Medscape Pathology & Lab Medicine Headlines

Why the NIH Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) Should Be Abandoned

Tue, 13 May 2008 08:53:01 EDT

The $30 million, NIH Phase 3 Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) exposes subjects to a risky method that is known to be ineffective. The TACT should be abandoned and its origins investigated.
The Medscape Journal of Medicine

Gene Therapy Reduces Rate of Neurological Decline in Rare Lysosomal Storage Disease

Tue, 13 May 2008 10:26:46 EDT

Progression of late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis slows in children who receive viral vectors expressing the normal form of the mutant gene.
Medscape Medical News

FDA Backpedals on Warnings in Echo-Contrast Labeling

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:14:00 EDT

Warnings and contraindications imposed late last year have been softened after the agency heard from the medical community.
Heartwire

Supplemental 2-Methoxyestradiol Reverses Pre-Eclampsia in Mice

Tue, 13 May 2008 20:56:18 EDT

Animal studies indicate that a genetic deficiency of an estradiol metabolite may underlie pre-eclampsia, and that the deficiency can be reversed.
Reuters Health Information

PCA3 Could be Useful in Selecting Prostate Cancer Patients for Active Surveillance

Mon, 12 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT

A urine test already marketed for diagnosing prostate cancer could also be useful for guiding management if further studies validate these results.
Medscape Medical News

Infectious Syphilis: The Return of an Epidemic

Mon, 12 May 2008 17:27:05 EDT

An infectious syphilis epidemic returns to challenge public health. As past becomes present, what do clinicians need to know about this sexually transmitted infection?
Medscape Infectious Diseases

What Are the Risks of Contracting MRSA From Domesticated Animals?

Mon, 12 May 2008 18:02:00 EDT

Is there a risk of contracting MRSA from domesticated animals? An expert answers a reader's question about disease transmission from animals to humans.
Medscape Infectious Diseases

Icyou: How Social Media Is the New Resource for Online Health Information

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:16:25 EDT

Prerna Mona Khanna, MD, MPH, Medical Editor, Icyou.com, Charleston, South Carolina, describes another promising use of the health Internet.
The Medscape Journal of Medicine

Guidelines Discuss Use of Hydroxyurea in Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease

Fri, 9 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT

The National Institutes of Health have issued a conference consensus statement on the use of hydroxyurea in the treatment of sickle cell disease with an accompanying literature review.
Medscape Medical News

Eosinopenia Reliably Identifies Sepsis in Critically Ill Patients

Fri, 9 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Eosinopenia is better than C-reactive protein at indicating sepsis in patients in intensive care units.
Reuters Health Information

Universal Rapid HIV Testing During Labor Feasible in Developing Countries

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:07:33 EDT

Rapid oral-fluid testing for HIV, counseling, and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) prophylaxis in all women at the time of delivery are feasible and cost-effective in resource-poor settings, according to the results of a study from India.
Reuters Health Information

Congress Passes Genetic Privacy Bill

Thu, 8 May 2008 16:33:16 EDT

In this videoblog, Dr. Eric Topol updates us on some of the details and discusses what this might mean for the future if it is signed into law.

Cost -- Not Evidence -- Driving Shift in Cancer Screening

Thu, 8 May 2008 16:43:00 EDT

High-deductible health plans could be prompting patients to choose fully covered screening tests to avoid out-of-pocket expenses.
Medscape Medical News

Inflammatory Markers Predict Congestive Heart Failure

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT

The inflammatory markers IL-6, C-reactive protein, and macroalbuminuria suggest a mechanistic link between obesity and congestive heart failure, researchers say.
Medscape Medical News

Genomic Research and Personalized Medicine: An Expert Interview With Francis Collins, MD, PhD

Thu, 8 May 2008 18:23:57 EDT

Dr. Francis Collins talks about how close we are to the achievement of personalized medicine.
Medscape Genomic Medicine

American Founder Mutation in Lynch Syndrome May Have Occurred 500 Years Ago

Fri, 9 May 2008 04:01:29 EDT

New research shows that a mutation responsible for hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (Lynch syndrome) originated centuries earlier and is more prevalent than previously believed.
Reuters Health Information

FDA Safety Changes: Janumet, WelChol, Rituxan

Wed, 7 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT

The FDA has approved revisions to the safety labeling for sitagliptin plus metformin HCl tablets (Janumet), colesevelam HCl tablets (WelChol), and rituximab intravenous injection (Rituxan).
Medscape Medical News

Breast Cancer Within 2 Years of Childbirth Linked to Poor Prognosis

Wed, 7 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT

A study shows that women who have breast cancer within 2 years of their last pregnancy (or 2-4 years) after delivery are more likely to have a poor prognosis.
Medscape Medical News

Neuroblastoma Linked to Genetic Variants on Chromosome 6

Wed, 7 May 2008 17:00:11 EDT

Children with this genetic variant, identified for the first time in a genome-wide association study, develop a particularly aggressive form of neuroblastoma.
Medscape Medical News

Common Gene Variants Linked to Risk of Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Wed, 7 May 2008 21:21:21 EDT

Researchers have identified common variants near the gene for melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) that influence the risk of obesity and insulin resistance, according to findings from two studies appearing in the May 4th online issue of Nature Genetics.
Reuters Health Information