The “New & Interesting” series is a biweekly compilation of select research findings, news articles, and random tidbits in bullet-point format. The entries are highly abbreviated, but provide links to the original articles or abstracts if you desire to read further.

General Articles

• Antibiotics can be purchased online without the need for a prescription. The danger of making this freely available is the indiscriminant use of antibiotics to treat infections inappropriately. Moreover, this leads to the progressive selection of organisms resistant to current drug therapies. (Ann Fam Med)

• AIDS vaccine reduces rate of new infections by 31%. Although modest, this is the first time a vaccine has shown any efficacy against the spread of HIV since the discovery of the virus 26 years ago. (LA Times)

• Nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux disrupts sleep and causes insomnia (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol)

• Do mobile phones cause brain tumors? A meta-analysis performed by a team led by Dr. Seung-Kwon Myung of South Korea’s National Cancer Center found a mild increase in risk of benign brain tumors in people who have used cell phone for over a decade. Larger studies are still needed to answer this question. (Reuters)

Technical Articles

• Risk of hyperkalemia is small with use of ACE inhibitors in nondiabetic patients with hypertensive CKD (chronic kidney disease) (Arch Intern Med)

• Glucocorticoid use associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter (Arch Intern Med)