What's the Story with Statins and Stroke Prevention? - A Q&A with Koto Ishida, MD
January 8th 2015There have been some disappointing studies and contradictory recommendations on using statins to treat stroke. HCPLive's Gale Scott interviewed Koto Ishida, MD, medical director of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Stroke Care Center, about the implications for clinicians.
Growth Hormone Therapy Effective at Increasing Anemics' Height During Childhood
December 18th 2014For children with Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) - an inherited condition defined by low red blood cell counts and limited progenitor cells in the bone marrow - growth hormone (GH) therapy was found to increase the short stature of patients - a symptom not widely analyzed.
Mu Opioid Receptor Binding and Smoking Pleasure
December 17th 2014For smokers and other users of nicotine, the rewarding effects of the substance had been associated with activation of nicotine receptors. But studies have found evidence that the endogenous opioid system is also involved in creating this sense of pleasure.
Prediction Ratios for Atherosclerosis Cardiovascular Disease Factors Do Not Match Actual Use
December 17th 2014Attempts to calibrate statin use, revascularization procedures, and the underascertainment of atherosclerosic cardiovascular disease have not matched the current prediction ratios.
Older COX-2 Inhibitors Increase Mortality Risk in Ischemic Stroke
December 16th 2014A new Danish database analysis in the November 2014 issue of Neurology, indicated increased mortality after ischemic stroke in patients taking older non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that inhibit COX-2 (e.g. diclofenac, etodolac).
Racial, Ethnic Disparities Continue in Medicare Advantage Plans
December 16th 2014A nationwide study of elderly enrollees in Medicare Advantage health plans concluded that disparities in control of blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose had not improved nationally for blacks in these plans despite the disparities being eliminated in the US west in 2011.