Culture | Science Codex

Diabetics on Medicare Two-Three Times More Likely Than VA Patients to Use Brand-Name Drugs

The war on the medical care of senior Americans continues.

Diabetes patients on Medicare Part D are two to three times more likely to be prescribed brand-name drugs than comparable patients receiving care within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), at an added cost of about $1 billion a year.

Medicare and the VA have a significantly different approach to drug prescribing. Medicare contracts with more than 1,000 private insurance companies, each using a distinct formulary and cost-sharing arrangement for prescribing drugs.

Heart: Cardiac PET/MR measures up to PET/CT

Vancouver, British Columbia – Just a few years ago, integrated positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance (PET/MR) imaging was found only in research institutes, but little by little the technology has expanded into clinical practice. This is especially true for cardiac indications, for which the highly sensitive soft tissue contrast of MR and the functional and metabolic imaging of PET are particularly valuable.

Unclogging heart arteries through wrist becoming more common

The way to a man's heart may be his wrist.

More U.S. doctors are unclogging heart arteries (in men and women) by entering through the radial artery in the wrist, which is linked to less bleeding complications than the traditional route through the groin, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

Doctors reopen blocked arteries by threading a catheter through the femoral artery in the groin or the radial artery in the wrist in a procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Association between hypoglycemia, dementia in older adults with diabetes

A study of older adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) suggests a bidirectional association between hypoglycemic (low blood glucose) events and dementia, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Survivors of intimate partner violence not getting adequate mental health services

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Although many abused women suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or depression, they are not receiving needed mental health services, a University of Missouri researcher found.

Quality-of-life issues need to be addressed for CML patients, Moffitt researchers say

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have determined that chronic myeloid leukemia patients who are treated with a class of oral chemotherapy drugs known as a tyrosine kinase inhibitors have significant side effects and quality-of-life issues that need to be addressed. Some of these issues include depression, fatigue, nausea and change of appearance. The researchers say it is important to improve the patients' quality of life because most will take tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the rest of their lives.

Their study appeared in the April issue of Supportive Care in Cancer.

Study shows cardiac MRI use reduces adverse events for patients with acute chest pain

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 10, 2013 – Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center doctors have found that using stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in an Emergency Department observation unit to care for patients with acute chest pain is a win-win – for the patient and the institution.

Screening at-risk adolescents for celiac disease proves cost-effective

Bethesda, MD (June 10, 2013) — The current standard practice of screening adolescents who are either symptomatic or at high-risk for celiac disease proves to be more cost-effective than universal screening. Additionally, the strategy is successful in preventing bone loss and fractures in celiac patients, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

Eww! Only 5 percent of us wash hands correctly

Borchgrevink and colleagues trained a dozen college students in data collection and had them observe hand washing in restrooms in bars, restaurants and other public establishments. The student researchers were as unobtrusive as possible – by standing off to the side and entering results on a smart phone, for example.

The study is one of the first to take into account factors such as duration of the hand washing and whether people used soap.

Specific findings include:

Suicide risk factors mapped

A landmark study of the Swedish population has given a clearer picture of important risk factors for suicide.

The study, a collaboration between Lund University in Sweden and Stanford University, showed that the rate of suicide among men is almost three times that of women. Being young, single and having a low level of education were stronger risk factors for suicide among men, while mental illness was a stronger risk factor among women. Unemployment was the strongest social risk factor among women, whereas being single was the strongest among men.

Transcendental Meditation positively impacts student graduation rates, new research shows

A new study published in the June 2013 issue of the journal Education (Vol. 133, No. 4)* shows practice of the Transcendental Meditation® technique was associated with higher graduation rates, compared to controls.

Higher graduation rates affect not only the academic and personal life of the individual students, but also society as a whole. Graduation (versus dropping out) from high school translates into higher earning potential, less crime and incarceration, and less dependence on government assistance programs.

Designated drivers don't always abstain, UF study finds

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Maybe better call that cab, after all: A new University of Florida study found that 35 percent of designated drivers had quaffed alcohol and most had blood-alcohol levels high enough to impair their driving.

Conflict-of-interest restrictions needed to ensure strong FDA review

WASHINGTON, DC—A 2012 law that loosened conflict-of-interest restrictions for FDA advisory panels could weaken the agency's review system and could allow more drugs with safety problems to gain market approval, says a new analysis published June 7 in Science by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS).

Facebook: A confidence boost for first-gen college students

ANN ARBOR—Facebook connections can help first-generation college applicants believe in their abilities to both apply to school and excel once they've enrolled, according to a new study from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Steroid injection therapy may increase risk of spinal fracture

Rosemont, Ill. –Most aging adults will experience back pain or a spinal disorder at some time in their life. In fact, about 25.8 million visits were made to physicians' offices due to primary back problems. Treatment focuses on pain relief and is available in both non-surgical (medication or physical therapy) and surgical forms.