Authors

Recognize New Medical Practice Risks

Prognostic value of multislice computed tomography coronary angiography

We evaluated 100 subjects who underwent multislice computed tomography (MSCT) to assess the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) and to determine the occurrence of coronary events (including cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina requiring hospitalization, and revascularization) over a follow-up period of 16 months.

Panitumumab Added to FOLFIRI Boosts Survival in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer and Wild-Type KRAS Mutations

The addition of panitumumab (Vectibix) to FOLFIRI (an irinotecan-based combination chemotherapy) prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival compared with FOLFIRI alone as second-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer in patients with wild-type KRAS.

Molokai: The Pacific's Island in the Sun

FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to A4250 for Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis

Here’s a round-up of recent designations granted by the FDA to products developed to treat rare diseases.

A Dose of Truth about the Consequences of Opiophobia

The treatment of intractable pain remains an unresolved controversy in American medicine. Although, in theory, it is generally accepted that pain must be adequately treated, particularly in cancer patients, the treatment of pain unrelated to malignancy remains a stubborn and highly contentious issue.

A matter of the heart

Low cholesterol level in midlife and quality of life in old age

We found that lower cholesterol levels in middle age predicted lower total mortality and better physical quality of life in old age after 39 years of follow-up. No difference was seen in the mental component of quality of life. These findings support current guidelines for cholesterol goals and show that a low risk-factor level in midlife can affect long-term mortality and morbidity, postpone physical disability, and improve quality of life in old age.