Internal Medicine Alert – December 15, 2004
December 15, 2004
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The Rip Van Winkle Diet, Part II
Sleep restriction (to 4 hours a night) resulted in increased appetite, increased cortisol levels, lowered TSH levels, worsened glucose tolerance and lower heart rate variability compared with sleep extension (to 12 hours a night) in young healthy volunteers. -
Reducing Normal Blood Pressure Benefits Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
A new randomized trial using either a calcium channel blocker or an ACE inhibitor to lower systolic blood pressure to the low 120s prevented cardiac events in patients with coronary artery disease compared with systolic blood pressures around 130. -
Increase in the Reservoir of Community-Acquired MRSA, With Implications for Hospital-Acquired Infection
Over a 7-year period, there was a dramatic increase in the isolation of community-acquired MRSA in the San Francisco area. Molecular typing showed movement of community-acquired strains into hospitals. -
Pharmacology Update: Lanthanum Carbonate Tablets (FosrenalTM)
A new non-aluminum, non-calcium, phosphate binder has been approved by the FDA. -
Clinical Briefs
In an attempt to clarify the role of early intensive glycemic control, newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients were treated with insulin by means of an insulin pump on an inpatient basis for two weeks, after which they were discharged. -
ECG Review: What Would You Ask the Patient?
The consecutive rhythm strips seen in the Figure were obtained from a 73-year-old man with a history of ischemic cardiomyopathy. QRS widening is the result of underlying bundle branch block. In view of the atrial activity seen in these rhythm strips, what would you want to ask the patient? -
Pharmacology Watch - ACE Inhibitors and Receptor Blockers: Which is Inferior?
The first head-to-head comparison study of an ACE inhibitor and an angiotensin receptor blocker, to assess renoprotective effects in type 2 diabetes, has shown that the drugs are comparable in their benefit.