Category: news-perspectives

Men with a very low score on their first prostate cancer test may not benefit from further tests, a new study suggests. Researchers used data from two large European studies. They included more than 86,000 men, ages 55 to 74. Men were given a test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA). All men in the study had a PSA level below 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). In the next 8 to 9 years, 5,861 developed prostate cancer. Cancer death rates were highest in those who had a PSA of 10 to 19.9 ng/ml on their first test. In this group, researchers calculated, 1 life would be saved for every 133 men who got future PSA tests and treatment of any cancers. The benefits were much smaller for men who had a PSA of zero to 1.9 ng/ml at the start of the study. In this group, 24,642 men would have to be tested and 724 cases of prostate cancer treated to save 1 life.

Getting vaccines does not increase kids’ risk of developing autism, a new study finds. It adds to the evidence that a preservative in vaccines does not cause the condition. Many children’s vaccines used to use a preservative called thimerosal. This preservative contains mercury. Now flu shots are the only ones still using it. The new study looked at medical records for U.S. children in 3 managed care organizations. All were born between 1994 and 1999. thimerosal was still used in vaccines then. Researchers found 256 children with an autism spectrum disorder. They compared them with 752 children who did not have autism. Children who had vaccines containing thimerosal were no more likely to develop autism than children not exposed to these vaccines. Researchers looked at vaccine exposure from before birth (in the womb) through age 20 months.

A doctors’ group says that health care workers should be required to get flu shots. The American Academy of Pediatrics released its new policy statement September 8. It is the latest group to back mandatory shots for people involved in health care. Another group of doctors, the Infectious Disease Society of America, also has backed the idea. Others include the Society of Healthcare Epidemiologists. The movement grew out of concern that too few health care workers are getting shots, USA Today reported. A CDC survey found that just over one-third of health care workers got regular and swine flu shots last year. In an average year, half of health care workers get flu shots. Cases of flu have been linked to hospital workers who had not been vaccinated. In a few cases, patients died. The new doctors’ policy statement appeared in the journal Pediatrics.

Taking statins — cholesterol-lowering drugs — may reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, says a new study. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease that causes pain, stiffness, redness and swelling in joints. Researchers studied more than 200,000 people in Israel who were prescribed a statin drug. People who did not take the drug regularly were 51% more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than people who took the drug most often. The study was published September 7 in the journal PLoS Medicine. Reuters wrote about it the same day.

Despite many years of public education on the risks of tobacco, U.S. smoking rates remain at about 1 out of 5, researchers report. The rate is similar for both teens and adults. The adult rate has held steady for about 6 years. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the smoking report September 7. It was based on government surveys. A second CDC study focused on secondhand smoke. It found that 98% of children who live with a smoker have toxins in their bodies. This study looked at blood levels of cotinine, a chemical from tobacco smoke, in more than 30,000 nonsmokers. It also found that more than half of U.S. children ages 3 to 11 are exposed to secondhand smoke. The Associated Press (AP) wrote about the reports. Officials interviewed by AP said the fight against smoking has lost momentum.

Race affects which drug combinations will control high blood pressure best for each person, new research finds. And a hormone called renin may help to guide decisions about the best drugs for each patient. These are among the results of new studies in the American Journal of Hypertension. Renin levels help determine whether high blood pressure is caused mainly by squeezing of blood vessel walls or by too much fluid. One study of 954 people focused on renin. People with low levels responded well to diuretics. These drugs remove extra fluid in the blood. But people with high renin levels did better with ACE inhibitors. These drugs relax blood vessels. Another study found that blacks had low renin levels and did better with diuretics. South Asians had good results with an ACE inhibitor and a drug called a calcium channel blocker. Blacks did worse with this combination.

This year, health officials recommend flu shots for every adult and all children 6 months old and older. On August 31, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its recommendation that all children ages 6 months and older get a flu shot this season. The AAP also outlined recommendations for certain groups at higher risk for flu complications. September 1, the Associated Press wrote about earlier updated recommendations from U.S. health officials that suggest all adults be vaccinated against flu. This year’s flu vaccine includes protection from H1N1, or “swine flu,” as well as two other common seasonal strains. There is also a new vaccine available for older adults (65 and over).

A new, faster test can reveal if a person has tuberculosis (TB). It also can tell if the disease is resistant to antibiotics. The new test takes less than two hours. The old one could take up to a week. The old test also misses cases of TB, so sick people are mistakenly told they are healthy. In a study of 1,730 people, the new test identified 98% of TB cases. It also identified 98% of the cases that were resistant to rifampin, a common drug used to treat TB. Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection. It causes more than 1.8 million deaths each year. The new test is not the same as the skin test. The skin test is done to see if someone has ever been exposed to TB. The new test would be done in people who have TB symptoms. The study about the test appeared in the September 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The Associated Press wrote about it the same day.

Women with BRCA gene mutations can benefit from having healthy ovaries removed. So says the largest study of its kind, published September 1 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Women with these gene mutations have 10 times the risk of ovarian cancer, compared with the general population. The study included about 2,500 women. About 4 in 10 had their ovaries removed. Over the next four years, these women had lower risks of ovarian and breast cancer, compared with similar women who did not have the surgery. They also had a lower risk of dying. The Associated Press wrote about the study September 1.

A new study suggests that African-Americans have almost three times the risk of having a heart attack after having a drug-coated stent placed to treat their chest pain, compared to other races. Bare metal stents seem to be safer options. The medical journal Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association published the study on August 30.