Week of November 14, 2008

This week’s topics include reducing C-reactive protein with a statin, short sleep duration and cardiovascular events, abdominal and body fat and heart disease, and fasting triglycerides.

Program notes:
0:21 This week it’s all about the heart
1:03 Almost 400,000 people with fat assessments
2:00 Fat cells are an endocrine organ
3:02 Waist circumference to assess
3:38 Use of statins in people with elevated C-reactive protein
4:30 Absolute risk incredibly small
5:30 People on statins had higher incidence of diabetes
6:13 Non-fasting triglycerides
7:11 If doctor wants blood drawn at a certain time
7:25 Short sleep duration predictor of cardiovascular events
8:20 400% increased risk of event
9:23 Ambulatory blood pressure monitor
10:30 End

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Johns Hopkins Podcast Archives:
	Week of May 25, 2007	This week's podcast includes coverage of FDA's warning on the diabetes drug rosaglitazone, advanced life support training for emergency responders, surgery for urinary incontinence, and alcohol intake and progression to Alzheimer's disease.  Here are the show notes:  0:20  Avandia/rosaglitazone warning  1:00  Soft warning from FDA  1:30  Didn't use primary data  2:28  Incidence of heart attack low  3:28  Life support and respiratory distress  4:30  Intubation and IV placement  5:20  Surgical management of urinary incontinence  6:15  Interferes with lifestyle of women  6:50  Sling vs. suspension surgery  7:30  Complications with sling  7:50  A drink a day keeps Alzheimer's away  8:50  Decreased by 85%  9:50  Lots of possible explanations 10:30 End Back to top
	Week of May 18, 2007	This week's podcast topics include: proton pump inhibitors, H2 blockers, minerals and their role, fiber and magnesium in type II diabetes, as well as topics related to Asthma. Here are the show notes:   0:20    Proton pump inhibitors   0:50    Use associated with pneumonia   1:35    Names of brands   2:06    H2 blockers   2:50    How do they work?   3:30    Take medication with physician direction   3:50    Fiber and magnesium in type II diabetes   5:00    Minerals and their role   5:30    Adult asthma   6:38    Mild asthma management   7:44    As needed dose effective   8:25    Asthma incidence increasing   9:11    Overweight women and exercise 12:10    End Back to top
Week of May 11, 2007	This week's topics include: optimal dose of aspirin, more news on stents, HPV infection and mouth cancer and drug rebates from doctors. 0:30    Drug eluting stents 1:30    Need anticlot therapy 2:30    Off label use 3:30    Many complications due to stopping therapy 4:00    Optimal dose of aspirin 5:00    Compared with other doses 6:00    Coated aspirin and bleeding 7:00    Some physicians receive rebates for drugs 8:32    May be harmful in mild anemia 9:00    Patients need to know hemoglobin level 10:07   Vaccine for HPV 11:00   HPV infection increases risk for mouth cancer 11:30   Need to make sure vaccine is effective in males 12:10   End Back to top
	Week of May 4, 2007	This week's topics include: a look at 'chemo brain,' treating diabetes doesn't hurt cognitive function, a once a year medication to prevent osteoporosis, and the decline in deaths due to acute coronary syndromes. Here are the show notes: 0:25     Chemo brain 1:03     Physicians disregard 2:03     Serious problem as more with cancer survive 3:00     Letting them know they're not alone 3:23     Treatment of diabetes and cognition 4:20     Goal of diabetes treatment 5:10     Treatment of osteoporosis 6:10     Once a year infusion 7:00     Down side is flu-like symptoms 7:50     More than one medication to treat 8:14     Decline in deaths due to acute coronary syndromes 9:00     Proper procedures and medications 10:00   Stent still needed for some 11:30   End Back to top
	Week of April 27, 2007	This week's topics include: A novel medication for the chest pain known as angina, AIDS medications may harm heart, treating depression in biopolar disorder may not help, and new bacteria emerge when vaccine-covered strains decline. Here are the show notes: 0:25 FDA podcasting 1:00 Novel medication for chest pain 1:51 Detect with treadmill 3:00 New medication works differently 4:12 Safety established 5:00 Drugs to combat AIDS and heart problems 6:00 Prospective study 6:41 Treatment of depression in bipolar disorder 7:39 Didn't prevent depression 8:20 Pneumococcal vaccine 9:20 New bacteria step in 10:16 New vaccines and surveillance needed 10:50 Certain people more susceptible 11:55 End Back to top
	Week of April 20, 2007	This week's topics include: the risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts in children who take antidepressant medications, new screening recommendations for blood vessel disease, the first bird flu vaccine is approved, and getting a routine flu vaccine prevents heart attacks. Here are the show notes: 0:22      Risk of suicide in kids on antidepressants 1:03      Suicidal ideation 2:00      Class of medication? 2:44      Parents take comfort 3:25      Society for Vascular Surgeons endorses screening 4:25      Blood flow limited 5:25      Aortic aneurysm 6:29      First bird flu vaccine 7:15      Shortcomings of vaccine 8:00      Herd immunity 8:47      Flu vaccine prevents heart attacks 10:13    Only 40 percent of people with heart disease get vaccine 10:56    End Back to top
	Week of April 13, 2007	This week's topics include: the dangers of lawn mowers to children and adolescents from Johns Hopkins, a review of strategies to manage jet lag from The Lancet, use of stem cells to treat type I diabetes from JAMA, and use of a medication already approved for other conditions in type II diabetes from NEJM. Here are the show notes: 0:30     Lawn mower dangers 1:07     Two ways injuries occur 2:00     Protective goggles 2:45     Backwards mowing problematic 3:10     Jet lag 4:10     Melatonin 5:39     No benzodiazapines 6:20     Elderly need preparation 6:39     Mangement of diabetes 7:10     Type I diabetes and stem cells 8:06     Long term effects? 10:07   Type II diabetes treatment 11:12   Approved for other diseases 11:45   Off label use of medications 13:02   End Back to top
	Week of April 6, 2007	This week's podcast topics include:  development of drug resistant strains of influenza (JAMA), computer assisted mammography (NEJM), treatment of migraine (JAMA) and autism and autism spectrum disorders (Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine). Here are the show notes: 0:35   Major drug therapy for influenza 1:10   Rapid genetic rearrangement 2:40   Who to treat 3:20   Computer assisted mammography 4:05   Digitized images 4:42   Computer uses algorhythm 5:55   Management of migraine 7:06   Combination needed early 8:19   Autism 8:50   Autism spectrum disorders 9:27   Two forms of disease 9:53   Genetic component 10:30  Two camps on incidence 11:15  Thimerosol, environmental factors 12:41 End Back to top
	Week of March 30, 2007	This week's podcast topics include: use of MRI in women with breast cancer, low dose aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in women, stents or medical therapy- which is best?, and manipulation of cholesterol components. Here are the show notes: 0:30     Aspirin for primary prevention in women 1:20     How much aspirin? 2:00     Don't use unless older or have family history 3:00     Followed for 30 years 3:49     MRI in breast cancer 4:20     Mastectomy or not? 5:00     Use of MRI in opposite breast 5:48     High false positive 6:11     MRI for screening? 7:20     Stents or medical therapy? 8:15     Same rate of heart attack or death 9:33     Medications and meet targets 10:45   Cholesterol management 11:45   Incidence of strokes increased 12:20   Cholesterol profile manipulation 13:25   End Back to top
	Week of March 23, 2007	This week's podcast topics include: the FDA's warnings on sleep disorder medications, CPR with just chest compressions helpful, many at risk for atherothrombosis, and Chinese food isn't healthy.
	Week of March 16, 2007	This week's podcast topics include: Varicella vaccination in children, financial barriers to health care among people with insurance, mortalilty following a heart attack on weekdays vs. weekends, high deductible, lower ER use.
	Week of March 9, 2007	This week's podcast topics include: stents, aspirin plus clopidogrel, early detection of lung cancer, colorectal cancer, aspirin and NSAIDS.
	Week of March 2, 2007	This week's topics include: hypertension and over the counter pain relievers, garlic and antioxidants not helpful, new hepatitis vaccine, treatment of periodontal disease and reduction of atherosclerotic risk.
	Week of February 23, 2007	This week's topics include: on-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery, new American Heart Association guidelines for women, counterfeit medications cause real harm, and direct to consumer advertising by pharma.
	Week of February 16, 2007	Are physicians becoming too paternal? Assessing heart disease in women. A new drug for treating psoriasis, and over the counter sale of a weight loss medicine.
	Week of February 9, 2007	This week's topics include: the use of topical anaesthetic creams and their potential for adverse everts, federal government's flu pandemic plans, new genetic test for predicting relapse in women with breast cancer, and control of methicillin resistant staph aureus using simple testing and prevention strategies.
	Week of February 2, 2007	This week's topics include: dermal fillers, pay for performance for hospitals, end of life care improvements, and niacin to improve the cholesterol profile.
	Week of January 26, 2007	This week's topics include: treating depression and cardiac events, early discontinuation of tamoxifen therapy for women with breast cancer, are repeat bone densities necessary, and surgery or embolization for uterine fibroids.
	Week of January 19, 2007	This week's topics include: dense breasts and breast cancer, ear tubes for kids, anticoagulation and stents, and why aren't generics making it to the drug market.
	Week of January 12, 2007	This week's topics include: new drug for lowering LDL cholesterol, FDA changes in labeling for OTC medications, new source of stem cells, and a technique for finding small numbers of resistant viruses in those infected with HIV
	Week of January 5, 2007	This week's topics include: expanded prenatal testing for Down syndrome, Parkinson's meds and heart valve damage, salmonella in pet rodents, and breast cancer treatment changes when second opinions are sought.
	Week of December 29, 2006	This week's topics include: lifetime risk of stroke continues, women at low risk for fractures can stop taking one type of osteoporosis medicine, gut bacteria and obesity, and proton pump inhibitors and hip fracture risk.
	Week of December 22, 2006	This week's topics include:  cancer following kidney transplantation, how black cohosh is not good for menopausal symptoms, mental games are good for preserving mental function, and the ecoli outbreak in lettuce.
	Week of December 15, 2006	This week's topics include: early intervention for prostate cancer, changes to CPR technique, folic acid doesn't help reduce cardiovascular disease risk, and New York bans some restaurants from cooking with trans fats and requires others to report the amount in foods they serve.
	Week of December 8, 2006	This week's topics include: pharmacy programs to improve medication compliance in older adults, comparison of three medications for type 2 diabetes, West Viriginia compels medicare and medicaid recipients to help in their own health care management, and postpartum depression.
	Week of December 1, 2006	This week's topics include: reducing cigarette smoking doesn't work, you need to quit, don't take a break from HIV meds, exercise cuts risk of macular degeneration, and a glitazone for fatty liver may help.
	Week of November 22, 2006	This week's topics include: topics are FDA approval of silicone breast implants, five way kidney swap at Johns Hopkins, botulism in face from supposed botox injections, surgery for low back pain no better than conservative therapies two years later.
	Week of November 17, 2006	This week's topics include: when is it too late for angioplasty?, quicker treatment of heart attacks, what men can do, even in midlife, to live longer, and are older men being overdiagnosed with prostate cancer?
	Week of November 13, 2006	This week's topics include: new type of vaccine through a skin patch, return of effectiveness of an antimalarial drug, reseveratrol and its benefits, diet and cardiovascular health in women.
	Week of November 6, 2006	This week's topics include: LVADs and reversing heart failure, better survival with statins in patients with congestive heart failure, CDC recommends that all adults over 60 get shingles vaccine, off pump vs. on pump bypass surgery, and men get colon cancer earlier in life than women.
	Week of October 30, 2006	This week's topics include:  spiral CT for lung cancer detection, vegetable consumption and reduced risk of dementia, influenza vaccine in young kids. ADHD meds in 3 to 5 year olds.
	Week of October 23, 2006	This week's topics include:  eating more fish, stenting vs. carotid endarterectomy, DHEA or DHEA and testosterone as anti-aging meds, new type II diabetes drug
	Week of October 16, 2006	This week's topics include: benefits to nonsmokers of smoking ban (study in JAMA), risks of not immunizing children, relationship of psoriasis to cardiovascular risk, use of atypical antipsychotics in people with Alzheimer's.
	Week of October 9, 2006	This week's topics include: controversy over drugs for macular degeneration in this week's NEJM, assessing risk of sudden cardiac death in young athletes, use of fish oil in people who've had a heart attack, and the new allergy vaccine from our fine institution.
	Week of October 2, 2006	This week's topics include: entinal node biopsy for melanoma, viral load not useful in predicting AIDS progression, docs wash hands when screensavers used, IOM says FDA needs help.
	Week of September 25, 2006	This week's topics include:weight loss and Alzheimer's, drug coated stents, new drug for multiple sclerosis
	Week of September 18, 2006	This week's topics include: watchful waiting and no antibiotic use in kids with middle ear infections, two early releases from JAMA regarding Cox-2 inhibitors and NSAIDs and their possible deleterious effects, this week's issue of Circulation showing that people who die of sudden cardiac death do have prodromal symptoms, green tea consumption and lower all cause mortality.
	Week of September 11, 2006	This week's topics include: genes in colon and breast cancer, older sugeons and mortality rate, older fathers and autism, total transplant heart approved by FDA
	Week of September 4, 2006	This week's topics include: FDA warning on common medications from Canada, change in heart revascular procedures, Celebrex, colon cancer and heart disease, deep brain stimulator for advanced Parkinson's disease
	Week of August 28, 2006	This week's topics include: MRSA, slight overweight and cardiovascular disease risk, side effects of breast cancer chemotherapy
	Week of August 21, 2006	This week's topics include: management of high blood pressure, diuretics use for elevated blood pressure, an Institute of Medicine report on the state of the nation's emergency departments, "doc in a box" healthcare/24 hour services, relationship of depression to cardiovascular disease
	Week of August 14, 2006	This week's topics include:  oncologists' choice of chemo drug, drug therapy to treat depression, use of antidepressants in elderly patients, the FDA mandate for the makers of Ritalin to disclose psychotic effects
	Week of August 7, 2006	This week's topics include:  FDA's possible approval of Plan B (morning after pill), post traumatic stress JAMA study, NEJM article on measels outbreak, emergency department overcrowding.
	Week of July 31, 2006	This week's topics include: imaging in CHD, otc mangement of menopausal symptoms, stepped driving programs reduce teen fatalities, one hour a day exercise inadequate to reduce risk of heart disease in young
	Week of July 24, 2006	This week's topics include: once a day HIV med, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, women, migraines and CVD, too many preemies.
	Week of July 17, 2006	This week's topics include: lung cancer and cigarette smoking in women, use of doxycycline in preventing tick relapsing fever, genetic variation and response to beta blocker therapy in patients with heart failure, and activity in older people and reduced mortality.
	Week of July 10, 2006	This week's topics include: high rate of influenza in kids, new antismoking med, choice of medical center for procedures, tylenol toxicity
	Week of July 3, 2006	This week's topics include: Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke, Zocor going generic, cognitive behavioral therapy better than meds for sleep problems, homocysteine reduction doesn’t affect dementia development
	Week of June 26, 2006	This week's topics include:  the American Medical Association recommending delay in pharma advertising to consumers, American Heart Association diet recommendations especially less trans fat, HPV transmission reduced with condoms, JAMA statin and reduced cataract risks
	Week of June 19, 2006	This week's topics include: WHO and American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations on breast feeding, AMA trying to reduce salt in processed foods, fluoxetine not helpful in anorexia, fish oil doesn't help arrhythmias
	Week of June 12, 2006	This week's topics include:  fetal fibronectin for determining whether a woman can be safely induced, new treatment for advanced kidney cancer, characterizing lymphomas with microarrays, and Harvard's entry into the stem cell world.
	Week of June 5, 2006	This week's topics include:  ADHD medications and emergency department visits, caps on Medicare meds backfire, GERD and increasing BMI, WHO report that AIDS incidence is falling
	Week of May 29, 2006	This week's topics include:   tx of acute lung injury, increased obesity among lower socioeconomic groups (JAMA), new Parkinson's drug approved by FDA, and use of two aspirin plus another med helps reduce incidence of all types of vascular events, especially stroke, after a TIA.
	Week of May 22, 2006	This week's topics include:  HER2 receptor status and choice of chemotherapy (NEJM), patients show their own artery scans stick with statin therapy better than those not shown their scans, VIOXX and risk, and JAMA study on rheumatoid arthritis drugs and cancer and infection risk.
	Week of May 15, 2006	This week's topics include: a study in the British Medical Journal on meta-analysis of whether fatty fish helps reduce cardiovascular disease risk, awareness of portion size study, Johns Hopkinsstudy on prostate cancer management and whether surgery is needed immediately, and a look at the Canadian medical system and the flaws that are starting to show.
	Week of May 8, 2006	This week's topics include: study about moderately elevated bilirubin levels in infants, naltrexone for alcoholism, bugs on hospital computer keyboards, and study of people at risk for schizophrenia with antipsychotic meds for prevention.
	Week of May 1, 2006	This week's topics include: signing up for Medicare part D, no benefit seen to vits C and E in reducing preeclampsia in pregnant women, watch out for those implanted defibrillators (JAMA) and FDA still not doing a great job with post marketing surveillance and phase IV trials.
	Week of April 24, 2006	This week's topics include: dental amalgams don't have any health problems associated witih them in kids, vaccine for HPV and cervical cancer prevention, and only fifty percent of people receive regular screening for health problems, including such non-invasive and easy tests as blood pressure measurements, the need for people with diabetes to do both daily self-monitoring and hemoglobin a1c, ordered by their doctor.
	Week of April 17, 2006	This week's topics include: homocysteine levels and cardiovascular disease, recall of contact lens solution because of fungal infections, breast ca therapy, pneumococcal vaccine and herd immunity
	Week of April 10, 2006	This week's topics include:impact of media on children, and a JAMA piece on caloric restriction improving surrogate markers for aging.
	Week of April 4, 2006	This week's topics include: vaccine against bird flu, combination of antiretrovirals protects against HIV infection, limits on audio level of iPods, regular use of NSAIDS and cardiovascular disease risk
	Week of March 27, 2006	This week's topics include:Clopidogrel or Plavix and aspirin mix may be harmful for some patients with cardiovascular disease, high dose statins helpful in reducing plaques inside blood vessels, genetic tendency in some to have very low LDL with a vastly reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and dramatic increase in esophageal cancer and GERD seen, according to federal statistics.
	Week of March 20, 2006	This week's topics include: disproportionate rate of death and disability due to asthma in African Americans, too much mercury in fish and health risks, need to be immunized for whooping cough in adults and teenagers, and rate of death from cancer fallen for the first time, according to federal statistics.
	Week of March 13, 2006	This week's topics include:  New England Journal of Medicine studies on drugs used to treat MS, Journal of the American Medical Association on heart and respiratory problems and exposure to fine particulate matter in air (JH study), weight training in women stops middle aged spread, and Ambien, the most widely prescribed sleeping pill nationally, is implicated in traffic accidents.
	Week of March 6, 2006	This week's topics include: high rate of death when spouse is hospitalized, not just when spouse dies, declining use of stethoscope by physicians all over the country, application of clot busting drugs directly to blood clots in brain when a stroke occur.
	Week of February 27, 2006	This week's topics include: Medicare is now paying for four types of bariatric surgery, the AMA and congress will be working together on standards to assess quality of care and therefore payment to physicians, statins may cause the first sign of heart diseaes to be chest pain instead of a heart attack, and chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine supplements may not be helpful for people with early osteoarthritis but may benefit those wtih moderate to severe pain.
	Week of February 20, 2006	This week's topics include: the WHO initiative to use low tech interventions to reduce disease transmission, esp the 'bump' where you touch elbows instead of shaking hands, new information showing that hormone replacement therapy may be beneficial after all, but that calcium supplements aren't, and finally, Genentech's plan to increase the price of Avastin now that it's been approved for two additional types of cancer.
	Week of February 13, 2006	This week's topics include: diet of no benefit in reducing cancer or heart disease risk in women, saw palmetto doesn't help benign prostatic hypertrophy, antidepressants may harm health of newborn, and current flu strain becoming resistant to antiviral drugs.
	Week of February 6, 2006	This week's topics include: home testing for HIV from a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on continuation of antidepressant therapy during pregnancy, March of Dimes release showing that the majority of birth defects are preventable, and high incidence of cognitive impairment among older people taking very common medications.
	Week of January 30, 2006	This week's topics include: long term problems related to heart defect surgery in babies- what happens as they grow up? JAMA story calling on academic medical centers to stop taking benes from pharmaceutical companies, statins and their potential in preventing sepsis in hospitalized people in this week's Lancet, and FDA committee decision to recommend Orlistat, a fat absorbtion blocking drug previously prescription only to be sold OTC.
	Week of January 23, 2006	This week's topics include: New England Journal of Medicine's article on anti-HIV drug regimens, use of aspirin in men and women and prevention of heart attack and stroke, and the Lancet review article on depression.
	Week of January 16, 2006	This week's topics include: Baltimore being voted the fittest city in America, foreign travel and your likelihood of picking up a disease, new frontiers in cardio, esp reversing atherosclerosis using a new medication, and whether the FDA should step into the discussion on ethical and financial considerations when deciding to approve a new drug, therapy or technique.
	Week of January 9, 2006	This week's topics include: Hopkins study on intraperitoneal chemo for ovarian ca (in NEJM), statins useless in ca prevention (JAMA), antidepressants okay in kids (American journal of Psychiatry) and FDA's decision to allow barley manufacturers to add health claims to their packaging, based on barley's ability to lower ldl.
	Week of December 29, 2005	This week's topics include: Medicare part D, diet and reduced risk of macular degeneration, statins and their multiple uses, and the soon to be unveiled nutrition label.
	Week of December 26, 2005	This week's topics include: tamiflu resistant bird flu cases, diabetes control and reduction in cardiovascular disease risk, one-third of American teens unfit, increasing life expectancy among men but not women, and modification of the Framingham risk score to correctly predict women at risk of heart disease.
	Week of December 19, 2005	This week's topics include: the new initiative by the NIH to intergrate gene analysis and cancer, colorectal cancer and fiber consumption based on a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on medications just as effective as surgery for GERD, and Hopkins study on 'hospital at home' elderly tx at home and do just as well, like it more.
	Week of December 11, 2005	This week's topics include: A New England Journal of Medicine study on new emerging pathogen Clostridium difficile, a Journal of the American Medical Association report on not everyone who needs adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer gets it, and the Institute of Medicine study on too much junk food advertising to kids, also Hopkins study on noisy hospitals and their negative effects.
	Week of November 28, 2005	This week's topics include: a study on monounsaturated fats, carbohydrate and protein diets for reduction of heart disease risk, the benefits of cancer screening in older people, diet pills are more effective if used with lifestyle modifications and exercise, and the National Academy of Sciences study on problems for cancer survivors.
	Week of November 21, 2005	This week's topics include: aspirin use in women for primary prevention of cardiac events, obesity in kids who eat out more than four times per week, exercise as a means of extending life from the Framingham study, and learning cpr in 20 minutes instead of four hours.
	Week of November 14, 2005	This week's topics include:waist/hip ratio and their impact on predicting heart attack, CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) for obstructive sleep apnea and late stage congestive heart failure, and cola consumption in women and risk of high blood pressure.
	Week of November 7, 2005	This week's topics include: screening for cervical cancer, Bush's flu plan, a huge study of British civil servants showing that when people feel they're being treated unfairly at work that increases their heart disease risk, and the human papilloma virus vaccine.
	Week of October 31, 2005	This week's topics include: the federal government's study on breast cancer showing that mammography is credited with a reduction in breast cancer deaths of about 25%, digital vs. traditional mammography, the bird flu and McDonald's using packaging with nutritional info.
	Week of October 24, 2005	This week's topics include: mortality related to obesity surgery, trastuzumab for breast cancer, antipsychotic medications in people with dementia and the bird flu. Back to top Back to Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Home Page