Month: March 2012

Experts say a new testing option could allow many women to get screened less often for cervical cancer. The new advice is for women age 30 and older. If a Pap test and a human papilloma virus (HPV) test both show normal results, these women can wait 5 years to get tested again. Or they can follow previous advice and get a Pap every 3 years. Several expert groups issued the updated guidelines March 15. They included the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society. The guidelines say the longer wait between Pap tests is safe if women are not infected with HPV. This virus causes cervical cancer. Women could become infected after the test. But 5 years is enough time to treat any abnormal cells before they turn into cancer. Many women under 30 are infected with HPV. But the body usually clears the infection on its own.

Long-term results of a European study have found that prostate cancer screening reduces deaths from the cancer, but not overall deaths. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test has been controversial for screening — testing of men without symptoms. Many men with a high PSA result do not have cancer. Many of the cancers that are detected grow so slowly they never would have caused harm. The new research is a follow-up on a study of 162,000 men. All were ages 55 to 69 when the study began. Half were offered PSA tests every 2 to 4 years. After 11 years of follow-up, this group was 21% less likely to die of prostate cancer than a group that was not screened. But the overall death rates were the same in both groups. Researchers said PSA testing would prevent 1 prostate cancer death for every 37 cancers found. To find these cancers, about 1,055 men would need to be offered PSA tests.

Circumcision may slightly reduce the risk of prostate cancer, a new study suggests. The study included 1,754 men with prostate cancer. They were compared with 1,654 men who had not had prostate cancer but were similar in other ways. Researchers asked the men if they were circumcised and when this occurred. They also asked if the men ever had a sexually transmitted infection. The study adjusted results to account for other factors that can affect prostate cancer risk, such as race and family medical history. Researchers found a 15% lower risk of prostate cancer among men who were circumcised before they first had sex. Circumcision removes the foreskin from the tip of the penis. Researchers said they are not sure why the procedure might affect prostate cancer risk. Other research suggests that circumcision may reduce the risk of some sexually transmitted infections.

Eating red meat increases the risk of early death, a new study concludes. It was based on medical records and surveys of about 120,000 men and women. They were part of two long-running studies. Everyone regularly answered questions about foods they ate. Researchers kept track of their health for about 28 years. In that time, almost 24,000 died. People who ate about one serving of red meat daily had a 13% increased risk of death. People who ate more meat also had less healthy lifestyles. However, researchers adjusted their numbers to account for these differences. Adjusted death rates from heart and artery disease alone were 18% higher for someone who ate a daily serving of unprocessed red meat. The increase was 21% if the meats were processed, such as bacon and hot dogs. Cancer deaths increased 10% for unprocessed and 16% for processed red meats.

Some hospitals are trying to prevent a common problem among older patients — they are frailer after a hospital stay than they were before. The Associated Press (AP) wrote about this March 9. Experts told AP that hospital care has focused only on illness or surgery. Less attention has been given to preventing weakness that can occur from being away from regular activities. Staying in bed can increase the risk of infection and slow recovery. It also can lead to rapid loss of muscle strength. AP profiled two hospitals that try to preserve older patients’ strength. At Northwest Community Hospital, in a Chicago suburb, older patients are encouraged to walk every day. Volunteers walk with them. Highlands Hospital, in Birmingham, Ala., uses volunteers at mealtimes. They remove plastic wrap that may not yield to arthritic hands.

Mixing bone marrow from transplant patients and organ donors may help some patients to stop taking anti-rejection drugs. That’s the conclusion of a small study published March 7. Most people with transplants take drugs to prevent their immune system from attacking the new organ. The study included eight people who were getting kidney transplants. Researchers first treated them with drugs to draw out stem cells from their bone marrow. These cells produce all of the cells in blood, including immune cells. Other drugs or radiation were used to reduce but not destroy the patients’ bone marrow. Two weeks later, they received their kidney transplants. They also received a mixture of their own bone marrow, stem cells and bone marrow from the kidney donor. Cells had been added and subtracted to make it more transplant-friendly.

Continuing to take the drug donepezil (Aricept) can help even people with more advanced Alzheimer’s disease, new research finds. The study included 295 people with moderate or severe Alzheimer’s. All of them had been taking donepezil for at least 3 months. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. One group kept taking donepezil. One switched to memantine. The other groups received either both drugs or placebo (fake pills) only. After a year, tests showed less decline in people who kept taking donepezil. The tests measured mental function and ability to do everyday tasks. The difference was equal to 3 to 4 months of decline compared with those who took the placebo, the lead author told HealthDay News. Memantine also showed a benefit, but not as much as donepezil. The study did not find any greater benefit from adding combining both drugs. But other research has disagreed.

About 92% of U.S. cases of a dangerous intestinal infection are related somehow to health care, a government study finds. About 3 out of 4 people began to show symptoms outside of hospitals. But most had recently been in a nursing home, hospital or doctor’s office. The study focused on Clostridium difficile (C. diff). The infection often occurs in people who recently took antibiotics for another reason. These drugs also kill “good” bacteria, allowing C. diff to grow and release toxins. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did the study. They used laboratory data on stool tests in 8 regions. Only 1 out of 4 patients was in a hospital when symptoms began. Another 1 out of 4 had been in a nursing home. But about 2 out of 3 nursing home cases had been in the hospital recently. Some hospital cases also had been in nursing homes recently.

Doctors should honestly discuss the downsides as well as the benefits of treatments for severe heart disease, a new report says. The new American Heart Association statement calls for shared decision making with patients. The advice focuses on people with advanced heart failure. Their hearts don’t pump blood efficiently. Many patients may face decisions about procedures that might extend life. These could include a pacemaker, automated defibrillator or pump to help the heart beat properly. Some people may get procedures to open clogged arteries or replace a failing valve. But these treatments don’t cure heart failure. Some people may live longer while symptoms continue or get worse. People who also have other conditions, such as failing kidneys, might not even live longer.