http://www.imng.com Elsevier Global Medical News Group has provided physician specialists with authoritative coverage of medical meetings, breaking medical news and analysis, clinical trial results, updates on drug prescribing, pertinent summaries of clinical guidelines, and perspective and opinion from medicine thought leaders. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Global Medical News. All rights reserved. en-us Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:00:07 GMT InfoDesk http://media.ny.idsk.com/multimedia/logos/rsslogo_imng.gif http://www.imng.com http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101601024372 LAS VEGAS (EGMN) – The federal government is stepping up its audit activities in Medicare, and that could mean greater scrutiny of emergency department billing practices, including the use of observation codes. By Mary Ellen Schneider Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:01:02 GMT imn020820101601024372 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101600004366 Neutralizing antibodies to interferon-beta not only persist in some multiple sclerosis patients who discontinue the recombinant-DNA treatment, they also appear to worsen the disease course, according to a report published online Feb. 8 in the Archives of Neurology. By Mary Ann Moon Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:00 GMT imn020820101600004366 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101600004369 Patients with glaucoma who used glaucoma medications were 74% less likely to die during 4 years of follow-up than were glaucoma patients who didn’t use those drugs, according to a report in the February issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology. By Mary Ann Moon Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:00 GMT imn020820101600004369 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101600004367 In patients whose mild cognitive impairment affects executive function but not memory, the presence of hypertension signals an increased likelihood of progression to full dementia, according to a report in the February issue of the Archives of Neurology. By Mary Ann Moon Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:00 GMT imn020820101600004367 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101553364365 SAN DIEGO (EGMN) – Investigators of a phase III randomized, controlled trial are aiming to enroll a total of 60 surgeon participants to help compare open and laparoscopic techniques for rectal cancer. By Doug Brunk Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:53:36 GMT imn020820101553364365 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101531064361 In the weeks following the massive earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12, Dr. Alix Charles, a first-generation American of Haitian descent, worried that international concern for the country’s long-term medical and economic needs would wane as the aftershocks abated. By Markette Smith Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:31:06 GMT imn020820101531064361 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101452104359 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.(EGMN) –The use of ventricular assist devices in U.S. children jumped by 32% during the mid-2000s, a trend that reflects changes in the management of severe pediatric heart failure. By Mitchel L. Zoler Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:52:10 GMT imn020820101452104359 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101428064355 Pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis face an increased risk of adverse obstetric outcomes, and they deserve heightened prenatal attention, according to a recent report in the February issue of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. By Amy Rothman Schonfeld Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:28:06 GMT imn020820101428064355 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101328364353 Estrogen-only hormone therapy has been shown to increase the risk of developing asthma after menopause by 54% among postmenopausal women compared with those never treated with HT, according to findings published online Feb. 8 in the journal Thorax. By Jennie Smith Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:28:36 GMT imn020820101328364353 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101304364351 SAN DIEGO (EGMN) – Mohs surgery has a place in the treatment of melanoma in situ and invasive melanoma, “but in my practice it doesn’t have a place every day,” Dr. Michael H. Swann said at a melanoma update sponsored by the Scripps Clinic. By Doug Brunk Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:04:36 GMT imn020820101304364351 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101119284349 MIAMI BEACH (EGMN) – The majority of patients referred to and screened by Emory University neurologists for deep brain stimulation surgery had been suboptimally treated with medication, according to a retrospective study. Once their medical therapy was optimized, most did not require surgery, said study author Gonzalo Revuelta, D.O. By Damian McNamara Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:19:28 GMT imn020820101119284349 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020820101049364345 One in every 640 young adults in the United States survived cancer as a child, and approximately two-thirds of them have at least one chronic health problem. By Sherry Boschert Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:49:36 GMT imn020820101049364345 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020520101631254343 The federal government has granted states and territories $119 million to reduce tobacco use, increase physical activity, and fight obesity, the Health and Human Services department announced on Feb. 5. By Alicia Ault Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:31:25 GMT imn020520101631254343 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020520101616274340 Influenza-like activity is currently below the national baseline level, but the death rate remains above the epidemic threshold, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Feb. 5 during a news briefing. By Robert Finn Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:16:27 GMT imn020520101616274340 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020520101616264338 Dermatologists have known for years that collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin decline in concentration with advancing age. Many products have been convincingly shown to increase synthesis of collagen, such as retinoids, vitamin C, and glycolic acid. By Leslie S. Baumann, M.D. Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:16:26 GMT imn020520101616264338 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020520101601304332 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:01:30 GMT imn020520101601304332 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020520101554064329 SAN DIEGO (EGMN) – The chances of a patient’s developing multiple primary melanomas over a lifetime is a real phenomenon, with an incidence ranging from 2% to 8% among patients who have had a first melanoma, or an average of about 5%. By Doug Brunk Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:54:06 GMT imn020520101554064329 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020520101409544326 Use of rosiglitazone in physicians’ office-based treatment of diabetes patients fell 60%, while pioglitazone use showed just a 9% drop during a 16-month period that included three Food and Drug Administration advisories in 2007 about the drugs’ cardiovascular risks. By Hillel Kuttler Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:09:54 GMT imn020520101409544326 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020520101402244324 By Patrice Wendling Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:02:24 GMT imn020520101402244324 http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&NEWSID=imn020520101300244320 Dr. Marjorie Bessel doesn’t shy away from making big changes. By Mary Ellen Schneider Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:00:24 GMT imn020520101300244320