Ringing in the Ears Called Growing Peril
Let your ears tell the tale. That ringing may signal lifelong trouble.
So here’s a message, loud and clear. Turn down that iPod! Audiologists are hearing more and more about ringing in the ears, and ringing is a telltale sign of future chronic tinnitus.
Half of Egg Donors Produce Abnormal Embryos
Embryos formed from the eggs of young healthy donors show a high level of chromosomal abnormalities, researchers said here today.
Overall, the rate of aneuploidy—an abnormal number of chromosomes—in such embryos was between 40% and 50%, but for some women as many as 83% of the embryos were abnormal, according to reports presented at a joint meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society.
Lumpectomy Plus Radiation Therapy Can Spare Breast Implants
A cosmetic breast implant does not need to be removed to treat women with early-stage breast cancer who are having a lumpectomy, a Mayo team reported here.
“The fact that a woman has a breast implant does not appear to impact outcomes if she wants breast conserving surgery,” Rosalyn Morrell, M.D., reported at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting here.
Cryoplasty Effectively Treats Challenging Peripheral Artery Blockages
Today, research presented at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s (CRF) Annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, in Washington, D.C., has shown that cryoplasty, a minimally-invasive treatment that utilizes freezing-cold nitrous oxide injected into an angioplasty balloon, appears to be more effective than standard therapies in the treatment of peripheral artery disease in the lower limbs.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects approximately 8 to 12 million Americans. Left untreated, PAD causes poor circulation in the legs and increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, amputation or even death. Treatment for PAD typically involves lifestyle changes or medication, but in some instances, surgery such as angioplasty is recommended because it is minimally invasive and cost-effective. However, in the arteries below the hip, angioplasty has had disappointing results - approximately 40% of patients will need to be treated again within one year because of artery re-blockage due to scar tissue accumulation, which cryoplasty has been shown to prevent.
Genetic melanoma risk less than previously thought
The findings from a new study indicate that carriers of the CDKN2A mutation have a 28-percent lifetime risk of melanoma, much lower than the 58 percent to 91 percent risk previously identified in studies of multiple-case families.
“In studies of multiple-case families, these families could well be linked by other genes that contribute to the risk of melanoma as well as the one you’re looking at,” said lead author Dr. Colin B. Begg, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. “When you separate out the family history like we did in our study, you tend to see a more representative estimate of the risk.”
Seattle gynecologist had sex with patients
A gynecologist accused of raping patients did have sexual relations with two women in his practice but the relationships were consensual, his attorney said Monday at the opening of his trial.
Charles Momah is also the target of a number of civil lawsuits that accuse him and his twin brother Dennis Momah of impersonating one another in his medical practice. Dennis Momah is not credentialed, although he examined and even operated on patients, according to the lawsuits.
EBay stops Tamiflu sale on Web as drug price soars
Internet auction site eBay pulled the sale of Roche Holding AG’s flu drug Tamiflu from its Web site on Tuesday, after prices topped 100 pounds on growing fears about the spread of bird flu.
A spokeswoman for eBay said the auction had been stopped because the sale of prescription drugs was not allowed under the company’s rules.
EU ministers hold emergency bird flu talks
EU foreign ministers held emergency talks on the approaching danger of avian flu on Tuesday, as Greece investigated what could prove the first appearance of the deadly strain in an EU member country.
Swiss drugmaker Roche, pressed to raise output of antiviral flu drug Tamiflu, said it would consider allowing rival firms and governments to produce it under license for emergency pandemic use. A Dutch company said it was working on a vaccine.
