Recent reports in Science and Medicine for March 2004

Some of these links are very transient and may expire within days of posting. Some may require prior registration. Check-in and view frequently to avoid missing great news items. I welcome any suggested articles. (email link). "§" indicates a recommended article.

March 31

  1. The Lancet Volume 363, Number 9414     27 March 2004
  2. British Medical Journal 27 March 2004 (Vol 328, No 7442)

March 30

  1. Protein Supplementation With Isocaloric Carbohydrate Reduction Spares Calcium [Medscape review from the J Clin Endocrinology and Metabolism.]
  2. New England Journal of Medicine Volume 350 March 25, 2004 Number 13 Article Summaries
  3. Fructose sweetener linked to obesity rise. Bray et al. April Am J Clinical Nutrition [ Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity. Bray, et al. Am J Clin Nutr ; 79: 537]
  4. § Review: Current overview of statin-induced myopathy. Robert S. Rosenson Am J Med 2004; 116: 408-416 @CardioSource (pre-register)

March 29

  1. This Week in JAMA 2004;291:1415.
  2. Localization of white matter volume increase in autism and developmental language disorder. Annals of Neurology Published Online: 22 Mar 2004.
  3. FDA Statement:: Generic Oxycodone Hydrochloride Extended Release Tablets
  4. Acceptance of Tamoxifen Chemoprevention by Physicians and Women at Risk. CANCER; Published Online.[Eurekalert report]
  5. Medscape review of the WHO/ISH Hypertension Guidelines

March 26

Weekend Reading - Basic Science and general interest articles

  1. § Study Supports New Theory For Nicotine's Protective Effect Against Neurodegenerative Disorders [Science Daily report from J Neurochemistry.]
  2. Comparative Losses of British Butterflies, Birds, and Plants and the Global Extinction Crisis. Thomas, et al. Science 2004; 5665, 1879-1881. [New Scientist: Earth faces sixth mass extinction ]
  3. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  4. § Stem cells appear not to turn into heart cells [Eurekalert and Science Daily reports from Nature]
  5. Meat-tolerant Genes Offset High Cholesterol And Disease [Science Daily from Quarterly Review of Biology]
  6. Long-lasting Medication Shows Promise For Treatment Of Heroin Addiction [Science Daily report from rug and Alcohol Dependence.]
  7. A Little Music With Exercise Boosts Brain Power, Study Suggests [Science Daily report from Heart & Lung. 2004; 32:368-373 ]
  8. FDA Approves Oraquick HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, Follistim AQ Cartridge, Viewpoint CK System, and Chewable Zyrtec [Medscape review]
  9. COX-2 Inhibitors: A CLASS Act or Just VIGORously Promoted. Malhotra, et al. [Medscape review]

March 25

  1. § Rickettsia parkeri: A Newly Recognized Cause of Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis in the United States. Paddock, et al. Clin Inf Dis 2004; 38:805-811.[Medscape review]
  2. Archives of Internal Medicine: Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:587.

March 24

  1. EDA Talk Paper: Public Health Advisory on Cautions for Use of Antidepressants in Adults and Children [Medscape Alert
    Antidepressants May Cause Depression and Suicidality]
  2. FDA and Lilly : Zyprexa (olanzapine) increases risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes.[Medscape Alert Olanzapine Labeling Change Indicates Risk of Hyperglycemia, Diabetes]
  3. BMJ 20 March 2004 (Vol 328, No 7441)
  4. Lancet Volume 363, Number 9413     20 March 2004

March 23

  1. Intravascular Ultrasound Assessment of Ulcerated Ruptured Plaques: Nonculprit Lesions of Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes and Lesions in Patients Without Acute Coronary Syndromes. Circulation 2003 108: 2473 - 2478
  2. Evidence for Mitochondrial K+ Channels and Their Role in Cardioprotection . Circulation Research. 2004 94: 420 - 432
  3. Cyclooxygenases, the Kidney, and Hypertension . Hypertension. 2004;43:525-530.
  4. ACE Inhibition and Bradykinin-Mediated Renal Vascular Responses: EDHF Involvement . Hypertension. 2004;43:533-535.
  5. Transient Ischemic Attacks Before Ischemic Stroke: Preconditioning the Human Brain? A Multicenter Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Stroke. 2004;35:616 - 621
  6. New England Journal of Medicine 18 volume 350 March 18, 2004 Number 12  Article Summaries

March 22

  1. This Week in JAMA Vol. 291 No. 11, March 17, 2004
  2. Changes in Dietary Fat Intake Alter Plasma Levels of Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein and Lipoprotein(a). Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2004 24: 498 - 503
  3. Raising High-Density Lipoprotein in Humans Through Inhibition of Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein: An Initial Multidose Study of Torcetrapib . Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2004 24:490 - 497

March 19

Weekend Reading - Basic Science and general interest articles

  1. § Capturing and profiling adult hair follicle stem cells . Morris, et al. Nature Biotechnology: 14 March 2004, [New Scientist and Eurekalert report: Stem cell tricks hint at baldness cures ]
  2. Science of dieting: Slim pickings. Nature 428, 252 - 254
  3. Nutrient during pregnancy 'super-charges' brain [New Scientist report form Journal of Neurophysiology (vol 91 April issue)]
  4. Obesity drug inhibits prostate tumor growth. Cancer Research on March 15. [Eurekalert]
  5. Johns Hopkins Gene Hunters Pinpoint New Cancer Gene Target. [Science Daily report from March 11 Science]
  6. Alcohol consumption can damage hearing. [Eurekalert report from March 2004 Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (no acess).
  7. Ricin vaccine protects mice from poisoning [Nature news release]
  8. Healthier milk straight from the cow. [New Scientist and Nature reports]
  9. March 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  10. From PNAS Online Early Edition
  11. Lupus discovery may pave way to better-designed COX-2 inhibitors [Eurekalert report from April Nature Medicine]
  12. How amphetamine affects the dopamine transporter [Eurekalert report form PLoS BIOLOGY]
  13. Prosthetic Disc Replacement May Be Better Than Fusion [Medscape report from the meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.]
  14. How gut commensals survive [The Scientist report from the March 12 issue of Science]
  15. Study Supports New Theory For Nicotine's Protective Effect Against Neurodegenerative Disorders [Science Daily report from J Neurochemistry.]

March 18

  1. Annals of Internal Medicine 16 March 2004 Volume 140 Issue 6
  2. § WHO report reveals global problem of drug-resistant TB [New Scientist report]
  3. Thyroid function in clinical subtypes of major depression: BMC Psychiatry 2004, 4 on Monday 15 March.[Eurekalert report]
  4. Study Supports Use Of PET Scans In Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease. [Science Daily report from March Journal of Nuclear Medicine ]
  5. Atherosclerosis Common, Progression Accelerated in Patients With HIV. [Medscape report from Circulation]
  6. § Acupuncture for chronic headache in primary care: large, pragmatic, randomised trial. Vickers, et al. BMJ, online first (published 16 March 2004) and Cost effectiveness analysis of a randomised trial of acupuncture for chronic headache in primary care. Wonderling, et al. BMJ, doi:10.1136
  7. Health-Related Quality of Life and Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy of People With Diabetes in Ontario, Canada, 1996–1997. Diabetes Care 2004 27: 407-414.

March 17

  1. HHS UNVEILS FDA STRATEGY TO HELP REDUCE OBESITY New "Calories Count" Approach Builds on HHS' Education, Research Efforts
  2. Transient Ischemic Attacks Before Ischemic Stroke: Preconditioning the Human Brain?: A Multicenter Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Wegener, et al. Stroke 2004 35: 616 - 621 [Medscape]
  3. Few Stroke Patients Get to the Hospital in Time for IV tPA [Medscape report from Archives of Neurology.]
  4. Lancet Volume 363, Number 9412     13 March 2004
  5. BMJ 13 March 2004 (Vol 328, No 7440) NB: Full text at Pro-Quest via PHD Library site.
  6. Genetic Polymorphisms Associated With Predisposition to Type 2 Diabetes [Medscape and Eurekalert review from Diabetes 2004;53:1141-1149]
  7. Brief Report: Azithromycin Treatment Failures in Syphilis Infections.MMWR March 12, 2004 / 53(09);197-198.
  8. Access to Diagnosis and Treatment of Patients with Suspected Sleep Apnea . Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2004; 169: 668-672

March 16

  1. New England Journal of Medicine Volume 350 March 11, 2004 Number 11 Article Summaries
  2. New guidelines outline appropriate treatment of ear infections from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The guidelines are posted on the AAP and AAFP

March 15

  1. § EARLY RELEASE: Published at New England Journal of Medicine March 12, 2004 Bioethics and the Political Distortion of Biomedical Science. Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D.[Medscape]
  2. § Percutaneous Coronary Angioplasty Compared With Exercise Training in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease. A Randomized Trial. Hambrecht, et al. Circulation 2004: published online before print March 8, 2004.
  3. Time Dependence of Mortality Risk and Defibrillator Benefit After Myocardial Infarction. Wilber, et al. Circulation 2004 109: 1082 - 1084
  4. § Recall and detection rates in screening mammography: A review of clinical experience: Implications for practice guidelines. Cancer Published Online
  5. This Week in JAMA 2004;291:1167.

March 12

Weekend Reading - Basic Science and general interest articles

  1. § Evaluation and Management of Obesity in Children and Adolescents [Medscape report from Journal of Pediatric Health Care]
  2. Webwatch on Obesity from BMJ: AMA: Assessment and management of adult obesity ; NHLBI: Aim for a healthy weight ; HDA: Management of obesity and overweight (UK's Health Development Agency); The Rudd Institute (Yale University's Rudd Institute aims to thwart bias, stigma, and discrimination associated with obesity).
  3. § Obesity to surpass tobacco as top US killer [New Scientist report from CDC News]
  4. § Transporter's Function Provides Support For Eating Vegetables, Limiting Antibiotics [Science Daily report from Functional identification of SLC5A8, a tumor suppressor downregulated in colon cancer, as a Na+-coupled transporter for short-chain fatty acids. J. Biol. Chem., Feb 2004; 10.1074.]
  5. Reduced scarring helps nerves grow through spinal injuries [Eurekalert from the European Journal of Neuroscience.]
  6. Folic Acid Fortification Seems to Have Decreased Risk of Death From Stroke. Medscape and Science Daily reports from AHA meeting.
  7. Reports from the American College of Cardiology meeting
  8. § Medscape review From Health Affairs: What is Driving Hospitals' Patient-Safety Efforts?
  9. A new, safer smallpox vaccine has shown promise in two animal studies published in PNAS [report in Science (subscribers) and Eurekalert]
  10. Stress Hormones And Heart Failure: Receptors Could Lead To New Treatments [Science Daily report form PNAS]
  11. DNA Vaccine Protects Against Anthrax [Science Daily report from AMS meeting]

March 11

  1. FDA News: FDA Announces Measures to Improve Generic Drug Access
  2. FDA Talk Paper: FDA Approves First in a New Class of Drugs to Treat Hyperparathyroidism Associated With Renal Failure and in Patients With Parathyroid Cancer.
  3. FDA News: FDA Issues Recommendations on Development of Drugs to Treat Side Effects of Vaccination Against Smallpox.
  4. Effects of COX Inhibition on Blood Pressure and Kidney Function in ACE Inhibitor-Treated Blacks and Hispanics. Hypertension 2004 43: 573-577
  5. Brief Review: Cyclooxygenases, the Kidney, and Hypertension. Hypertension. 2004;43:525.
  6. Diets high in fat and animal protein linked to increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [Eurekalert report from Am. J. Epidemiol. 2004 159: 454-466.]
  7. Underreporting of Vertebral Fractures on Routine Chest Radiography Kim, et al. AJR 2004; 182:297-300
  8. In This Issue of Archives of Internal Medicine Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:478.
  9. Mayo Clinic Proceedings March 2004  Volume 79  Number 3

March 10

  1. The Lancet Volume 363, Number 9411 -  06 March 2004
  2. § Does Breast-Feeding in Infancy Lower Blood Pressure in Childhood? The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), Martin, et al. Circulation 2004: published online before print March 1, 2004.
  3. Tight Glycemic Control in Diabetic Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patients Improves Perioperative Outcomes and Decreases Recurrent Ischemic Events. Circulation 2004: published online before print March 8, 2004,
  4. Does Walking 15 Minutes per Day Keep the Obesity Epidemic Away? Simulation of the Efficacy of a Populationwide Campaign. Am J Public Health 2004 94: 437-440.

March 9

  1. § EARLY RELEASE: Comparison of Intensive and Moderate Lipid Lowering with Statins after Acute Coronary Syndromes. Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy - Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction.Published at www.nejm.org March 8, 2004 (10.1056/NEJMoa040583)
  2. New England Journal of Medicine 4 March 2004 Volume 350 Number 10
  3. Britiish Medical Journal 6 March 2004 (Vol 328, No 7439)
  4. Pre-eclampsia may increase risk of cancer [New Scientist review from BMJ online in DOI:10.1136/bmj.38032.820451.7C]

March 8

  1. This Week in JAMA 2004;291:1033.
  2. § Updated Recommendations on the Use of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine: Suspension of Recommendation for Third and Fourth Dose MMWR
    March 2, 2004 / 53(Dispatch);1-2     [Medscape report]
  3. Helicobacter pylori Infection and Gastric Atrophy: Risk of Adenocarcinoma and Squamous-Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus and Adenocarcinoma of the Gastric Cardia. J Natl Cancer Inst 2004; 96: 388-396.
  4. The Effect of Oral Contraceptives and Estrogen Replacement Therapy on the Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Population Based Study. J Rheumatol 2004;31:207-13
  5. Microarray Analysis Reveals Glucocorticoid-Regulated Survival Genes That Are Associated With Inhibition of Apoptosis in Breast Epithelial Cells
    Cancer Res 2004 64: 1757-1764. [Eurekalert report Widely used anti-nausea drug may interfere with cancer chemotherapy]
  6. Update on Osteoporosis [Medscape review]
  7. Sarcoidosis: An Update for the Primary Care Physician [Medscape review]

March 5

Weekend Reading - Basic Science and general interest articles

  1. § FDA News FDA Launches New Easy-to-Use Drug Information Web Site: Drugs @ FDA
  2. Drugs limit deadly side effects of graft-versus-host disease [Eurekalert report form early edition of the PNAS]
  3. Downsizing raises risk of death in workers [New Scientist report from BMJ]
  4. Antibiotic provides promise in treatment of spinal cord injuries [Eurekalert and Science Daily report from PNAS march 2]
  5. Society of Critical Care Medicine 33rd Annual Congress [Medscape report]
  6. Adolescent brains show reduced reward anticipation [Eurekalert report from J Neuroscience]
  7. Scientists find HIV-blocking protein in monkeys. [Eurekalert and Science report from Nature.]
  8. Reducing the Duration of Untreated First-Episode Psychosis: Effects on Clinical Presentation. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61:143-150.
  9. Drugs Limit Deadly Side Effects Of Graft-versus-host Disease [Science Daily report from PNAS].
  10. New Findings On Memory Could Enhance Learning [Science News ,Eurekalert and Science Daily reports from PNAS]

March 4

  1. § New England Journal of Medicine EARLY RELEASE: SPECIAL REPORT:  Derivation of Embryonic Stem-Cell Lines from Human Blastocysts
    EDITORIAL:  Two Fillips for Human Embryonic Stem Cells. PERSPECTIVE:  New Human Embryonic Stem-Cell Lines
  2. FDA Posts New Web Site on Heart Disease
  3. Annals of Internal Medicine 2 March 2004 Volume 140 Issue 5
  4. § Concordant morphologic and gene expression data show that a vaccine halts HER-2/neu preneoplastic lesions. Quaglino, et al. JCI 2004 113: 709-717.
  5. § NIH News NIH Asks Participants in Women’s Health Initiative Estrogen-Alone Study to Stop Study Pills, Begin Follow-up Phase.
  6. FDA Talk Paper: FDA Plans to Evaluate Results of Women's Health Initiative Study for Estrogen-Alone Therapy.
  7. CT Pulmonary Angiography: Quantification of Pulmonary Embolus as a Predictor of Patient Outcome. Wu, et al.Radiology 2004 230: 831-835. [Eurekalert report]
  8. § Anger and Hostility Predict the Development of Atrial Fibrillation in Men in the Framingham Offspring Study. Eaker, et al. Circulation 2004: published online before print March 1, 2004.
  9. § Cardiovascular Consequences of Sleep-Disordered Breathing: Past, Present and Future: Report of a Workshop From the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Quan and Gersh. Circulation 2004 109: 951 - 957,
  10. These cells, called stromal cells, are immature fat cells. Their findings are reported in the March 1 online issue of Circulation, the scientific journal of the American Heart Association.
  11. Randomized Clinical Trial of Supervised Tapering and Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Facilitate Benzodiazepine Discontinuation in Older Adults With Chronic Insomnia. Am J Psychiatry 2004 161: 332-342. [Medscape report]

March 3

  1. This week in the BMJ (Vol 328, No 7438)
  2. The Lancet Volume 363, Number 9410 — 28 February 2004
  3. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 169. pp. 562-564, (2004)
  4. Overlap Between Whites and Blacks in Response to Antihypertensive Drugs. Hypertension 2004 43: 566-572, [Eurekalert]
  5. § Hypertension Grand Rounds: Resistant Hypertension, Obesity, Sleep Apnea, and Aldosterone: Theory and Therapy.Hypertension 2004 43: 518-524
  6. § Guidelines Validated for the Management of Mild Head Injury. [Medscape report from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry]

March 2

  1. Loss of CBP causes T cell lymphomagenesis in synergy with p27Kip1 insufficiency. Kang-Decker,et al. Cancer Cell, 2004; 5, 177-189. Overexpression of c-maf is a frequent oncogenic event in multiple myeloma that promotes proliferation and pathological interactions with bone marrow stroma. Hurt, et al. Cancer Cell, 2004; 5:191-200. [Eurekalert report]
  2. § Mastectomy dramatically reduces breast cancer risk among women with BRCA1/2 mutations Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) published online February 23, 2004 [Eurekalert].
  3. § Avian Influenza A (H5N1) in 10 Patients in Vietnam Published at www.nejm.org February 25, 2004 (10.1056/NEJMoa040419)
  4. International critical care doctors release first-ever guidelines for sepsis [Eurekalert report from Critical Care Congress of the Society for Critical Care Medicine [posted guidelines soon at sccm.org]
  5. Water turnover in 458 American adults 40-79 yr of age. Raman, et al. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 286: F394-F401, 2004. [Eurekalert report]
  6. Low-Dose Recombinant Human Growth Hormone as Adjuvant Therapy to Lifestyle Modifications in the Management of Obesity. Albert and Mooradian. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2004 89: 695-701.
  7. The New England Journal of Medicine Volume 350 February 26, 2004 Number 9 
  8. § New Data Challenge Theories Of Multiple Sclerosis. February 23, 2004, early on-line Annals of Neurology, [Science and Science Daily report]
  9. Health Plan Effects on Patient Assessments of Medicaid Managed Care Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities. J Gen Internal Med 2004 (no online access). [Eurekalert report: MCOs shortchange minority Medicaid patients]

March 1

  1. § FDA Approves First Angiogenesis Inhibitor to Treat Colorectal Cancer (Science Daily report)
  2. Nutritional Formula Enhanced Immune Function and Reduced Days of Symptoms of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in Senior.s Langkamp-henken, et al. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2004; 52 :3 
  3. § Relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis: Pathology of the newly forming lesion (p NA). Barnett and Prineas. Published Online: Annals of Neurology 23 Feb 2004. DOI: 10.1002/ana.20016 [Science commnet]
  4. Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes in Childhood Using a Very-Low-Calorie Diet. Willi, et al. Diabetes Care 2004 27: 348-353.
  5. Weight Gain, Body Mass Index, Hormone Replacement Therapy, and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in a Large Prospective Study. Feigelson, et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2004 13: 220-224.
  6. This Week in JAMA. 2004;291:913.