Category: Medical
New DCCT Data: HbA1c Matters Today, Tomorrow, and 20 Years On
New follow-up data from the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial demonstrate the ongoing benefit from intensive management of type 1 diabetes.
Read MoreLess-Invasive Surgery Tied to Lower Costs, Less Absenteeism
Minimally-invasive forms of heart surgery and fibroid removal may be less expensive – and cause patients to take fewer days off from work – than standard versions of the same procedures, a new study suggests. Researchers looking at six common surgeries found that if every one of them done in the U.S. in 2009 had…
Read MoreTiming of Hormone Therapy May Affect Alzheimer’s Prevention
A new study further supports the theory of a critical window around the time of menopause during which initiation of hormone therapy (HT) protects against Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study found that the relationship between HT and AD not only varies with timing of the therapy initiation but also with its type and duration. Women…
Read MoreElectrosurgical Vessel Sealing Improves Some Outcomes of Vaginal Hysterectomy
Compared with conventional clamping and suturing for vaginal hysterectomy, electrosurgical bipolar vessel sealing reduces early pain and shortens operating times, researchers say. In earlier randomized trials, bipolar vessel sealing shortened operative times, reduced blood loss and postoperative pain, and shortened hospital stays. The researchers’ current trial looked at those outcomes, as well as recovery, micturition…
Read MoreManaging Uterine Fibroids: Alternatives to Hysterectomy: Medical Fibroid Therapies
The Modern Management of Fibroids Fibroids are benign uterine tumors that have been reported in up to 75% of all women.[1] The many treatment options available for women with uterine fibroids include: Observation; Medical therapy; Myomectomy; Uterine artery embolization; Focused ultrasonography; and Hysterectomy. Most women with fibroids can choose “watchful waiting” without harm. Predicting the growth…
Read MoreH1N1 Vaccine Safe in Pregnancy
July 10, 2012 — Exposure to adjuvanted influenza A(H1N1) vaccine before birth does not increase the risk for major birth defects, preterm birth, or fetal growth restriction, according to a study published in the July 10 issue of JAMA. Pregnant women face elevated risk for severe illness, death, and poor pregnancy outcome from influenza, and the…
Read MoreTop Medical News Stories of 2011
1. FDA Calls for Simvastatin Limits The FDA played a role in most of this year’s top news stories, starting with a June 8 recommendation that physicians restrict prescribing high doses of the cholesterol medication simvastatin (Zocor, Merck) because of a risk for muscle damage. The FDA drug safety communication states that physicians should limit using the…
Read MoreMetformin Curbs Ovarian Hyperstimulation in PCOS
Metformin cuts the risk of overstimulating the ovaries of women who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and are receiving gonadotropin for in vitro fertilization, Italian researchers report in a paper online October 10 in Fertility and Sterility. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, or OHSS, is a rare iatrogenic condition in which the ovaries grow and, in advanced…
Read MoreEndometrial Ablation Has Advantages Over Hysterectomy for Heavy Menstruation
When women need treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding, endometrial ablation is less likely than hysterectomy to be followed later by pelvic floor repair or surgery for urinary incontinence, a Scottish study indicates. Using population-based data, Dr. S. Bhattacharya of the University of Aberdeen and colleagues examined the risk of further surgery in more than 51,000…
Read MoreFDA Says Pharmacies Can Still Compound Generic Makena
Pharmacies can continue to compound generic hydroxyprogesterone caproate for reducing the risk for preterm delivery despite warnings from KV Pharmaceutical — which sells a costly, branded version of the drug — not to do so, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today. On February 3, the FDA approved KV Pharmaceutical’s Makena, an injectable form of hydroxyprogesterone…
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