As Viagra Controversy Heats Up on Campaign Trail, Real Issue May be Sexual Inequality Says Expert
Republican Sen. John McCain resisted being dragged into a discussion last week about insurance companies that will cover erectile dysfunction drugs but not birth control products.
“I certainly do not want to discuss that issue,” the presidential candidate said when a reporter asked him about it on his campaign bus, the “Straight Talk Express.” Carly Fiorina, a top McCain supporter, stirred talk about the topic at a recent Washington breakfast with reporters. The former Hewlett-Packard chief executive discussing consumer-driven health insurance, mentioned something “I’ve been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won’t cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice.”
“The underlying problem here really may be that there is no female equivalent of Viagra, so women may be using birth control as the closest comparison, “ says Stephen M. Simes, CEO of BioSante Pharmaceuticals. “It is shocking to some that 10 years after Viagra’s introduction, there is currently no FDA approved product to treat women who suffer from low sex drive, which may affect as many as 30-40% of American women. This is the real inequality that should be addressed. Women also would like and are entitled to a choice just like men have had for 10 years.”
Baby’s smile gives mom a natural high
A baby’s smile does more than warm a mother’s heart—it also lights up the reward centers of her brain, according to the results of a brain imaging study.
The finding, investigators say, could go a long way in helping researchers dissect the unique bond between mother and infant and how it sometimes goes wrong.
“The relationship between mothers and infants is critical for child development,” Dr. Lane Strathearn, of the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston noted in a statement.
Many Hispanics with diabetes unaware of potential eye disease, do not receive eye exams
Hispanic patients with diabetes appear to have less frequent eye examinations than the national average for Hispanic individuals, and many are not aware of the potential ocular complications of diabetes, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
One in five Hispanic individuals older than 40 years currently has diabetes, and almost half have diabetic retinopathy, a related eye disease, according to background information in the article. “The limited use of health care services in minority groups may make them more susceptible to the complications of uncontrolled diabetes,” the authors write. “In addition, a substantial proportion of those with diabetes are unaware of their condition, although already presenting signs of moderate to severe diabetic retinopathy. The importance of appropriate and timely care for diabetic retinopathy or macular edema [swelling in the retina] is paramount, as it is the leading cause of visual loss among working-age Hispanic individuals.”
Beatriz Muñoz, M.Sc., of the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and colleagues interviewed 349 randomly selected Hispanic individuals without diabetes and a group of 204 Hispanic individuals with diabetes. Participants answered questions about demographic information, health care habits and knowledge of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy.
Joint replacement may improve osteoarthritis symptoms in older adults
Older adults who have hip or knee replacement surgery for severe osteoarthritis may take several weeks to recover but appear to have excellent long-term outcomes, according to a report in the July 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
As the U.S. population ages, the number of older adults with osteoarthritis is increasing, according to background information in the article. The disease causes debilitating pain and often restricts older adults’ mobility. Non-invasive treatments such as medications and physical therapy appear to be of limited value for the advanced stages of osteoarthritis. However, surgery may be associated with risks and discomfort.
Mary Beth Hamel, M.D., M.P.H., and colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, studied medical decision-making and treatment outcomes in 174 patients age 65 and older (average age 75.2) who had severe osteoarthritis of the hip or knee. Participants’ arthritis symptoms and functional status were assessed at the beginning of the study, between 2001 and 2004, and again 12 months later. Patients who chose to have joint replacement surgery were assessed six weeks, six months and 12 months after the procedure.
Pioneering heart surgeon DeBakey dies at age 99
Surgeon Michael DeBakey, whose ground-breaking heart transplants and coronary bypass operations made him one of the giants of 20th century medicine, has died at age 99.
The Baylor College of Medicine and Methodist Hospital said DeBakey died on Friday of natural causes. Methodist Hospital in Houston was his primary surgical hospital for many years.
In a career that spanned more than seven decades, DeBakey developed a number of new surgical procedures that now are standard in treating heart ailments and led many to consider him the father of modern cardiovascular surgery.
Heart disease strongly impairs quality of life
Heart disease can markedly impair a patient’s quality of life with the impact varying by age, gender and racial group, researchers report in the journal Circulation.
The findings indicate that heart disease has the greatest negative effect on the quality of life of people between 18 and 49 years of age, women, and blacks and Hispanics. “Younger people may feel more pressure—especially younger men—in the workplace and may be more threatened by limitations imposed by their disease,” lead author Dr. Jipan Xie said in a statement.
Using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys for 2000 and 2002, Xie, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and associates examined how quality of life differed between people with and those without heart disease in the United States. Of the 37,386 individuals surveyed, 2,091 had heart disease.
