Picks of the week Archives

Picks of the Week: Pokemon, the ice bucket challenge, and other frontiers in medicine

Posted on August 19, 2016 by

From the employment of Pokémon GO! in public health to new advancements in tackling ALS and inducing partial recovery in paraplegic patients, there have been plenty of noteworthy news and evidence updates shared on the Among Doctors network. Let’s have a look at some of them:

Pokemon GO! Pandemic or Prescription? The Public Health Perspective
Pokémon GO! shows how an alternative way of thinking & and a new era of solutions are need to tackle old (or not-so-old) problems.
NEK1 variants confer susceptibility to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Two summers after the Ice Bucket Challenge, new research is crediting part of the $115 million raised to helping to identify NEK1 as a new ALS-related gene.
Long-Term Training with a Brain-Machine Interface-Based Gait Protocol Induces Partial Neurological Recovery in Paraplegic Patients
Following 12 months of training with this paradigm, all eight patients experienced neurological improvements in somatic sensation and regained voluntary motor control in key muscles.
Guideline Update on Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy for CAD
This guideline-focused update on dual antiplatelet therapy for patients with coronary artery disease.
Pioglitazone Prevents Diabetes in Insulin-Resistant Patients With Cerebrovascular Disease
Pioglitazone is the first medication shown to prevent both progression to diabetes and major cardiovascular events as prespecified outcomes in a single trial.
Florida investigation links four recent Zika cases to local mosquito-borne virus transmission
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been informed by the State of Florida that Zika virus infections in four people were likely caused by bites of local Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Physical activity and risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and ischemic stroke events: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis
People who achieve total physical activity levels several times higher than the current recommended minimum level of 600 METs/week (as recommended by the WHO) have a significant reduction in the risk of the five diseases studied.
Reasons for Trying E-cigarettes and Risk of Continued Use
Regulatory strategies such as increasing cost or prohibiting e-cigarette use in certain places may be important for preventing continued use in youth.

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Image credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 iphonedigital

Posted in Picks of the week ALS, breast cancer, cancer, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, ice bucket challenge, ischemic heart disease, pokemon, public health, smoking, Zika, Zika virus

Picks of the Week: New recommendations for HIV, fibromyalgia and more!

Posted on July 24, 2016 by

Over the last days fellow colleagues shared articles, recommendations, and other noteworthy news on the Among Doctors network. Among them, there is also a very interesting blog post on Psychological And Mental Health by Professor Gabriel Ivbijaro (President of the World Federation for Mental Health and Chair of The World Dignity Project) that worths reading. Let’s have a look at the top picks of these news:

Migraine and risk of cardiovascular disease in women: prospective cohort study
Results of this large, prospective cohort study in women with more than 20 years of follow-up indicate a consistent link between migraine and cardiovascular disease events, including cardiovascular mortality.
EULAR revised recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia
Updated guidelines on fibromyalgia have been published by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR).
2016 Recommendations for Use of ARVs to Treat and Prevent Adult HIV Infection
Updated recommendations on the treatment and prevention of HIV infection, reflecting on the substantial advances of the ARVs, discussing the preexposure and post exposure prophylaxis, and considering the generics and their impact on pharmacoeconomics.
Effects of Pictorial Health Warnings on Smoking Cessation Attempts
Pictorial warnings effectively increased intentions to quit, forgoing cigarettes, quit attempts, and successfully quitting smoking over 4 weeks.
Association of Dietary Fats and Total and Cause-Specific Mortality
Dietary saturated and trans-fats were linked to increased rates of mortality. Replacing 5% of energy from saturated fats with equivalent energy from polyunsaturated fatty acid and MUFA was associated with estimated reductions in total mortality of 27%.
Making Psychological And Mental Health First Aid For All A Global Reality
The 2016 World Mental Health Day theme ‘Dignity in mental health – psychological and mental health first aid for all’ provides an opportunity for us to focus on an area that continues to provide challenges for people with mental ill health and their families, getting the right help in crisis.

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Photo credit: CC BY 2.0 by jonrawlinson

Posted in Picks of the week cardiovascular disease, dietary fats, fibromyalgia, HIV, mental health, migraine, mortality, smoking cessation

Picks of the Week: Endometriosis, menopausal symptoms and more!

Posted on July 8, 2016 by

More and more medical news are shared by fellow colleagues on the Among Doctors network on a daily basis. Here’s a selection of those the latest ones:

Diagnostic accuracy of cancer antigen 125 for endometriosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
CA 125 performs well as a rule-in test facilitating expedited diagnosis and ensuring investigation and treatment can be confidently tailored for the management of endometriosis -however, a negative test is unable to rule out endometriosis.
Use of Plant-Based Therapies and Menopausal Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
This meta-analysis of clinical trials suggests that composite and specific phytoestrogen supplementations were associated with modest reductions in the frequency of hot flashes and vaginal dryness but no significant reduction in night sweats.
Patient Navigation for Comprehensive Cancer Screening in High-Risk Patients Using a Population-Based Health Information Technology System
Patient navigation as part of a population-based IT system significantly increased screening rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in patients at high risk for nonadherence with testing. Integrating patient navigation into population health management activities for low-income and racial/ethnic minority patients might improve equity of cancer care.
Multimodal Randomized Functional MR Imaging of the Effects of Methylene Blue in the Human Brain
Using functional MRI, it was found that a single oral dose of methylene blue increased brain activity in the bilateral insular cortex, as well as the prefrontal cortex and parietal and occipital lobes, compared with placebo.
Hepatitis C Core Antigen Testing for Diagnosis of Hepatitis C Virus Infection
The HCVcAg assays with signal amplification have high sensitivity, high specificity, and good correlation with HCV RNA levels greater than 3000 IU/mL and have the potential to replace NAT in settings with high HCV prevalence.
Effect of Escitalopram on All-Cause Mortality and Hospitalization in Patients With Heart Failure and Depression
Chronic systolic heart failure patients treated for 18 months with escitalopram, an SSRI, did not demonstrate significantly reduced all-cause mortality.
Comparative efficacy of simultaneous versus sequential multiple health behavior change interventions among adults
There is limited evidence regarding the relative effectiveness of sequential and simultaneous approaches.

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Posted in Picks of the week endometriosis, escitalopram, heart failure, hepatitis C, menopause

Picks of the Week: The USPSTF advises on colorectal cancer and syphilis screening

Posted on June 28, 2016 by

During the past weeks two important recommendations were published from the US Preventive Services Task Forse (USPSTF) on the screening for colorectal cancer and syphilis. Let’s have a look at them, alongside other news that our members shared in the Among Doctors community:

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published its recommendations on screening for colorectal cancer
The USPSTF recommends screening for colorectal cancer starting at age 50 years and continuing until age 75 years (A recommendation).
Screening for Syphilis: Updated Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force
Screening HIV-positive men or MSM for syphilis every 3 months is associated with improved syphilis detection. Treponemal or nontreponemal tests are accurate screening tests but require confirmation.
Exercise during pregnancy protects against hypertension and macrosomia: randomized clinical trial
Maternal exercise may be a preventative tool for hypertension and excessive GWG, and may control offspring size at birth while reducing comorbidities related to chronic disease risk.
Intensive Blood-Pressure Lowering in Patients with Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage
The treatment of participants with intracerebral hemorrhage to achieve a target systolic blood pressure of 110 to 139 mm Hg did not result in a lower rate of death or disability than standard reduction to a target of 140 to 179 mm Hg.
Pharmaceutical Industry–Sponsored Meals and Physician Prescribing Patterns for Medicare Beneficiaries
Receipt of industry-sponsored meals was associated with an increased rate of prescribing the brand-name medication that was being promoted. The findings represent an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship.
Increased versus stable doses of inhaled corticosteroids for exacerbations of chronic asthma in adults and children
Current evidence does not support increasing the dose of ICS as part of a self initiated action plan to treat exacerbations in adults and children with mild to moderate asthma. Increased ICS dose is not associated with a statistically significant reduction in the odds of requiring rescue oral corticosteroids for the exacerbation, or of having adverse events, compared with a stable ICS dose.

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Posted in Picks of the week acute cerebral hemorrhage, asthma, blood pressure, chronic asthma, colorectal cancer, inhaled corticosteroids, pregnancy, screening, syphilis

Picks of the Week: Chronic insomnia, NSAIDs, opioids for low back pain and more!

Posted on June 4, 2016 by

Besides the 69th World Health Assembly in Geneva that saw the release of many reports and news, this was a week of a plethora of other articles and evidence published worldwide. Fellow physicians selected the most important ones and shared them on the Among Doctors network:

Management of Chronic Insomnia Disorder in Adults: A Clinical Practice Guideline
The American College of Physicians recommends that all adult patients receive cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as the initial treatment for chronic insomnia disorder. (Grade: strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence)
Comparative effectiveness and safety of strategies for preventing NSAID-associated gastrointestinal toxicity: Systematic Review & Metanalysis
The combination of selective COX-2 inhibitors plus PPIs provides the best gastrointestinal protection, followed by selective COX-2 inhibitors, and thirdly by nonselective NSAIDs plus PPIs.
Efficacy, Tolerability, and Dose-Dependent Effects of Opioid Analgesics for Low Back Pain: Systematic Review & Meta-analysis
For people with chronic low back pain who tolerate the medicine, opioid analgesics provide modest short-term pain relief but the effect is not likely to be clinically important within guideline recommended doses.
A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis of Dual Bronchodilation With LAMA/LABA for the Treatment of Stable COPD
Dual bronchodilation is better than a LAMA or a LABA alone, regardless of the drugs used.
Blood-Pressure Lowering in Intermediate-Risk Persons without Cardiovascular Disease
Therapy with candesartan at a dose of 16 mg per day plus hydrochlorothiazide at a dose of 12.5 mg per day was not associated with a lower rate of major cardiovascular events than placebo among persons at intermediate risk who did not have cardiovascular disease.
World No Tobacco Day 2016
For this year’s World No Tobacco Day, the WHO are calling on countries to get ready for plain (standardized) packaging of tobacco products.
WHO releases report on Attacks on Health Care
Over the two-year period from January 2014 to December 2015, there were 594 reported attacks on health care that resulted in 959 deaths and 1561 injuries in 19 countries with emergencies.
Prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus
An updated guide to inform the general public, and to be used by health care workers and policy makers to provide guidance on appropriate sexual practices in the context of Zika virus.

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Posted in Picks of the week COPD, emergencies, insomnia, low back pain, opioid, WHO, World No Tobacco Day, Zika, Zika virus

Picks of the Week: Medical error as one of the leading causes of death

Posted on May 14, 2016 by

Over the last days fellow colleagues shared many articles, evidence, opinion papers and other noteworthy news on the Among Doctors network. Let’s have a look at the top picks of these news:

Association between rotating night shift work and risk of coronary heart disease among women
Among women who worked as registered nurses, longer duration of rotating night shift work was associated with a statistically significant but small absolute increase in CHD risk.
Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US
A recently published article in BMJ estimates that medical error is the third biggest cause of death in the US, after heart disease and cancer. The authors mention that medical errors leading to patient death may be under-recognised in many countries, such as the UK and Canada.
Systematic review of antibiotic treatment for acute calculous cholecystitis
Antibiotics are not indicated for the conservative management of acute calculous cholecystitis or in patients scheduled for cholecystectomy.
Addition of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors to sulphonylureas and risk of hypoglycaemia
Addition of DPP-4 inhibitors to sulphonylurea to treat people with type 2 diabetes is associated with a 50% increased risk of hypoglycaemia and to one excess case of hypoglycaemia for every 17 patients in the first six months of treatment.
Effects of a mindfulness-based weight loss intervention in adults with obesity
Mindfulness enhancements to a diet-exercise program did not show substantial weight loss benefit but may promote long-term improvement in some aspects of metabolic health in obesity that requires further study.
Short-course oral steroids as an adjunct therapy for chronic rhinosinusitis
There might be an improvement in symptom severity, polyps size and condition of the sinuses when assessed using CT scans in patients taking oral corticosteroids when these are used as an adjunct therapy to antibiotics or intranasal corticosteroids.
Is physician burnout a looming public danger?
With over 50% of doctors feeling burned out, physician burnout should not be considered as a mere professional problem, as its repercussions may affect patients.

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Posted in Picks of the week burnout, coronary heart disease, DDP-4, medical error, oral steroids, professionalism, sulphonylureas, weight loss

Picks of the Week: Stomach cancer, fluconazole, and a few systematic reviews!

Posted on April 29, 2016 by

Sharing news within Among Doctors network is a way of appraising and curating evidence, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge with your trusted network. Let’s have a look at what news have been shared lately:

Diet, nutrition, physical activity and stomach cancer
The World Cancer Research Fund released a new report on stomach cancer linking for the first time drinking alcohol, eating processed meat and being overweight to an increased risk of developing stomach cancers.
FDA evaluating study examining use of oral fluconazole in pregnancy
FDA is evaluating the results of a Danish study that conclude there is a possible increased risk of miscarriage with the use of oral fluconazole for yeast infections.
Cochrane Systematic Review: A comparison of different antibiotic regimens for the treatment of infective endocarditis
Limited and very low quality evidence suggested that there were no conclusive differences between antibiotic regimens in terms of cure rates or other relevant clinical outcomes.
Association between anticholinergic medication and cognition, brain metabolism, and brain atrophy in cognitively normal older adults
Anticholinergic medication use was linked with risk for future progression to mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.
Cochrane Systematic Review: Mobile phone-based interventions for smoking cessation
The current evidence supports a beneficial impact of mobile phone-based smoking cessation interventions on six-month cessation outcomes.
Exposure to advertisements and electronic cigarette use among US middle and high school students
The odds of electronic cigarette use increased with greater exposure to electronic cigarette advertising, with Internet advertisements having the strongest effect.

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Posted in Picks of the week alzheimer's disease, antibiotics, anticholinergic medication, brain atrophy, cancer, cognition, electronic cigarettes, fluconazole, infective endocarditis, mHealth, pregnancy, smoking, smoking cessation, stomach cancer

Picks of the Week: Zika and microcephaly causal link confirmed

Posted on April 16, 2016 by

The last week, a great breadth of noteworthy scientific news was shared on Among Doctors. Let’s have a look at the most important ones:

The CDC confirms that the Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly
In a special report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms that on the basis of the available evidence, the Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and possibly other serious brain anomalies.
Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease
Thirty-three researchers and clinicians point out the potential link of infection to Alzheimer’s disease in a recently published editorial.
WHO: Global report on diabetes
The first WHO Global report on diabetes demonstrates that the number of adults living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million adults.
Antibiotic multiresistance in E.coli and K.pneumoniae in urinary tract infections: A 12-year analysis
Data of a large sample size of urinary strains isolated over a 12 year period and demonstrates that multi-drug resistance is an increasing phenomenon of particular importance in the main urinary-tract-infections-causing species.

Posted in Picks of the week alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, coffee, colorectal cancer, diabetes, social media, social networking, type 2 diabetes, Zika

Picks of the Week: Mediterranean diet, PSA screening, and risks in using antidepressants and fluoroquinolones

Posted on April 4, 2016 by

This week many news updates were shared by colleagues on the Among Doctors network. As many of you have already experienced, with this feature you can appraise and share new articles and evidence with the rest of your network. Why don’t you try it right away: share something interesting from the home page!

Let’s see the latest top news:

Dietary Patterns and Fractures in Postmenopausal Women
Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk for hip fractures. These results support that a healthy dietary pattern may play a role in maintaining bone health in postmenopausal women.
Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death
The longer life expectancy amongst women with active sun exposure habits was related to a decrease in CVD and noncancer/non-CVD mortality, causing the relative contribution of death due to cancer to increase.
Economic Analysis of Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening and Selective Treatment Strategies
The study reports that if PSA screening is to be cost-effective, it should be used conservatively and in combination with conservative management for low-risk disease.
Antidepressant use and risk of cardiovascular outcomes in people aged 20 to 64: cohort study using primary care database
This study found no evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are associated with an increased risk of arrhythmia or stroke/transient ischaemic attack in people diagnosed as having depression between the ages of 20 to 64 or that citalopram is associated with a significantly increased risk of arrhythmia.
Oral fluoroquinolone use and serious arrhythmia
Oral fluoroquinolone treatment was not associated with an increased risk of serious arrhythmia in the general adult populations of Denmark and Sweden, contrary to previous reports. However, the majority of fluoroquinolones were ciprofloxacin, and it is possible that the risk is with other less frequently used fluoroquinolone.
Gradual Versus Abrupt Smoking Cessation
Quitting smoking abruptly is more likely to lead to lasting abstinence than cutting down first, even for smokers who initially prefer to quit by gradual reduction.
Diagnosing Acute Heart Failure in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Bedside lung US and echocardiography appear to the most useful tests for affirming the presence of acute heart failure while natriuretic peptides are valuable in excluding the diagnosis.

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Posted in Picks of the week arrhythmia, citalopram, diet, fluoroquinolone, fluoxetine, heart failure, hip fractures, osteoporosis, PSA, PSA screening, smoking, smoking cessation, SSRIs, sun exposure

Picks of the Week: New guidelines and safety warnings on opioids

Posted on March 24, 2016 by

Sharing news within a peer community, such as the Among Doctors network, is a way of socially curating knowledge. Whether you wish to post your own piece of news, a guideline or a recently published article, or just start a new discussion within your own private group, Among Doctors is the right place to do all of that. So let’s have a look at what news have been shared lately on our network by fellow colleagues:

CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
This guideline provides recommendations for primary care clinicians who are prescribing opioids for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.
Opioid Pain Medicines: New Safety Warnings Added to Prescription Opioid Medications
FDA is warning about several safety issues with the entire class of opioid pain medicines. These safety risks are potentially harmful interactions with numerous other medications, problems with the adrenal glands, and decreased sex hormone levels. We are requiring changes to the labels of all opioid drugs to warn about these risks.
Long-Term Results of Stenting versus Endarterectomy for Carotid-Artery Stenosis
Over 10 years of follow-up, no significant differences were found between patients who underwent stenting and those who underwent endarterectomy with respect to the risk of periprocedural stroke, myocardial infarction, or death and subsequent ipsilateral stroke.
The ABC (age, biomarkers, clinical history) stroke risk score: a biomarker-based risk score for predicting stroke in atrial fibrillation
A novel biomarker-based risk score for predicting stroke in AF was successfully developed and internally validated in a large cohort of patients with AF and further externally validated in an independent AF cohort. The ABC-stroke score performed better than the presently used clinically based risk score and may provide improved decision support in AF.

Posted in Picks of the week atrial fibrillation, cancer, corticosteroids, end-of-life care, FDA, neck pain, opioid, pain, pneumonia, stroke