Internal Medicine News articles from March 2005

Internal Medicine News archives from March 2005

Device may reduce liver biopsy rate.(News)
March 1, 2005... A new device for noninvasively measuring liver fibrosis could decrease the number of liver biopsies performed on patients with chronic hepatitis C. especially when used with other noninvasive tests. The device, called FibroScan, might bring...

Internists worked more than 36 clinical hours per week in 2003.(VITAL SIGNS)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
March 1, 2005... Internists Worked More Than 36 Clinical Hours per Week in 2003 Mean Hours per Week General Pediatrics (n = 1,548) 47.22 General Surgery (n = 717) 46.56 Internal Medicine: Hospitalist (n = 525) 36.68...

Evidence finally links dietary fat, sodium to stroke: public health guidelines may change.(News)
March 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- For the first time, physicians have evidence independently linking high dietary levels of fat and sodium to an increased risk of ischemic stroke, based on findings from an epidemiologic study in New York. Experts who heard...

IM recertification to gain link to NCQA recognition.(News)(National Committee for Quality Assurance)
March 1, 2005... Starting this summer, internists seeking maintenance of certification in diabetes care can apply for a new feather in their caps: recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Any American Board of Internal Medicine...

Health advisory issued for nevirapine.(News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health advisory to alert physicians to label changes for nevirapine (Viramune), addressing an increased risk of liver toxicity in certain women. The Indications and Usage section of the...

Cochrane review favors vaginal hysterectomy: report cites evidence of shorter hospital stays, faster recovery.(News)
March 1, 2005... Vaginal rather than abdominal hysterectomy should be performed "whenever technically feasible" to reduce complications and to speed hospital discharge and patients' return to normal activities, according to a new review of randomized controlled...

Guidelines for nonoccupational HIV prophylaxis: high-risk exposures may involve unprotected sex, condom breakage or slippage, or injection drug use.(News)
March 1, 2005... For the first time, the federal government has issued guidelines on attempting to avoid HIV infection after accidental exposure to the virus outside of the health care workplace. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-issued...

Researchers still puzzled about U.S. monkeypox outbreak.(News)
March 1, 2005... MIAMI BEACH -- Investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are still perplexed as to why a monkeypox outbreak in the United States was less virulent than a simultaneous outbreak in Africa. But genetic differences in the pox...

Collaborating to serve.(GUEST EDITORIAL)
March 1, 2005... Cultural rhetoric paints doctors and lawyers as natural enemies. In reality, both share a fundamental mission: to use specialized knowledge of systems (legal and medical) to help people in the course of their lives. Efforts to join the two...

Is spinal fusion surgery overused in the United States?(PRO & CON)
March 1, 2005... YES Spinal fusion surgery is undoubtedly effective for some conditions, such as fractures, spinal tumors, and spondylolisthesis. But its efficacy for the most common indications, such as degenerative disk disease, remains unclear. High...

COX-2 inhibitors.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... I am dismayed that the leadership in medicine is not participating in discussions to force the drug companies to assist both physicians and patients in interpreting the data on cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors ("COX-2 Inhibitors Continue to Come...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2005... An article that appeared in the Feb. 1 issue ("Depot Drug Looks Safe, Helpful for Endometriosis," p. 60) should have stated that depot medroxyprogesterone acetate-subcutaneous was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in December 2004....

Guidelines urge aggressive diabetes management.(Endocrinology)
March 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Diabetes must be managed with an "uncompromising insistence to treat to target," according to new guidelines issued by the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The...

Diabetes educator can help improve patient outcomes.(Endocrinology)
March 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A "chronic care model" that includes a diabetes educator in the primary care office can ease the burden on the physician and improve patient outcomes, Linda M. Siminerio, Ph.D., said at a consensus conference organized by the...

Sleep loss tied to impaired glucose tolerance.(Endocrinology)
March 1, 2005... RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. -- Healthy young adults who are chronic "short sleepers"--getting an average of about 5 hours of sleep a night--must secrete 30% more insulin than other adults to achieve a normal glucose curve. The finding, which...

Doxazosin helps fight metabolic syndrome.(Endocrinology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Doxazosin improves multiple components of the metabolic syndrome in hypertensive ethnic Asian Indians, F.D. Richard Hobbs, M.D., reported at Wonca 2004, the conference of the World Organization of Family Doctors. This...

Obesity and risk of kidney stones.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Obesity and weight gain may increase the risk of kidney stone formation, especially in women, reported Eric N. Taylor, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. He and his associates prospectively studied three...

Diets and cardiac risk factors.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Four popular diets all appear to reduce body weight and several cardiac risk factors at 1 year, but the benefits are modest, apparently because of low adherence, said Michael L. Dansinger, M.D., of Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston. ...

Protecting bone during dieting.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Even modest weight loss from exercise training is associated with a reduction in bone mineral density (BMD), particularly in women who are not taking raloxifene or hormone therapy (HT), reported Wendolyn S. Gozansky, M.D., of the University of...

Eyeing the next generation of glucose monitors.(Endocrinology)
March 1, 2005... KEYSTONE, COLO. -- Look for next-generation continuous glucose monitoring devices to be more accurate, less obtrusive, and easier for diabetic patients and their families to use, according to H. Peter Chase, M.D. Among the numerous devices...

Islet grafts still face major challenges.(Endocrinology)
March 1, 2005... KEYSTONE, COLO. -- Formidable obstacles continue to prevent pancreatic islet transplantation from having a major impact on type 1 diabetes despite the spectacular technical advances of the past 4 years, Ronald G. Gill, Ph.D., said at a...

Islet transplants reduce fears of hypoglycemia.(Endocrinology)
March 1, 2005... QUEBEC CITY -- Patients with severe, labile, type 1 diabetes experience a significant reduction in anxiety and fear of hypoglycemia after undergoing islet cell transplantation, according to a study of the Clinical Islet Transplant Program, the...

New surgical technique repairs ingrown toenails: the approach preserves the nail by targeting the granulation tissue and reducing the size of the toe.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... FLORENCE, ITALY -- A newly developed alternative to the classic, 150-year-old surgical technique for repairing ingrown toenails may be associated with fewer recurrences and a much-improved aesthetic result, two Swiss dermatologists reported at...

Imaging devices may reduce the need for nail biopsies.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... FLORENCE, ITALY -- High-resolution ultrasound and dermoscopy hold promise for distinguishing benign conditions of the nail from suspicious lesions that require a biopsy, researchers said at the 13th Congress of the European Academy of...

If the shoe doesn't fit, focus on these failures in the foot.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... FLORENCE, ITALY -- If you shove variably shaped human feet into uniformly shaped shoes--some with pointy toes and impossibly narrow widths--the result will be toenail trauma, a common etiology of toenail disorders. Friction of a patient's...

Psoriasis may respond to intermittent etanercept.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... KOHALA COAST, HAWAII -- New data suggest that etanercept can be given intermittently like other psoriasis treatments, according to a poster that Alice B. Gottlieb, M.D., presented at a conference on clinical dermatology sponsored by the Center...

Sentinel node biopsy may aid melanoma survival: for primary cutaneous melanoma, SLN biopsy appeared to be both predictive and therapeutic.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... KEY BISCAYNE, FLA. -- Sentinel lymph node biopsy confers a survival benefit in patients with primary cutaneous melanoma, according to preliminary results of a 5-year study. "We're thrilled to see these data support not only sentinel lymph...

Survival rates after 5 years have improved for invasive melanoma.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Over the next 15 years, 5-year survivors of melanoma have a 91.5% chance of having achieved cure, Duane C. Whitaker, M.D., reported at a melanoma update sponsored by the Scripps Clinic. "Stated another way, all comers with an...

Keep an eye out for ocular and periocular melanoma.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Ocular and periocular melanoma will occur in fewer than 2,900 people in the United States in 2005, Geva Mannor, M.D., said at a melanoma update sponsored by the Scripps Clinic. Despite the rare prevalence of these lesions, it's...

Melanoma in pregnancy: 'prompt biopsy is key'.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Pregnant women who present with changing nevi should not be treated differently from other patients of similar age, Dina R. Massry, M.D., said at a melanoma update sponsored by the Scripps Clinic. "Prompt biopsy is key," said...

Watch for extracutaneous melanoma during routine exams.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- Only 15% of melanomas are extracutaneous, but you can easily miss these lesions if you don't keep them in mind during routine skin exams, Terence O'Grady, M.D., said at a melanoma update sponsored by the Scripps Clinic. The...

Rash often seen with new class of cancer drugs.(Dermatology)
March 1, 2005... One of the hottest new treatment advances in oncology has spawned an unwelcome dermatologic side effect. Signal transduction inhibitors, a new class of cancer drugs targeting solid tumors without the toxic side effects of chemotherapy, are...

Full-body exam may uncover hidden cancers.(Dermatology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... KEY BISCAYNE, FLA. -- A full-body examination is a quick and useful tool to screen patients and uncover benign and cancerous lesions that would otherwise remain undetected, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Noah...

Terbinafine pulse dosing cures onychomycosis.(Dermatology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... FLORENCE, ITALY -- Terbinafine can cure onychomycosis in patients who take the drug for only 1 week every 2-3 months for up to a year, Martin N. Zaias, M.D., reported at 13th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. ...

Desloratadine effective for chronic urticaria.(Dermatology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... VICTORIA, B.C. -- An open-label trial of Canadian patients seen in regular clinics and offices has confirmed that treatment with desloratadine for chronic idiopathic urticaria is highly effective. This finding--that the drug was highly...

Pharmacogenetics may help in smoking cessation.(Psychiatry)
March 1, 2005... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Pharmacogenetics will play a major role in the war on tobacco, Sean P. David, M.D., predicted at Wonca 2004, the conference of the World Organization of Family Doctors. It's already possible in research settings to...

Survey shows 60% of African Americans have never smoked.(Psychiatry)
March 1, 2005... A survey has found mixed results regarding smoking cessation among African Americans, reported Gary King, Ph.D., of Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. In a survey that included 30,660 African Americans and 209,828 whites...

Percent of various age groups who currently smoke.(DATA WATCH)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
March 1, 2005... Percent of Various Age Groups Who Currently Smoke (n = 30,706) 18-24 28.5% 25-44 25.7% 45-64 22.7% [greater than or...

Consider biologic rhythms of sleepy patients.(Psychiatry)
March 1, 2005... ARLINGTON, VA. -- About 40 million Americans are affected by sleep disorders, and more than 100,000 motor vehicle accidents per year are sleep related, Teodor Postolache, M.D., said at the annual conference of the Academy of Organizational and...

Drug use pervasive among gay men.(Psychiatry)
March 1, 2005... ATLANTA -- Substance abuse is pervasive among gay men and is so intricately intertwined with epidemics of depression, partner abuse, and childhood sexual abuse that adequately addressing one issue requires attention to the others as well, said...

Health status blurs depression-mortality link.(Psychiatry)
March 1, 2005... Depressive symptoms are not independent predictors of mortality, according to data from a national sample of 3,617 adults. The findings of previous studies regarding associations between depressive symptoms and mortality have been...

Psychotherapy evaluated in depression care.(Psychiatry)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Psychotherapy alone and combined with pharmacotherapy reduced symptoms of mild to moderate depression, but neither of the two approaches showed a clear advantage over the other, Frans de Jonghe, Ph.D., said, reporting on a study conducted at...

St. John's wort equals paroxetine in new study.(Psychiatry)
March 1, 2005... EXETER, ENGLAND -- A proprietary formulation of St. John's wort was equivalent in efficacy to paroxetine for moderate to severe depression in a prospective, randomized, multicenter study, Stephan Klement, M.D., reported at a symposium on...

Visits, calls may help elderly depression.(Psychiatry)
March 1, 2005... FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Home visits and follow-up telephone calls improved elderly depression in a program that used existing community services for seniors in Seattle, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the Academy of...

Genetic defect may raise depression risk.(Psychiatry)
March 1, 2005... A recently discovered genetic mutation that causes dysfunction in the synthesis of serotonin might explain why some depressed patients are resistant to drug treatment, researchers say. Xiaodong Zhang, M.D., and colleagues at Duke...

EEG database can help guide psychotropic Rx: proprietary system assesses electroencephalogram based on outcomes in more than 12,000 patients.(Psychiatry)(referenced electroencephalogram)
March 1, 2005... Brain waves may be the wave of the future when it comes to prescribing medications for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Using a normative EEG database and an extensive and growing outcomes database that includes more than 12,000...

How adults feel about the cost-benefit ratio of mental health therapy.(DATA WATCH)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... How Adults Feel About the Cost-Benefit Ratio of Mental Health Therapy Costs generally outweigh benefits 43% Usually about right 29% Not sure 16% Benefits generally outweigh costs 11% No...

Chemotherapy can affect cognitive function.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Cancer patients call it "chemobrain"--a soggy mental state that seems to be a frequent side effect of chemotherapy. It is rarely studied and poorly understood, but as the number of cancer survivors grows, the impact of...

Mutation linked to some cases of Parkinson's.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... Screening for a recently identified mutation--shown to cause about 5%-6% of familial and 1%-2% of apparently sporadic cases of Parkinson's disease--is likely to become an important component of genetic testing and counseling for this disease,...

Rivastigmine may delay dementia in Parkinson's.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... The cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine transiently halted cognitive deterioration associated with Parkinson's disease, but fell short of actually modifying the course of either Parkinsonism or related dementia, reported Murat Emre, M.D., of...

Less depression in black caregivers of patients with dementia.(Neurology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Black women caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias are less likely to be depressed than their nonblack counterparts, Betsy Sleath, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy, Chapel...

Coping skills can prevent, relieve headache pain.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Medications have their rightful place in headache treatment, but a strong dose of some key coping and behavioral tools can go a long way toward helping patients manage their own headaches. Alvin E. Lake III, Ph.D., said at...

Variety of drugs available for cluster headache prophylaxis.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- Every cluster headache patient needs to be on a prophylactic drug, Todd D. Rozen, M.D., said at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache Society. "I tell them, 'I'm not happy, and you shouldn't be happy, until you're...

Increase oxygen flow rate if cluster headache patients don't respond initially.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... LAS VEGAS -- The flow rate of oxygen that is routinely prescribed to abort cluster migraine is too low to be effective in many patients. Todd D. Rozen, M.D., said at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache Society. Since the...

Butterbur for migraine prophylaxis.(ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE)
March 1, 2005... History of Use Medicinal properties have been ascribed to the peculiar plant Petasites hybridus, common butterbur, since the first-century Greek physician Dioscurides used its pounded leaves to treat skin ulcers. The leaves can reach a...

Low-dose monophasic OCs are best type for menstrual migraines.(Neurology)(oral contraceptives)
March 1, 2005... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Fluctuating hormones are believed to be the key culprit behind menstrual migraines, so low-dose monophasic oral contraceptives are generally the best alternative to help such patients, Christine Lay, M.D., said at a...

Physiotherapy beats brief CBT for neck pain.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... Standard physiotherapy appears more effective than a brief, hands-off intervention for neck pain, although patient preference for the brief intervention can enhance its effectiveness, according to the findings from a randomized trial. ...

Sciatica improved little with IV corticosteroid.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- A single, intravenous injection of methylprednisolone performed just slightly better than placebo in alleviating pain from acute discogenic sciatica, Axel Finckh, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American College of...

Radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia helpful.(Neurology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- For people who are too old or ill to withstand the rigors of microvascular decompression, the gamma knife is a "reasonable treatment option" for recalcitrant trigeminal neuralgia, Jason Sheehan, M.D., said at the annual meeting...

Expect more lawsuits over pain undertreatment.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... Physicians who used to worry about prescribing too much pain medication now have a new liability problem to worry about: not prescribing enough. "The pendulum has swung," said Jay Westbrook, clinical director for palliative care and...

Study probes chronic pain care.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- Emergency physicians seldom see eye to eye with patients who seek help for chronic pain, according to preliminary results from a small, ongoing study. The emergency physicians end up frustrated, and the patients seldom get...

Older antiseizure drugs boost statin metabolism.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... BRECKENRIDGE, COLO. -- Carbamazepine and certain other older antiepileptic drugs accelerate hepatic metabolism of statins to such a degree that either their concomitant use needs to be avoided or the statin dose must be increased to often...

Even newer antiepileptics may lead to worse osteoporosis risk in the elderly.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... BOSTON -- Keep the risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia in mind when elderly patients are being treated even with the newer antiepileptic drugs, Georgia D. Montouris, M.D., advised at a meeting on epilepsy in the elderly sponsored by Boston...

Screening refractory epilepsy patients for neurosurgery takes time.(Neurology)
March 1, 2005... FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Comprehensive assessment of patients who are possible candidates for surgery to reduce epileptic seizures can be complicated and can take up to a year and a half, David C. McCarthy Jr., M.D., said at the annual meeting of...

Zoledronic acid protects bone in breast Ca patients: prophylactic treatment may avert osteoporosis and fractures resulting from aromatase inhibitor therapy.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- Zoledronic acid prevents the profound loss of bone mineral density that often occurs with combined adjuvant endocrine therapy in premenopausal breast cancer patients, Michael Gnant, M.D., reported at a breast cancer symposium...

Low calcium, vitamin D intake rampant in breast cancer patients.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- Inadequate calcium and vitamin D intake--and outright deficiencies--are even more common among breast cancer patients than in the general population, according to studies presented at the annual breast cancer symposium sponsored...

Refinement of anesthesia improves breast Ca surgery.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- Paravertebral block for the surgical treatment of breast cancer offers significant quality of life advantages over the long-standard practice of using general anesthesia, according to a prospective randomized trial. ...

Refined chemo helps in ER-negative breast Ca.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- Twenty years of refinements in adjuvant chemotherapy have brought dramatically improved outcomes in lymph node-positive breast cancer patients, but the benefit has been confined to those with estrogen receptor-negative tumors....

Oral glutamine curbs radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- Oral glutamine appears to be a safe and effective way to reduce the cutaneous morbidity of radiotherapy in women undergoing breast-conserving surgery, V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., reported at the annual breast cancer symposium...

Adjunctive chemotherapy adds benefit to tamoxifen in node-positive breast Ca.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2005... SAN ANTONIO -- Post-menopausal women with node-positive, estrogen- and/or progesterone-receptor-positive breast cancer have a 25% better long-term outcome with a postsurgical regimen of chemotherapy followed by tamoxifen than with adjuvant...

Combined approach helps in pelvic floor defects: task force establishes center to coordinate studies and create a patient database.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Brooke Gurland, M.D., realized that, despite her training as a colorectal surgeon, she didn't have a complete perspective on pelvic floor dysfunction. Fellows in colorectal surgery "weren't even trained to know the anatomy of...

Piriformis, levator ani tenderness can cause pelvic pain.(Women's Health)
March 1, 2005... CHICAGO -- Up to a fourth of women with chronic pelvic pain also have piriformis or levator ani tenderness, according to a study presented by Frank Tu, M.D., at a meeting sponsored by the International Pelvic Pain Society. Musculoskeletal...

Low-volume centers doing EC-IC bypass.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(external carotid to internal carotid)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- The number of hospitals at which external carotid to internal carotid bypass procedures are performed is increasing, but so is associated mortality, Sepideh Amin-Hanjani, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Congress of...

Mobile ultrasound screening gains acceptance: the mobile screening companies offer tests Medicare does not routinely reimburse, at affordable prices.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
March 1, 2005... Scan in a van? From a country club in Austin, Tex., to an evangelical church in Porterville, Calif., to the community hall in Rutherfordton, N.C., people are lining up to be screened for their stroke risk, and maybe even to have their bone...

Benefit of t-PA in acute ischemic stroke is greater in women.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
March 1, 2005... Women are more likely than men to benefit from treatment with tissue plasminogen activator after an acute ischemic stroke, reported David M. Kent, M.D., of the Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, and his associates. The finding arose...

Obesity paradox identified in non-ST-elevation MI.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
March 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- An obesity paradox applies in non-ST-segment-elevation MI, such that being overweight or obese is associated with a strikingly lower in-hospital mortality than being lean, R. Scott Wright, M.D., reported at the annual scientific...

GIK infusion failed to help acute MI patients.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(glucose, insulin, and potassium therapy for acute myocardial infarction)
March 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- An infusion of glucose, insulin, and potassium as an adjunct therapy for acute myocardial infarction was ineffective in a major study with more than 20,000 patients. Thirty days after treatment, "GIK...

Stroke risk with atrial fib higher in women.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(atrial fibrillation)
March 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- Women with atrial fibrillation were at higher thromboembolic risk than men in a large prospective study of patients with this most common of arrhythmias, Margaret C. Fang, M.D., reported at the annual scientific sessions of the...

Psychological distress raises atrial fib risk.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(atrial fibrillation)
March 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- Anxiety and other forms of psychological distress constitute a potent independent risk factor for development of new-onset atrial fibrillation in patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease, Charles M. Blatt, M.D.,...

Vagal denervation can stop atrial fib recurrence.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(atrial fibrillation)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... MUNICH -- Vagal denervation is a major therapeutic advance that markedly enhances the long-term efficacy of circumferential pulmonary vein ablation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, Carlo Pappone, M.D., said at the annual...

Stents for limb ischemia.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Percutaneous angioplasty with stent placement improved ankle-brachial indexes, prevented amputations, healed ulcerations, relieved pain, and improved ambulation--all with minimal adverse effects--in patients who had either critical limb...

Global trends in hypertension.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... More than 25% of the world's adults--nearly 1 billion people--had hypertension in 2000, and that proportion will rise to 29% by 2025, according to Patricia M. Kearney, M.D., of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine,...

CV events down 50% in diabetics.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... People with diabetes have benefited just like those without diabetes from the decline in cardiovascular disease rates over the last several decades, according to Caroline S. Fox, M.D., of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., and...

Hypoglycemia mimics stroke.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Hypoglycemia can masquerade as stroke in elderly patients, particularly when it progresses to the point where brain function is impaired, said M.S. Kuhne, M.D., and associates at St. Claraspital in Basel, Switzerland. They reported the...