Public Health & Prevention News

• New Report Finds Flaws in Sunscreen Protection, Safety Sunscreens are improving, but 3 of 5 brand-name products either do not protect the skin from sun damage sufficiently, contain hazardous chemicals, or both, according to a report by the watchdog organization Environmental Working Group.
  WebMD Health News, July 2009
• FDA Approves Dronedarone for Atrial Fibrillation Dronedarone is envisioned as a safer alternative to amiodarone, a widely used antiarrhythmic agent in patients with AF.
  Heartwire, July 2009
• ARMYDA-RECAPTURE Published: Statin Reload Before PCI The rate of major adverse cardiac events was significantly lower among patients "reloaded" with atorvastatin 80 mg 12 hours prior to PCI and 40 mg just before the procedure than in those who did not receive the additional statin boost.
  Heartwire, July 2009
• New Meta-Analysis: Statins of Benefit in Primary Prevention A new meta-analysis including some of the more contemporary statin trials has found that the agents significantly improve survival and reduce coronary and cardiovascular end points in primary-prevention populations, a benefit that extends to all subgroups.
  Heartwire, July 2009
• Barriers to Optimal Termination of Resuscitation in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Identified Insurance-reimbursement rules, state laws, and the public's false perceptions of survival after cardiac arrest may impede emergency medical workers from using best resuscitation attempts, a study finds.
  Heartwire, July 2009
• Ferumoxytol Approved to Treat Iron Deficiency Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease Ferumoxytol injection may be more effective than oral iron for anemic patients in all stages of chronic kidney disease.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• ISSTDR 2009: Internet-Based Testing Improves Screening for Chlamydia Among Men Internet-based chlamydia testing at home widens access to young people, and new DNA hybridization technology provides results at point of care.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• Bone Mineral Density Monitoring May Not Be Needed Up to 3 Years After Starting Bisphosphonates A study suggests that monitoring bone mineral density in postmenopausal women in the first 3 years after starting treatment with a potent bisphosphonate is unnecessary and may be misleading.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• HPV Vaccination Is Not Cost-Effective in the Netherlands Even under the most favorable assumptions, the HPV vaccine was not found to be cost effective, Dutch researchers report.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• Cancer Patients Undertreated for VTE, Despite Guideline Recommendations Many oncology patients do not receive appropriate VTE prophylaxis as recommended by practice guidelines, despite the high rates of associated morbidity and mortality.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• WHO Says Tamiflu-Resistant H1N1 "an Isolated Case" The first H1N1 infection found to be resistant to the antiviral Tamiflu represents an "isolated case" with "no public health implication" at this time, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.
  Reuters Health Information, July 2009
• Alert Insulin Glargine Potentially Associated With Increased Cancer Risk The increased risk has been seen in 3 of 4 observational studies, but these findings warrant further follow-up studies to confirm an association, according to the FDA.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• Alert Chantix and Zyban to Receive Boxed Warnings for Serious Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Varenicline and bupropion are receiving boxed warnings regarding the risks for changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts and behavior, and attempted suicide.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• FDA Safety Changes: Prevpac, Arava, Treanda The FDA has approved safety labeling revisions for a prepackaged regimen of lansoprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin tablets; leflunomide tablets; and bendamustine HCl intravenous infusion.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia Score May Help Predict Adverse Outcomes The severe community-acquired pneumonia score is at least as accurate as other current scoring systems in predicting adverse outcomes in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia.
  Medscape Medical News, July 2009
• Alert FDA May Restrict Acetaminophen Advisers tell the FDA to lower the over-the-counter dosage of the popular pain drug.
  WebMD Health News, July 2009
• CRP, Other Biomarkers, Not Clinically Useful to Predict CVD Risk Screening for contemporary biomarkers, such as CRP, will not add much to conventional cardiovascular risk factors in terms of helping to predict future events in the primary-prevention setting, say the authors of a new study.
  Heartwire, June 2009
• Mainly Medical Unknowns Regarding Michael Jackson's Apparent Cardiac Arrest With concerns raised about the use of prescription painkillers in Jackson's death, as well as the stress he was under with an impending world tour, Dr Douglas Zipes, from the ACC, and Dr Vinay Nadkarmi, from the AHA, both weigh in on some of the speculation.
  Heartwire, June 2009
• Social Activity in Late Life Associated with Better Motor Function A new analysis from the Rush Memory and Aging Project finds people who report less frequent participation in social activities have a more rapid rate of motor decline in old age.
  Medscape Medical News, June 2009
• Sanofi's Lantus Linked to Cancer: What Is Known? Sanofi-Aventis's diabetes drug Lantus may increase the risk of cancer, according to new but inconclusive studies from experts around Europe.
  Reuters Health Information, June 2009