Hospital Medicine

Study results indicate that treatment with alemtuzumab reduces focal inflammation, with durable effects that may be due to the distinct pattern of lymphocyte depletion and repopulation after treatment.

Study results indicate that patients with AIDS appear to have a four times greater risk of developing intermediate-stage age-related macular degeneration when compared with patients of the same age without HIV.

Researchers have demonstrate the efficacy of an implantable organic electronic delivery device for the treatment of neuropathic pain in an animal model. The small organic electronic ion pump could be an effective option for patients suffering from severe nerve pain.

A presentation at the 2015 CMSC annual meeting made the case that focal, specific, subacute, neurologic problems in otherwise healthy adults should be diligently followed, and MRI can be an useful tool in differential diagnosis.

Results from 2 trials presented at the recent Heart Rhythm Society meeting suggest that 2 alternative ablation technologies work about as well as those that are commonly used on patients with atrial fibrillation.

A drug normally used to treat hypertension reduced the symptoms of multiple sclerosis in mice models of the disease.

GLP-1 receptor antagonists have been associated with thyroid cancer in rodents, and in fact carry a boxed warning about the potential for cancer in humans. This leads many clinicians to ask if they should be concerned about using these drugs in patients who have or develop specific types of thyroid cancer

Sitagliptin appears to have beneficial systemic and adipose anti-inflammatory effects in combination antiretroviral therapy-treated HIV-positive adults with impaired glucose tolerance. The drug may prevent cardiovascular problems by reducing inflammation linked to heart disease and stroke in this patient population.

The results of the largest study of its kind to date indicate that new antipsychotic medications-including quetiapine, olanzapine, and risperidone-do not appear to put women at additional risk of developing gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, or major blood clots that obstruct circulation, all conditions that often develop during pregnancy or with the use of older antipsychotic medications.

In addition to causing pain and discomfort and requiring antibiotics, a Danish study revealed that infections can negatively affect cognitive ability.

Transplanting a healthy person's fecal microbiota into the digestive tract of a patient believed to have a recurrent C. difficile infection has gone from obscurity to an accepted treatggggment. But a new study finds it was wrongly proposed for more than 25% of patients referred for treatment.

More than 13,000 physicians and cardiovascular team members attended the ACC 2015 meeting in San Diego on March 14-16, 2015. In this issue of Cardiology Review, we focus on 6 important studies presented at ACC 2015: LEGACY, OSLER, PEGASUS, EMBRACE-STEMI, MATRIX, and CoreValve.

Mortality in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is higher than in the general population, and whether mortality improves or alters with glycemic control is unknown.

Holding family meetings when patients are in intensive care can benefit patients, family, and caregivers. A research team reports on the electronic templates it is developing to keep records of what happens in those meetings.

Refractory angina is a loosely defined term generally referring to the persistence of life-impacting angina despite maximal antianginal medications and, when possible, coronary revascularization (percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI] or coronary artery bypass grafting [CABG]). Numerous novel pharmacotherapies and mechanical interventions have been proposed, and studies conducted, to treat patients with refractory angina.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) often coexist. The use of beta-blockers in HF patients has a class 1A recommendation in both the European and American guidelines. In current guidelines for heart failure therapy, the recommendation for beta-blockers is not restricted to patients with sinus rhythm, and includes all HF patients.

In the era of progressive technology, the diagnostic modalities for stable coronary artery disease are various. The original cardiac stress test has been used in the past for many purposes, including diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease in a patient with chest pain as well as risk stratification for ischemia. More recently, coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) has emerged as a great tool to diagnose anatomically obstructive coronary lesions. However, for the past few years, obtaining functional and physiologic data such as comparative fractional flow reserve (FFR) has become the gold standard for evidence of ischemia on CCTA similar to invasive angiography.

The primary objectives of treating acute ischemic stroke are to prevent death and limit functional disability. Similar to acute myocardial infarction (AMI), timely reperfusion using systemic thrombolysis has been shown to improve outcome of acute stroke, namely functional neurologic recovery, but not mortality. But unlike AMI, the role of intra-arterial or endovascular therapy in acute stroke has not been clearly established.

Virtual reality experiments determined that the threshold of pain is increased when the participants do not know the degree of rotation is manipulated.

Research published in PLOS ONE demonstrated a substance found in garlic could fight lung disease infections in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Drugs that activate brain stem cell production may be able to reverse multiple sclerosis, according to research published in Nature.

China's type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) epidemic continues to be a pervasive, costly health care issue, with proportions surpassed only by epidemic here in the US. The majority of T2DM treatment guidelines recommend metformin as the first-line anti-hyperglycemic agent for diabetes management due to its relative safety, tolerability, and cost-effectiveness.