Feb 3rd, 2023 - Adding docetaxel to radiation therapy (RT) improved survival outcomes in cisplatin-ineligible patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, a phase III randomized trial showed. At a median follow-up of 32.4 months, the 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 42% with docetaxel plus RT and 30.3% with RT alone (HR 0.673, 95% CI 0.521-0.868, P=0.002), reported Kumar Pra...

Feb 3rd, 2023 - To the Editor: We read with interest the Cutis article by Dobkin et al1 (Cutis. 2022;109:218-220) regarding guidelines for inpatient and emergency department dermatology consultations.

Feb 3rd, 2023 - Psychiatric electroceutical interventions (PEIs) – including Food and Drug Administration–approved therapies like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), as well as experimental interventions such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) and adaptive brain implants (ABI) – offer therapeutic promise for patients suffering with major depressive disorder (MD.

Feb 3rd, 2023 - Sustained vigorous exercise might have slowed disease progression in two patients with positive Alzheimer's biomarkers and mild cognitive impairment, two case reports suggested. At age 64, patient 1 was diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. More than 15 years later, at age 80, he had minimal cognitive and functional decline and was diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's disease. Patient 2...

Feb 3rd, 2023 - Elevated depressive symptoms were associated with an additional brain age of nearly 3 years, based on data from more than 600 individuals. Dr.

Feb 3rd, 2023 - More than half of patients with dementia residing in nursing homes report moderate to severe chronic pain, among whom more than half had no specific underlying condition causing their chronic pain. In addition, patients reporting severe pain were more likely to receive opioids, but the use of opioids was not associated with any specific pain condition. These findings were published in the journ...

Feb 3rd, 2023 - The bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine failed to protect against COVID-19 and other respiratory tract infections (RTIs) among older adults with comorbidities, according to a randomized trial from The Netherlands. In a group of older patients with a median of two comorbidities, COVID infections were reported in 4.2% patients who received the BCG vaccine compared with 3.7% of those given plac...

Feb 3rd, 2023 - A restrictive fluid strategy had no significant impact on mortality in patients with sepsis-induced hypotension compared to the typical liberal fluid strategy, based on data from 1,563 individuals. Intravenous fluids are standard in the early resuscitation of sepsis patients, as are vasopressor agents, but data comparing restrictive or liberal use in these patients are limited, wrote Nathan I.

Feb 3rd, 2023 - Anthracycline users with breast cancer or lymphoma had an upfront risk of congestive heart failure (CHF) that persisted during long-term follow-up in a population-based case-control study. The cumulative incidence of new-onset CHF was significantly higher for cancer patients treated with anthracyclines compared with healthy controls at every time point -- namely: Importantly, cancer patients re...

Prolonged sitting has emerged as a risk factor for various negative health outcomes. Researchers designed a practice-based study intended to reduce prolonged sitting time and improve various health factors among workers with sedentary jobs. The Take-a-Stand Project reduced time spent sitting by 224%, reduced upper back and neck pain by 54%, and improved mood.

Obesity, hypertension, and high cholesterol are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which accounts for about 20% of deaths in Washington State. For most states, self-reports from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System provide the primary source of information on these risk factors. This study compares prevalence estimates of self-reported obesity, hypertension, and high cholesterol...

Among more than 195,000 state quitline callers, 32.3% reported having one or more of the following chronic diseases: asthma, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. Callers who had a chronic disease were typically older, female, and less likely to quit smoking at 7 months than the nearly 30% of callers who had none of the mentioned chronic diseases.

Approximately 90% of Americans eat too much sodium. This practice leads to increased blood pressure, which increases the risk for stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and renal disease. Population-based strategies to reduce sodium intake can be effective and are needed at national, state, and community levels. This article describes the role of communities and environments in influenc...

To facilitate national efforts to maintain cognitive health through public health practice, the Healthy Brain Initiative recommended examining diverse groups to identify stakeholder perspectives on cognitive health. In response, the Healthy Aging Research Network coordinated projects to document the perspectives of older adults, caregivers of people with dementia, and primary care providers (PC...

Information on external validity enables public health practitioners to generalize conclusions about an intervention, which is critical to moving research into practice. Prior reviews examining external validity focused on efficacy publications only. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which secondary articles could enhance information about external validity presented in...

Feb 3rd, 2023 - Note that some links may require subscriptions. Data on more than 50,000 people suggest that seven symptoms are unique to long COVID: heart palpitations, hair loss, fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath, joint pain, and obesity. (Fierce Healthcare) Attorneys general in 20 states warned Walgreens and CVS of potential legal consequences if they sell abortion drugs by mail. (AP) Employees at th...

Feb 3rd, 2023 - A 19-year-old Iowa woman has been arrested after being accused of faking diagnoses of leukemia and pancreatic cancer in order to collect more than $37,000 in online donations. (CBS News) The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance is urging even women without high-risk genetic mutations to have their fallopian tubes removed once they've finished having children, if they're undergoing a gynecologic ope...

Feb 2nd, 2023 - Practice Gap Hemostasis after cutaneous surgery typically can be aided by mechanical occlusion with petrolatum and gauze known as a pressure bandage. However, in certain scenarios such as bone bleeding or irregularly shaped areas (eg, conchal bowl), difficulty applying a pressure bandage necessitates alternative hemostatic measures.

Feb 2nd, 2023 - Use of an allogeneic B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeting CAR T-cell therapy was feasible and safe and induced responses in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to interim results from the phase I UNIVERSAL trial. Among 43 patients who were treated with escalating doses of the agent (ALLO-715) after lymphodepletion with a regimen containing an investigational a...

Feb 2nd, 2023 - A mandatory cognitive screening policy targeting older drivers appeared to lower car crashes involving people over 70, according to results from a large population-based study using data from Japan. But the same study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, also reported a concurrent increase in pedestrian and cycling injuries, possibly because more older former drivers we.