American Thoracic Society Journal news tips for April 2005 (first issue)
...ated. The next big movement forward came with the introduction of a combination of drugs, including streptomycin, to prevent the emergence of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. By 1955, clinical trials in Great Britain showed that almost all tuberculosis strains had primary resistance to only one drug. ...News briefs from the journal CHEST, April 2005
...quipment Repair Costs Reduced by New Programs The introduction of an interventional pulmonary (IP) program and an educational program dramatically reduced equipment repair costs for endoscopes and associated equipment at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. In the three year...Combination vaccine produces lower immune response than vaccines administered separately
...o background information in the article. Since the introduction of a monovalent serogroup C meningococcal glycocon...cine efficacy of 90 percent. Within 2 years of the introduction of a 7-valent pneumococcal glycoconjugate vaccine into the recommended infant schedule in the United...Heart valve ring reverses damage from congestive heart failure, easing symptoms
...rnal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery . The introduction of Edwards' new GeoForm mitral valve repair ring comes on the heels of a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine , which found that people who had severely leaky mitral heart valves but no symptoms were five times more likely t...Football is a pain in the neck
...ed to zero after 1994 according to the study. "The introduction of neck protectors may have played an important role in preventing these serious injuries in ice hockey," says Dr. Delaney. "It always pays to play it safe."...Electroshock therapy speeds improvement in schizophrenia patients
... 1930s, but it waned in developed nations with the introduction of antipsychotics and antidepressants in the 1950s. Tharyan says that in countries with few state-funded social services, ECT can be useful as the more rapid treatment because the impact of long-running schizophrenia can cause both patients and famil...Anti-malaria drug combination could help address treatment crisis in Africa
...spreading rapidly, has led to strong calls for the introduction of combination treatments. However, there is little data on the effectiveness of these combinations when used in routine practice. Theonest Mutabingwa (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK) and colleagues compared the effectiveness of t...Exclusive breastfeeding reduces risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission
...findings indicate that for these mothers, delaying introduction of all non-breast milk foods will substantially re... breastfeeding. "These findings suggest that early introduction of animal milk and solid food conveys especially high risk, but that even non-milk liquids like wate...HIV treatment not affected by hormonal birth control
...the American Journal of Epidemiology . "Since the introduction of HAART in 1996, many studies have proven the effectiveness of these regimens in reducing mortality and HIV-associated morbidity. However, not all patients respond equally well and determining the factors that could affect response is an important a...FDA approves Boostrix a new US vaccine for adolescents against pertussis
...ceptible to this highly contagious disease. "The introduction of Boostrix marks a milestone in the fight against pertussis in the United States, particularly among adolescents who are an important reservoir for the disease and often the source of infection for infants," said Gary Marshall, M.D., professor of Pe...Asymptomatic HIV-infected newborns may benefit from early drug treatment, Stanford study shows
... month. Those in the late group benefited from the introduction of a special type of antiretroviral drug called a protease inhibitor. They followed the children for the first three years of life, tracking at what age they developed AIDS and the rate of survival through their third birthday. As might be expected, ...MMR vaccine does not increase risk of Crohn's disease
...compared rates for those born before and after the introduction of the vaccine. She found no increase in Crohn's disease associated with the introduction of the MMR vaccination programme, providing strong evidence against the hypothesis that MMR vaccine ...New methods offer alternatives for patients undergoing obesity surgery
...this method has proven successful in the past, the introduction of a new technology currently used in treating gastroesophageal reflux disease is providing patients with an effective, less-invasive alternative to gastric surgery. In this pilot study, researchers from the Hospital de Clinicas Caracas looked at t...Ontario's mental health care evaluated
...e performance data for individual hospitals. "The introduction of this first-of-its-kind report on mental health is a positive step forward in enhancing these services across the province," says Hilary Short, president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association. "This report demonstrates yet another way Ontario...Statins underprescribed to patients at higher risk of heart disease, Stanford study says
... be underuse in higher risk patients." Since their introduction 17 years ago, statins have become the most prescribed class of drugs in the United States, with more than 126 million prescriptions filled in 2004. Statins reduce the level of cholesterol produced by the liver while boosting the liver's ability to re...African HIV subtypes identified in Minnesota population
...eillance on 28 non-African patients to monitor the introduction of non-B subtypes into Minnesota. All of those infected with non-B subtypes were African immigrants attending health clinics in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Of the 98 African-born HIV-1-infected patients, 87 were successfully subtyped and 95 percen...Dartmouth professor finds prescription drug advertising 'walks a communications tightrope'
...ation the overall architecture of the ad, like the introduction of information, the use of voice-overs, and the presentation of facts. He also analyzed the connections between spoken messages, images, and other non-verbal signals such as music, written words and body language. "I found an intense switching and f...Booster vaccine for adolescents and adults that includes protection against pertussis shows promise
...tion against pertussis," the authors suggest. "The introduction of adolescent and adult Tdap booster immunization in the United States could enhance immunity against pertussis, which would be anticipated to decrease the incidence of pertussis in the population, reduce the reservoir of pertussis, and lessen transm...Bipolar disorder more prevalent and costly than believed; Lithium could curb suicide rate
...use of lithium, as had been more common before the introduction of newer drugs and continues to be standard practice in Europe. The first modern use of lithium to treat mania was more than 55 years ago. Dr. Baldessarini, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and his team conducted a comprehensive, ......law. "We wanted to find out whether the imminent introduction of the new legislation would influence couples tow...nalysing data from the first four months after the introduction of the new legislation had not found a statistically significant reduction in pregnancy rates per fr...