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
- The Sun Herald reports on how cardiologists in Mississippi have been using the iPhone to diagnose patients more quickly through more rapid access to EKGs and other medical information (Sun Herald)
- The presence of an infection at the time of gluten introduction in childhood is not a major risk factor for celiac disease (Pediatrics)
Technical Articles
- Updated 2009 guidelines on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of catheter-associated urinary tract infections. This was published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). (Clin Infect Dis)
- A meta-analysis of randomized statin trials revealed a 9% increased risk of diabetes with statin use. The study authors nevertheless add that “the risk is low both in absolute terms and when compared with the reduction in coronary events. Clinical practice in patients with moderate or high cardiovascular risk or existing cardiovascular disease should not change.” (Lancet)
- Successful development of human liver chimeric mouse model for the study of HBV and HCV infections (J Clin Invest)
- Eradication of H pylori may help treat gastric low-grade, B-cell, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol)
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)
- 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)
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
- Comparison of health care systems from around the world. The BBC graphs the health care expenditures, life expectancy, infant mortality, and out-of-pocket spending in four different health care systems. The United States represents a private payer system. The United Kingdom has a universal, tax-funded system. France has a social insurance system, and Singapore has a dual system. (BBC)
Technical Articles
- Randomized trials have demonstrated that aspirin use reduces the risk of colorectal cancer. A recent study published by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital evaluated the relationship between aspirin and survival after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. They found that regular aspirin use was associated with decreased mortality. (JAMA)
- Hospital-acquired MRSA from discharged patients is transmitted to nearly 20% of household contacts (Arch Intern Med)
- Training residents on patient simulators resulted in fewer catheter-related bloodstream infections in the ICU (Arch Intern Med)
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
- Brown fat as a future strategy for weight loss? (NY Times)
- Blue food dye improves recovery from spinal cord injury in mice (U Rochester)
- Americans spent $34 billion on alternative medicine in 2007 (ABC)
- Scientists decode HIV genome (US News)
Technical Articles
- The FDA initially investigated the association of TNF (tumor necrosis factor) inhibitors with lymphoma or other cancers in children in June 2008, after receiving approximately 30 reports of cancer in children and young adults on the medication. On August 4, 2009, they released their findings of an increased risk of lymphoma, leukemia, and other cancers in children and adolescents who take the TNF inhibitors. They are now requiring a Black Box Warning for these drugs, such as Remicade, Enbrel, Humira, Cimzia, and Simponi. (FDA)
Tea consumption began in China around 2737 B.C. and has since become a staple among Asian and English cultures. The use of tea for medicinal purposes have prevailed for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, but only recently gained prominence in the modern “alternative medicine” community. There has been increased interest and active biomedical research on tea extracts, with dozens of peer-reviewed scientific articles published each month exploring the health properties of green tea. Through in vitro and animal studies, green tea (derived from the Camellia sinensis plant) and its polyphenol compounds — in particular, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) — have been associated with possible risk reductions in some cardiovascular, neurologic, and oncologic disorders. Human trials are however sparse or equivocal.
I previously reported on a Japanese study correlating green tea consumption with a lower prevalence of cognitive dysfunction. A similar research group from the Tohoku University School of Medicine (Sendai, Japan) has continued to analyze the benefits of green tea with other health outcomes: causes of mortality, cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, and cancers. Their most recent study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, evaluated the influence of green tea consumption on the development of hematologic malignancies.
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