underwriting

Reduced Total Lung Capacity and Mortality

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Background: Pulmonary restriction is associated with increased mortality in adults, especially those who are elderly. Previous studies, however, have used the FVC as a surrogate for the total lung capacity (TLC). We evaluated the association between a reduced TLC, mortality, and health-care resources use and compared this association with a reduced FVC.

Conclusions: Reduced TLC is strongly associated with mortality in adults who are elderly. Reduction of the FVC is a weaker risk factor for mortality.

via Association of Reduced Total Lung Capacity With Mortality and Use of Health Services.

Lassa Fever in Nigeria – CDC

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The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health has reported an increased number of cases of Lassa fever. Nineteen of the country’s 36 states have reported cases since the beginning of 2012. As of April 13, 2012, there were reports of 818 suspected cases, including 84 deaths. At this time, 131 cases have been confirmed by laboratory testing. Seven deaths have also been reported among health care workers.

via Lassa Fever in Nigeria – Travelers’ Health – CDC.

Avoid contact with rats, especially rat urine and feces. Put food away in rodent-proof containers.

  • Keep the home clean and rodent proof.
  • Trap rats in and around homes.
  • Do not eat rats.

Berry Good News

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In the current analysis, Elizabeth Devore, an instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and her colleagues addressed the gap in the research by reviewing the eating habits of a single cohort of 16,000 women participating in the Nurses Health Study. During their 50s and 60s, every four years the women answered questions by phone about what they ate. And in their 70s, they came into the lab for six different cognitive function tests. Devore and her team also had information on the women’s education, income and other socioeconomic factors that can affect cognitive function.

 

She and her colleagues focused their attention on berries because rodent studies showed that the key compound in berries, a flavonoid called anthocyanidin, could seep through the blood and into brain tissues — specifically concentrating in the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memory. As an antioxidant, flavonoids also fight inflammation and oxidation, both processes that affect aging brain cells.

 

Finasteride Sexual Side Effects Prompt FDA Warning, Label Changes

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Proscar is indicated for treatment of symptoms in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and also is approved to reduce urinary retention risk or the need for surgery related to BPH. Propecia is approved for use only in men as a treatment for male pattern baldness.

Among specific changes the FDA is calling for are:

  • a revision to the Propecia label to add libido disorders, ejaculation disorders and orgasm disorders that continued after the drug was discontinued;
  • a revision to the Proscar label to include decreased libido that continued after the drug was discontinued; and
  • revisions to both drugs’ labels that describe reports of male infertility and/or poor semen quality that normalized or, at least, improved after discontinuing the respective drug.

According to the agency, the changes were based on its review of hundreds of case reports of sexual dysfunction that persisted after patients ceased using the drugs. It should be noted that in 2011, the FDA called for both drugs’ labels to be revised to include erectile dysfunction as a side effect that continued after discontinuation of the drug.

via Finasteride Sexual Side Effects Prompt FDA Warning, Label Changes — AAFP News Now — American Academy of Family Physicians.

Got Long QT? No Citalopram For You

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  • Patients with congenital long QT syndrome are at particular risk of torsades de pointes, ventricular tachycardia and sudden death when given drugs that prolong the QT interval. Nevertheless, the labeling recommendation for patients with congenital long QT syndrome has been changed from “contraindicated” to “not recommended,” because it is recognized that there may be some patients with this condition who could benefit from a low dose of citalopram and who lack viable alternatives. Similarly, the drug is not recommended for those who have bradycardia, hypokalemia or hypomagnesemia, recent acute myocardial infarction, or uncompensated heart failure.
  • Although citalopram use should be avoided, if possible, in patients with certain conditions because of the risk of QT prolongation, ECG monitoring and electrolyte monitoring should be performed if citalopram must be used in these patients.
  • The maximum recommended dose of citalopram is 20 mg per day for patients with hepatic impairment, adults older than 60, patients who are CYP2C19 poor metabolizers, and those who are taking cimetidine or another CYP2C19 inhibitor concurrently.
  • Citalopram should be discontinued in patients who are found to have persistent QT measurements (corrected for heart rate) greater than 500 milliseconds.

via FDA Clarifies Citalopram Warnings Linked to Heart Rhythm Abnormalities — AAFP News Now — American Academy of Family Physicians.

The SEC Identifies Inadequate Disclosures in Sales of Structured Notes :: Investment Fraud Lawyer Blog

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Structured notes are essentially bank bonds bundled with derivatives. Derivatives are contracts whose value is derived from stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities. Thus, structured notes are complex products with no pricing transparency.

via The SEC Identifies Inadequate Disclosures in Sales of Structured Notes :: Investment Fraud Lawyer Blog.

Financial underwriting just got a whole lot more complicated.

Life Underwriting Expert Witness Search Results on Google Alternatives

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We get so focused on Google that it’s easy to forget there are alternatives to Google search. Granted, the alternatives are not nearly as popular. At 66% market share and 11.7 billion searches during the month of February 2012 alone, Google clearly is the leader. But other search engines are worth understanding — both from the perspective of when you are a searcher for information, and from the perspective of a site owner knowing that visitors may come from those other search engines.

via Google Alternatives.

I came across this article while catching up on news one Saturday morning.  For fun I ran the search string “life underwriting expert witness” without quotation marks on all of the search engines listed in the article.  I must admit that I was surprised at the search findings on all of the engines.

Let’s just say I’m a happy guy this morning.

The Conundrum Between Maturity and ADHD

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A recent Canadian study showed that the youngest children in each grade (born in the earliest month of the Canadian grade cutoff: December) were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than the oldest children (born in January). For girls, who overall have a lower incidence of ADHD, the difference was even more pronounced: 70%.

Interestingly, the overall rate of ADHD diagnosis in the sampling of children from this Canadian study (900,000 children) was 6.9% for boys and 2.2% for girls. Rates of diagnosis here in the United States are much higher, creeping up on 10% of all children.

via The conundrum between maturity and ADHD.

Medications are not without their side effects…