American College of Cardiology: Following Treatment Guidelines in Potential Heart Attacks

Posted by James

Speaker: Eric D. Peterson, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center and Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina.

Results from the database of a national quality improvement initiative showed that hospitals with the highest adherence to national guidelines for treating patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) had significantly better patient outcomes, with more lives saved, than did hospitals that were less adherent. These findings are important, because although many studies have proved the effectiveness of individual treatment modalities in improving outcomes for patients with ACS, few have correlated individual hospitals’ use of these different therapies with actual patient outcomes.

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American College of Cardiology

Posted by James

CardiologyCost-Effectiveness of Clopidogrel in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Speaker: William S. Weintraub, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine and Chief, Emory Center for Outcomes Research, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

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American Academy of Neurology: Botulinum Toxin Injections in Musician’s Dystonia

Posted by James

Musician's DystoniaSpeaker: Stephen U. Schuele, MD, Consulting Neurologist, Department of Neurology and Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.

Results of an outcome survey of musicians with focal task-specific dystonia (FTSD) treated with injected botulinum toxin A (Botox®, Allergan) suggest that this approach can offer long-term benefit, independent of the musical instrument used.

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American Academy of Neurology: Zolmitriptan Nasal Spray for Long-Term Treatment of Migraine

Posted by James

Speaker: Andrew Dowson, MD, Director of the Headache Clinic, Kings College Hospital, London, United Kingdom.

Six-month follow-up results from a large-scale phase III clinical study demonstrate that zolmitriptan nasal spray (Zomig®, AstraZeneca) 5 mg is safe, well tolerated, and reliably effective when used for the long-term acute treatment of multiple migraine attacks. High pain-free rates have been maintained over time.

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American Academy of Neurology: Interferon Beta-1b and Azathioprine Combination for Multiple Sclerosis

Posted by James

Speaker: Peter A. Calabresi, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology, Department of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Director of the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland.

Combination therapy with interferon beta-1b (Betaseron®, Berlex/Schering AG) and azathioprine (Imuran drug, Prometheus) is safe and effective at reducing inflammatory disease activity in most patients who have multiple sclerosis (MS) with “breakthrough activity” who are receiving interferon beta monotherapy.

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American Academy of Neurology

Posted by James

BrainDonepezil Therapy in Alzheimer’s Disease

Speaker: Jeffrey Cummings, MD, Professor of Neurology, Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.

Therapy with donepezil (Aricept generic, Pfizer) has been found to significantly improve behavioral symptoms in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A 20-week study was designed primarily to compare the efficacy and safety of the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft®, Pfizer) with placebo in patients already receiving donepezil therapy. The patients were not depressed but were exhibiting substantial behavioral symptoms, with Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total scores above 5 at screening and NPI severity scores in at least two domains.

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A Pooled Analysis of Three Clinical Studies: DISCUSSION

Posted by James

Pooled AnalysisTreatment with gabapentin tablet has been found to be effective in relieving pain caused by PHN, bringing about improved scores and specific domains of the SF-36. These results were well demonstrated in this pooled analysis, which reinforces the findings of the pivotal studies comparing gabapentin with placebo in PHN. Because the demographics of the pooled analysis were consistent with epidemiological data, these find ings may be extrapolated to the PHN population.

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    So Many Advances in Medicine, So Many Yet to Come