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Combo
pill doubles BP control
CHICAGO —
A combo pill containing an ACE inhibitor and a calcium
channel blocker doubles patients' chances of achieving
adequate blood pressure control, according to data presented
March 31 at the American College of Cardiology meeting.
The pill, marketed in the US but not yet approved in
Canada, was 20% better at preventing cardiac events
than an ACE inhibitor and diuretic combo. This could
change BP treatment guidelines, which call for initial
therapy with one drug then adding others as needed,
say authors.
DIY
paternity test hits stores
HOUSTON —
Doubting dads everywhere can now prove "the kid is not
my son" (as Michael Jackson sang in "Billie Jean"),
thanks to a new paternity test available in drugstores.
All they have to do is collect a DNA sample from inside
their cheek and the child's, using swabs provided in
the kit, and mail them to manufacturer Identigene Inc's
lab. The results are sent back within days, they promise.
HIV
drugs raise MI risk
COPENHAGEN —
MI risks are nearly doubled in HIV patients taking the
anti-retroviral drug abacavir, says a study published
April 2 online in The Lancet. Another HIV drug, didanosine,
also poses a hazard. The silver lining is that the risk
returns to normal within six months of stopping the
drugs. But doctors should judge underlying heart risks
and responses to alternate therapies on an individual
basis before dropping the treatment, say the Danish
researchers.
Thailand
bans teen castration
BANGKOK —
Thailand's Public Health Ministry is clamping down on
the country's "ladyboys." Early this month, Thai officials
banned cosmetic castration for minors amidst fears that
teens are undergoing the approximately $130 operation.
Parents and gay rights groups complain doctors are overlooking
laws requiring parental consent for boys under 18. But
young members of Thailand's widely accepted "third sex"
want to be castrated when they're young to stunt their
masculine features so they appear more feminine after
full gender reassignment surgery.
Empyema
rates alarm doctors
VANCOUVER —
Rates of empyema, a potentially fatal lung infection,
have more than quadrupled in kids since 1995, says a
UBC study in March's Canadian Respiratory Journal.
A rise was also seen in adults, mostly the elderly.
Researchers say bacterial resistance is partly to blame.
They're urging FPs to watch for this hitherto rare infection.
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