More Americans Have Gout

Gout, once called the “disease of kings,” is becoming more common. It is a type of arthritis that causes inflammation in the joints. About 4 of every 100 Americans now has gout, according to a new study. That’s about 8.3 million people. Gout results from a buildup of uric acid in the blood. Research has linked gout with metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that includes obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The study was published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. HealthDay News wrote about it July 28.

Content restricted. Requires subscription

Popular Mammography Tool Disappoints

Computer-aided detection (CAD) does not improve the accuracy of mammograms, a new study suggests. Most mammograms in the United States use CAD. Researchers analyzed 1.6 million mammograms performed on over 680,000 women in 7 states from 1998 to 2006. CAD did not improve the detection of invasive breast cancer. It also did not increase the chance of detecting breast cancer at an earlier stage. However, the false-positive rate increased from 8.1% to 8.6% with CAD, meaning women had a greater chance of being called back for further testing. The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. HealthDay News wrote about it July 27.

Content restricted. Requires subscription

Drug Costs to Fall as Major Patents Expire

Many U.S. patients may be able to save money on drugs soon. Several popular brand-name drugs are losing patent protection in the next 14 months. They are likely to face less costly generic competition soon afterward. Patents will include many blockbusters, the Associated Press (AP) said July 26. Among them are the world’s two top sellers, Lipitor and Plavix. Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a cholesterol drug. Plavix (clopidogrel) is a blood thinner. Others with expiring patents include drugs for blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, depression, high triglycerides and other conditions. Among them are 5 of the top 20 drugs sold in the world, AP said. Generic medicines are chemically equivalent to the brand-name drugs that they copy. They work in the same way. They typically cost 20% to 80% less than brand-name drugs.

Content restricted. Requires subscription

Antibiotics Top Cranberries to Prevent UTIs

Antibiotics prevent more urinary tract infections (UTIs) than cranberry pills, a new study has found. But taking antibiotics also led to more resistant bacteria. The study included 221 women. All of them had at least 3 UTIs in the last year. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group took 2 daily cranberry pills and 1 placebo pill. The other group took trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. This antibiotic is sold as Bactrim, Septra and other brands. These women took 1 antibiotic pill and 2 placebo pills each day. The women did not know which drug they were getting. In the next year, women who took the antibiotics had an average of 2 UTIs. The average was 4 infections with the cranberry pills. Within the first month, 85% of those taking the antibiotic had resistant E. coli in their bodies. E. coli bacteria are the most common cause of UTIs.

Content restricted. Requires subscription

ADHD May Hinder Safe Street Crossing

Children with ADHD may have more difficulty with crossing the street safely, a new study finds. The problem was not attention, researchers said. In the research study, kids with ADHD did stop and look both ways before crossing. But they did not judge the amount of time needed to cross safely as well as other children. The study included 78 children with ADHD and 39 without ADHD. All were ages 7 to 10. The two groups were matched by age and gender. Kids who took ADHD medicine were asked to skip it for 24 hours ahead of the experiments. Street crossing was done in a virtual environment using an avatar. The children decided when to cross in different virtual situations. Researchers said the children with ADHD were less likely to cross safely than the other children. Several had close calls during their virtual crossings. The journal Pediatrics published the study.

Content restricted. Requires subscription