Snoopy Sells For $175 Million – Planet Money Blog : NPR
That’s a lot of peanuts.
Anticonvulsant Meds and Suicide Risk
Results: The study identified 26 completed suicides, 801 attempted suicides, and 41 violent deaths in 297 620 new episodes of treatment with an anticonvulsant (overall median follow-up, 60 days). The incidence of the composite outcomes of completed suicides, attempted suicides, and violent deaths for anticonvulsants used in at least 100 treatment episodes ranged from 6.2 per 1000 person-years for primidone to 34.3 per 1000 person-years for oxcarbazepine. The risk of suicidal acts was increased for gabapentin (hazard ratio [HR], 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-1.80), lamotrigine (HR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.43-2.37), oxcarbazepine (HR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.52-2.80), tiagabine (HR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.65-3.52), and valproate (HR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.25-2.19), compared with topiramate. The analyses including violent death produced similar results. Gabapentin users had increased risk in subgroups of younger and older patients, patients with mood disorders, and patients with epilepsy or seizure when compared with carbamazepine.
Conclusion: This exploratory analysis suggests that the use of gabapentin, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, and tiagabine, compared with the use of topiramate, may be associated with an increased risk of suicidal acts or violent deaths.
CACS Improves Risk Classification
Conclusion: In this multi-ethnic cohort, addition of CACS to a prediction model based on traditional risk factors significantly improved the classification of risk and placed more individuals in the most extreme risk categories.
Lifestyle Underwriting – Update 4/27/10
The effect of combined health behaviors was strongest for other deaths and weakest for cancer mortality. Those with 4 compared with those with no poor health behaviors had an all-cause mortality risk equivalent to being 12 years older.
FDA Turtle Warning
Combination Therapy for Crohn’s
Better Treatment Found for Crohn’s Disease – BusinessWeek
The international trial included 508 people with Crohn’s disease who had never been treated with immunosuppressive drugs. One-third were given infliximab alone, one-third received only azathioprine and one-third were treated with both. The trial was funded by Centocor Ortho Biotech, which markets infliximab, and Schering-Plough.
After 26 weeks, 56.8 percent of those getting combination therapy had complete remission of symptoms, compared to 44.4 percent of those getting only infliximab and 30 percent of those getting only azathioprine.
Thought for Today – 4/23/2010
Hulk Hogan blames insurance company in lawsuit over coverage
I have reached the point in life when not much surprises or shocks me in the realm of human behavior and greed.
New Online Underwriting Manual
I was in San Antonio but unfortunately did not have time for a demo.
Energy Drinks + ETOH = Bad Combo
There is a link to the original study in PDF format within the AAFP article.
“Caffeine appears to reduce subjective perceptions of alcohol intoxication, but it does not ameliorate the performance deficits produced by alcohol,” said Thombs. “(Individuals) are more alert but just as behaviorally impaired as if they did not consume caffeine.”
FMAT – Family Medicine Accelerated Track
The AAFP’s 2006 Workforce Report projected a shortage of 39,000 family physicians by 2020. In its new Workforce Reform policy, the Academy recommends that medical schools develop admissions policies that serve to recruit students most likely to pursue careers in primary care.
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