Harvard Health Content API

People who signed up for drug coverage under Medicare Part D increased their drug spending afterward, a study has found. But most of them also decreased their spending on other medical care. The study looked at 35,000 people on Medicare in Pennsylvania. It compared their drug spending 2 years before and 2 years after the Part D drug benefit took effect in 2006. The level of spending change depended on what kind of drug benefits they had before Part D, the study found. People with no prior drug plan increased their spending on drugs the most — about $41 a month. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. HealthDay News wrote about it July 1.

Vice President Dick Cheney was treated October 15 for an irregular heartbeat, the New York Times reported. Cheney was treated at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He received electric shock to the heart and was sent home, a hospital spokeswoman said. She said Cheney had atrial fibrillation. This is the most common type of irregular heartbeat. It occurs when the heart’s top chambers quiver rapidly. This causes them to get out of sync with the bottom chambers. The heart is not able to pump efficiently.

Human growth hormone may help athletes sprint faster, new research suggests. But it doesn’t improve strength, endurance or fitness, the study found. Use of human growth hormone is banned in the Olympics and many other sports. But its effect on athletic performance has not been studied much. This is the largest and longest study so far. It included 96 young adult men and women. All were recreational athletes. They were randomly divided into two groups. For two months, one group received injections of human growth hormone. The other group got salt water injections. Researchers had them lift weights, jump and ride exercise bicycles to test their performance. People who got the real hormone improved only on the exercise bike. Their sprint capacity improved by 4%. Researchers said that’s enough to push an athlete from the back to the front of the pack in a 100-meter race.

A company linked to a salmonella outbreak closed a second plant February 10. The Texas plant was owned by a branch of the Peanut Corporation of America. The Associated Press said it did not have a license. A company plant in Georgia was closed last month because of salmonella in the plant. More than 500 people have become sick. Eight have died. Food companies have recalled more than 1,700 products that contain peanut butter or paste from the Georgia plant. U.S. officials also are weighing criminal charges against the company. On February 11, the company president refused to answer questions from Congress. The Washington Post said he cited his rights under the U.S. Constitution. People have the right not to testify against themselves.

Overdoses of opioid medicines don’t occur only among people who obtain the drugs illegally, a new study shows. People who are prescribed the drugs for pain also overdose, the study found. Researchers used pharmacy records on 9,940 adults who took opiods for at least 3 months in an 8-year period. The drugs were prescribed for long-term pain that was not related to cancer. They included hydrocodone and oxycodone. In all, 51 people overdosed. Six of the overdoses were fatal. People who were prescribed larger doses were more likely to overdose. For the highest doses, the overdose rate was 2% per year. Some overdoses were recorded as accidents or suicides. The cause of most was unclear. HealthDay and Reuters news services wrote about the study. It appeared January 19 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers are beginning to look at how to use genes to find the best treatments for men with advanced prostate cancer. Each tumor has a certain pattern of gene and protein activity. This means that a tumor may respond better to one treatment than another. Men with advanced prostate cancer often get drugs to block the male hormone testosterone. But some tumors grow anyway. One new study will look at the genes and proteins in tumors of 60 men. Based on this, researchers will decide which ones are most likely to respond to a hormone blocker. These men will be given a standard drug. Other men will get a different drug that attacks the cancer in another way. A few studies are looking at other treatments. The Associated Press wrote about the new research March 24.

Blacks are more likely than whites to be diagnosed with colon cancer, and to die from it. And the gap is getting wider, the American Cancer Society says. In the 1970s, death rates for the two groups were nearly equal. But new data show a much larger gap. In 2005, blacks had about 25 deaths from colon and rectal cancer per 100,000 people. The rate in whites was 17 per 100,000. One reason may be less screening for blacks. Tests can find colon cancer early and even remove growths before they become cancer. About 5 out of 10 whites get tested. Only 4 out of 10 blacks do. But Hispanics have even lower testing rates, and lower death rates as well. The Associated Press wrote about the new data December 15.

In a new study, acupuncture made people with back pain feel better. But people who got fake acupuncture also felt better. Researchers said this raises questions about how acupuncture works. The study included 600 people with long-term pain in the lower back. They were divided at random into four groups. One received standard acupuncture. In a second group, acupuncture was adapted to each person. A third group received fake acupuncture. People in this group were poked with a toothpick in a guide tube, rather than a needle. The fourth group received standard care, such as medicine and physical therapy. After seven weeks, all three acupuncture groups felt better than the group that received standard care. HealthDay News wrote about the study May 12. It appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Some mental abilities decline in older adults before death, even if they don’t develop dementia, a study suggests. The study kept track of 288 people from age 70 until they died. They received many tests of brain function. On average, people were less able to compare figures beginning 15 years before death. Perception of space and distance declined starting eight years before death. Problems using words began an average of six years before death. No one in the study developed dementia. The average age of death was 84. HealthDay news wrote about the study August 27. It was in the journal Neurology.

A mailed reminder might increase the number of people who get screened for colon cancer, a study has found. The study involved more than 20,000 adults, ages 50 to 80. All were overdue for a screening. About half were mailed information and instructions on how to schedule a screening. People who were mailed the information were more likely to get screened. The mailings seemed to help more in older age groups. More than 108,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer each year. The study appears in the February 23 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.