may be as close as your fingertips--or more precisely, your patients' fingertips. A high ratio of the length of the index finger to the length of the ring finger is...

Insights Overturn Picture of Acute Aortic Dissection.
July 1, 2001... ORLANDO, FLA. -- New data from the largest-ever prospective study of acute aortic dissection are punching a plethora of holes in traditional thinking about this highly lethal disorder. Physicians have long been taught that the classic...

High WBC Flags Rapid Atherosclerotic Progression.(white blood cell)
July 1, 2001... ORLANDO -- An increased white blood cell count in patients with known coronary artery disease predicts rapid angiographic progression of their coronary atherosclerosis, according to Dr. Emmanouil G. Zouridakis of St. George's Hospital Medical...

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy.(may cause poor outcomes in future pregnancies)
July 1, 2001... Women who develop peripartum cardiomyopathy are likely to have poor outcomes in subsequent pregnancies, even if left ventricular function returned to normal after the disorder resolved, according to Dr. Uri Elkayam and associates at the...

Treat Anemia in Service CHF.(congestive heart failure)
July 1, 2001... Correcting even mild anemia in patients with severe congestive heart failure that is not responding to maximal treatment improves, their cardiac function and reduces hospitalization, according to Dr. Donald S. Silverberg and his associates at...

Insulin for CCB Overdose.(calcium channel blocker)
July 1, 2001... Insulin infusion therapy to induce hyper-insulinemia was safe and effective in two cases of life-threatening overdose of calcium channel blockers, according to Dr. Edward Boyer and Dr. Michael Shannon of Children's Hospital, Boston. ...

Aortic Valve Replacement.
July 1, 2001... Patients who have undergone aortic valve replacement using pulmonary autografts report a better quality of life than those with mechanical prostheses, reported Dr. Axel Notzold and his associates at the Medical University of Lubeck (Germany)....

Serial-Dose Infliximab Controls Crohn's Disease.(Remicade)
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- Infliximab, an anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody, was effective at maintaining remission in patients with Crohn's disease over a 30-week period when multiple doses of the drug were used. In addition, 31%-37% of the patients who...

Standard-Dose Etanercept Not Effective In Crohn's Disease.
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- Not all anti-tumor necrosis factor treatments help patients with Crohn's disease. While an anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody, infliximab, had been effective for a substantial fraction of patients with Crohn's disease, another...

Pregnancy and Infliximab: Preliminary Results Indicate No Miscarriage Risk.
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- Information is emerging about the effect of infliximab in pregnancy, and the initial results indicate no higher risk of miscarriage or birth defects, Dr. Jeffry A. Katz said at the annual Digestive Disease Week. This is the...

Negative Endoscopy Still Helps Dyspeptic Patients.
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- A negative endoscopy is not a worthless endoscopy. Patients who undergo endoscopy for dyspepsia that is unresponsive to empiric therapy are satisfied, even if their endoscopy fails to find the source of their discomfort, Dr....

Chemoradiation Urged After Gastric Ca Surgery.(cancer)
July 1, 2001... NEW YORK - Postoperative chemoradiation should become routine therapy for high-risk patients who undergo curative surgery for gastric cancer, the lead investigator of a new large-scale study of the therapy said at an international gastric...

Severe Ulcerative Colitis.
July 1, 2001... Intravenous cyclosporine can be used safely and effectively as monotherapy for patients who have severe attacks of ulcerative colitis, reported Dr. Geert D'Haens and associates of the University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium. ...

Bleeding Gastric Varices.
July 1, 2001... Bleeding gastric varices can be controlled more effectively and safely using endoscopic obturation with cyanoacrylate glue than using band ligation, according to Dr. Gin-Ho Lo and associates at the National Yang-Ming University in Taipei,...

Gastric Lymphoma Remission.(through eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection)
July 1, 2001... Eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection resulted in complete remission of high-grade B-cell gastric lymphoma in seven of eight patients, reported Dr. Andrea Morgner of the Technical University of Dresden (Germany) and her associates. ...

Proximal Colon Adenomas.
July 1, 2001... Adenomas are mare likely to recur in the proximal colon, so surveillance should focus there, reported Dr. Maria Elena Martinez of the University of Arizona, Tucson, and her associates. Analysis of adenoma recurrences in 1,287 participants...

C-Reactive Protein Guide's Antibiotics for URIs.(upper respiratory infection)
July 1, 2001... DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA -- C-reactive protein measurement is useful for early identification of the subset of patients who develop bacterial superinfection following an upper respiratory infection of viral origin, Dr. Manfred Maier reported at...

Teens Want Advice on HIV Counseling, Testing.
July 1, 2001... SAN DIEGO -- Offering HIV counseling and testing to teens makes a difference. Results from the first study of its kind in adolescents suggest that 35% of teens undergo HIV testing because their physician suggested it, Dr. Ligia Peralta...

Therapy's Role Disputed in HIV Lipid Disorders.(antiretroviral therapy may have side effects)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO -- The causes of lipodystrophy, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia in HIV-infected people continue to be undefined, and there are even more questions about whether they are reversible, Dr. Steven Grinspoon said at a conference on...

Drug-Resistant Salmonella.(fluoroquinolone-resistant outbreak in Oregon)
July 1, 2001... The first outbreak of fluoroquinolone-resistant salmonella in the United States occurred between 1996 and 2000 at two nursing homes and a hospital in Oregon Isolates of fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Schwarzengrund...

Nematode Infection in Mouth.(Gongylonema)
July 1, 2001... A Massachusetts woman became infected with the nematode Gongylonema, a parasite that is usually contracted by eating an infected insect, such as a roach or a beetle. The woman presented with a 0.2-mm filamentous, submucosal mass that...

MI Due to HIV-Related Arteritis.
July 1, 2001... A fatal myocardial infarction in a 32-year-old man with HIV infection was likely due to acute coronary arteritis. The man was admitted with an anterior Q-wave infarction and evidence of congestive heart failure. One week before his...

Contaminated Epoetin Alfa.(as dialysis center causes bloodstream infections and pyrogenic reactions)
July 1, 2001... Contamination of epoetin alfa with Serratia liquefaciens at an outpatient dialysis center resulted in 10 bloodstream infections and 6 pyrogenic reactions in a single month, reported Dr. Lisa A. Grohskopf of the Centers for Disease Control and...

Epinephrine Auto-Injectors.(EpiPen 2-Pak from Dey Laboratories Inc.)
July 1, 2001... EpiPen 2-Pak epinephrine auto-injectors with trainer is a new prescription option for the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis in patients with severe allergies. The pack contains either EpiPen or EpiPen Jr, and an EpiPen trainer, which is a...

Oral Contraceptive.(Yasmin from Berlex Laboratories Inc.)
July 1, 2001... Yasmin (drospirenone 3 mg, ethinyl estradiol 0.030 mg) tablets are now indicated for contraception. A low-dose, monophasic oral contraceptive, Yasmin is the first contraceptive to contain the progestin, drospirenone, according to Berlex...

Pocket Spirometer.(Sensaire from QRS Diagnostic)(www.qrsdiagnostic.com)
July 1, 2001... Sensaire is a full-function pocket spirometer that weighs less than 13 ounces and can fit in a lab-coat pocket. It comes with a base station and accessories to print reports directly or through a personal computer; it runs on two rechargeable...

Snakebite Remedy.(CroFab antivenin from Savage Laboratories)(www.savagelabs.com)
July 1, 2001... CroFab (crotalidae polyvalent immune fab-ovine) is available for treating minimal or moderate bites from venomous North American snakes. It works by binding and neutralizing venom toxins, facilitating their redistribution away from target...

Acute Migraine Treatment.(Axert from the Pharmacia Corp.)
July 1, 2001... Axert (almotriptan malate tablets) is now indicated for the treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults. The drug is available in two doses, 12.5 mg and 6.25 mg, and is not intended for prophylactic use. For more information, contact...

Drug Packaging, Delivery.(Safedose medication packaging and delivery system)(Safedose.com)
July 1, 2001... Safedose is a medication packaging and delivery system that ships prescription drugs directly from its pharmacy to consumers. The Safedose pharmacy provides users with individually packaged daily dosages of all prescriptions marked with the day...

Radiation and Skin Care.(Alra personal care products for care of radiation therapy exposed skin from Nuclear Associates)(www.nucl.com)
July 1, 2001... Alra personal care products are specifically developed for treating skin exposed to radiation therapy. The radiation therapy lotion provides relief from acute radiation dermatitis, the deodorant contains oil of cypress and lichen extract to...

Oral Chemo for Colorectal Ca.(Xeloda (capecitabine) for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer)
July 1, 2001... Xeloda (capecitabine) oral chemotherapy is now available for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. It is indicated as first-line treatment when fluoropyrimidine therapy alone is preferred. Xeloda is given twice daily for 2 weeks,...

Skin Refrigerant.(Fluro-Ethyl topical skin refrigerant from the Gebauer Co.)(www.gebauerco.com)
July 1, 2001... Fluro-Ethyl is a topical skin refrigerant that cools and numbs skin and controls pain. The topical anesthetic is available in an aerosol spray can and can be used immediately before injections or minor surgical procedures. Contact the Gebauer...

Noninvasive Thermometer.(TemporalScanner from the Exergen Corp.)(www.exergen.com)
July 1, 2001... TemporalScanner can record body temperature when lightly stroked across a patient's forehead. The scanner detects heat emitted from the skin's surface and automatically accounts for the effects of ambient temperature on the skin. Ergonomically...

Tradeoff System Expedites Wait for Kidney Transplants.(willing donor who is a friend or relative of person awaiting transplant give that person preferential treatment)
July 1, 2001... WASHINGTON - A novel program at New England Medical Center in Boston is drawing ethical, and legal scrutiny as possibly introducing, a new form of preferential treatment into the organ donor system. When a friend or relative of a person on...

MAINE DRUG PROGRAM APPROVED.(allows consumers to buy drugs at below-market prices)
July 1, 2001... A state-run prescription drug program in Maine that lets consumers buy drugs at below-market prices was upheld by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Ron Pollack, executive director of the consumer group Families USA, predicts that...

ROE V. WADE CHALLENGED.(Norma McCorvey ("Jane Roe") and Sandra Cano ("Mary Doe") file friend-of-the-court briefs in a class action that would allow women to file wrongful death suits against abortion services)
July 1, 2001... Two women who were the plaintiffs in the landmark Supreme Court decision establishing the right to legal abortion recently filed friend-of-the-court briefs in a federal class action lawsuit that would allow women to file wrongful death suits...

PRIORITIZING THE FLU SHOT.
July 1, 2001... There is no system to ensure that high-risk patients get priority access to flu shots when the vaccine supply is short; the General Accounting Office reports. Elderly people receive flu shots more often at physicians' offices than at locations...

DRUG COVERAGE COSTS HIGHEST FOR SENIORS.
July 1, 2001... Prescription drug coverage for seniors comes at a much heftier price than coverage for people younger than age 65, a study released by pharmacy benefit manager. Express Scripts concludes. Dr. Emily Cox, the lead investigator, says that in 1998,...

ANESTHESIA RULE DELAYED.(regulation of the administration of anesthesia by nurses)
July 1, 2001... A Medicare regulation that addresses the, administration of anesthesia by nurses has been delayed for 180 days to give the Department of Health and Human Services more rime to gather and review additional comments. The rule would permit a state...

EASING THE TENSION.(new guidelines from the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association hopes to ease tension between physicians and health plans)
July 1, 2001... Health plans should involve representatives of their physician networks in clinical decision-making processes, a new set of guidelines from the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association says. Developed to help address tensions between physicians and...

Smoking Policies Hazy at Academic Centers.
July 1, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO -- Many academic medical centers maintain hazy policies with regard to smoking, according to a survey released at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society. Fifty-one academic medical centers across the...

Long Live Oscar.(life expectancy found to be longer for Oscar winners)
July 1, 2001... The results are in: Academy Award-winning actors have big advantages in life. Researchers studied 235 Oscar winners and 1,414 controls (Oscar nominees or age and sex-matched actors who starred in the same films as winners but were not...

Athletic Supporters.(costumed entertainers portraying sports mascots suffer heat exhaustion; injuries)
July 1, 2001... Pity those mascots at sports events--and with good reason. The furry, feathery or otherwise heavily attired entertainers have a high. risk for heat illness and injuries, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions researchers found, Among 48' mascots...

Dog Days.(National Library of Medicine has exhibit chronicles the dog, "Balto's," heroic run that rushed diphtheria toxin to Nome, Akaska, in 1925)
July 1, 2001... The National Library of Medicine's exhibit, "The Once and Future Web: Worlds Woven by the Telegraph and the Internet" starts on a low-tech note. Encased in glass at the entrance is the stuffed body of Balto, the lead dog of a sled team that...

Filthy Lucre.(infection can be transmitted through the exchange of paper money)
July 1, 2001... Washing your hands can protect against infection--but don't put your money on it. Bacteria may spread: from person to person through: the exchange of paper currency, researchers said at an American Society for Microbiology meeting in Orlando,...

Ourlittlemunchkin.com.(Parents of babies born at Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City, Calif., can register a domain name for their newborns through Namezero.com Inc.)
July 1, 2001... Babies in high-tech Silicon Valley can get a free Web page at birth. Parents of babies born at Seqaoia Hospital, Redwood City, Calif., can register a domain name for their newborns and use it to build a home page and route e-mail. "It's a fun...

Expect Flu Vaccine Delays This Fall.
July 15, 2001... ATLANTA -- Distribution of the influenza vaccine will likely be delayed again this fall, but the delay should not be as problematic as it was last year, Dr. Dennis O'Mara said at a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's...

AMA Delegates Cheer Pledge of Regulatory Relief.(for physicians)(American Medical Association conference)
July 15, 2001... HHS Secretary Thompson asks for physician solutions to cut hassle factors. CHICAGO -- A promise from the Bush administration to communicate with physicians on reducing regulatory burdens kicked off the 100th anniversary meeting of the...

Protein C Reduces Sepsis Mortality by 19% in Trial.
July 15, 2001... Treated within 24 hours after onset. SAN FRANCISCO -- Recombinant human activated protein C infusions reduced by 19% the risk of death due to severe sepsis in patients treated within the first 24 hours after disease onset, it was announced...

A Nation of 'Cyberchondriacs'?(survey of hyperchondria exhibited by Internet users)
July 15, 2001... A Nation of 'Cyberchondriacs'? July June June March 1998 1999 2000 2001 Percent of all adults online 38 46 56 63 Percent of online adults who ever looked...

Aventis-Pasteur Stops Shipping Td Vaccine to Physician's Offices.(tetanus-diphtheria)
July 15, 2001... ATLANTA -- The nation's only manufacturer of tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine has temporarily halted shipments to physicians' offices to maintain sufficient supplies for critical needs during the shortage. That announcement came from Phil...

MVAC Regimen, Cystectomy Add Life in Bladder Ca.(methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin for the treatment of metastatic bladder cancer)
July 15, 2001... SAN FRANCISCO -- A four-drug chemotherapy regimen and cystectomy increased by 35% the survival of patients with locally advanced bladder cancer, compared with cystectomy alone. Median survival time was 43 months in patients who underwent...

Parkinson's Guidelines Advise Dopamine Agonist.
July 15, 2001... New guidelines for the management of Parkinson's disease emphasize proper diagnosis, neuroprotection strategies, and use of a dopamine agonist as first-line therapy in early disease. The guideline authors also address newly recognized...

Glomerular Filtration Rate Is Used to Redefine Kidney Disease.
July 15, 2001... ORLANDO, FLA. -- The catch phrase "know your number" may soon apply to more than blood pressure and serum cholesterol. Based on an effort being launched by the National Kidney Foundation, it will also apply to glomerular filtration rate...

RECERTIFICATION.(American Board of Internal Medicine recertification process)
July 15, 2001... Kirn, Timothy F. Delegates tabled resolutions that would have taken a stand on the American Board of Internal Medicine's recertification process, scheduled to go into full effect in 2004. The House considered three resolutions that would...

CONSUMER ADVERTISING.(American Medical Association plans to require the phrase "your physician may recommend other appropriate treatments" to be included in all direct-to-consumer advertising)
July 15, 2001... Kirn, Timothy F. The AMA will seek to require the phrase "your physician may recommend other appropriate treatments" included in all direct-to-consumer advertising. Many members, including representatives of the American College of...

BLOOD PRODUCTS.(availability of both leukoreduced and nonleukoreduced blood products to remain available)
July 15, 2001... The AMA will work to insure that both leukoreduced and nonleukoreduced blood products continue to be available. The FDA's Blood Products Advisory Committee supports the use of universal leukoreduction and currently the plan of the Red Cross is...

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE.(from nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock)
July 15, 2001... The AMA opposes the use of antibiotics in livestock and will press the federal government to ban their nontherapeutic use, the House of Delegates said. The action noted that 80% of all antibiotics used by farmers--16 million pounds...

MEDICAL CANNABIS.(American Medical Association revises policy on medical marijuana)
July 15, 2001... The AMA revised its policy on medical marijuana but stopped short of endorsing compassionate use. The new policy calls for more study and says physicians should be able to discuss medical marijuana use with patients without the threat of...