Health Care News

• Experts find higher stroke risk with Southern diet
  People who reported eating Southern fare -- such as fried, salty and processed foods -- almost daily were up to 30% more likely than those who consumed less of such foods to suffer stroke, a study showed. Researchers also found that those who ate the most fruits and vegetables had a 15% to 26% lower risk of stroke than those who ate them only once a week. The findings were presented at the American Stroke Association meeting. HealthDay News (2/7)     

• Frequent blood glucose monitoring may boost diabetes management
  Data on more than 20,000 type 1 diabetes patients showed those who checked their blood glucose levels three or four times daily had an HbA1C of 8.6%, compared with 7.6% in those who checked 10 times daily. Researchers said public and private insurers should not limit test strip supplies for diabetes patients. The findings were published in Diabetes Care. Reuters (2/7)     

• CDC: Flu season appears to be waning
  CDC officials report that in much of the U.S., flu season is starting to wind down, according to data from the week ending Feb. 2. Widespread flu activity was reported in 38 states, down from 42, and mortality attributed to influenza also was down. Nineteen states recorded high levels of flu activity, the agency said. USA Today (2/8), U.S. News & World Report (2/8)     

• Bleeding stroke may raise risk of seizures, epilepsy in children
  U.S. researchers assessed 73 pediatric survivors of bleeding strokes and found that about 60% of the babies and 43% of the older children had seizures during the stroke or within a week following the stroke. The study, to be published in the journal JAMA Neurology, showed that 13% of the patients were diagnosed with epilepsy within two years. HealthDay News (2/7)     

• Analysis: Stress at work not tied to increased cancer risk
  A meta-analysis of 12 studies involving 116,000 17- to 70-year-olds found that job stress was not significantly associated with higher odds of developing breast, colorectal, lung or prostate cancers. Finnish scientists said that research that has shown a link between work stress and cancer could have done so by chance or because of factors not involving work stress. The findings appear in the journal BMJ. HealthDay News (2/7)     

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Pharmaceutical News

• Aspirin plus clopidogrel lowers risk of stroke recurrence
  Researchers tracked 5,170 minor stroke or transient ischemic attack survivors in China and found that those who received aspirin and clopidogrel were 32% less likely to suffer a second stroke in 90 days than those who took aspirin alone. The two groups both had comparably low rates of intracerebral bleeding, death and myocardial infarction. The study was presented at the International Stroke Conference. MedPage Today (free registration) (2/10)     

• Drug for ulcerative colitis is cleared by FDA
  Warner Chilcott's ulcerative colitis treatment Delzicol, a 400-milligram mesalamine formulation, has been granted FDA approval. The drug is expected to reach market in March. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (2/7)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by AANP SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• How a palliative care NP solved patient's pneumonia mystery (The Herald Bulletin (Anderson, Ind.))

• FDA issues warning against deceptive flu products (PhysiciansBriefing.com)

• Nursing dean says master's degrees, certification open doors (The Chronicle of Higher Education (free content))

• Diabetes drug for adults may help obese youths lose weight (Reuters)

• Measuring midway waist size may better identify health risks (PhysiciansBriefing.com)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Emerging Trends, Products and Technologies

• Health exchanges are favored by 55% of the public, poll finds
  Fifty-five percent of U.S. adults see the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges as a top priority for state leaders, according to a survey by the Harvard School of Public Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The public is not divided on the issue because "people like the idea," Kaiser Family Foundation CEO Drew Altman said. United Press International (2/10)     

• More U.S. mothers are breast-feeding, CDC says
  The number of babies who were breast-fed increased from 70.3% in 2000 to 74.6% in 2008, CDC researchers wrote in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends continued breast-feeding between ages 6 months and 12 months in combination with solid foods, and the report showed that the rate of breast-feeding after six months increased from 34.5% to 44.4% during the study period. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model)/Booster Shots blog (2/7), U.S. News & World Report/HealthDay News (2/7)     

Health Policy and Legislative News

• Ore. Senate supports extending NP dispensing to urban areas
  The Oregon state Senate has approved a bill that would give more nurse practitioners the power to dispense drugs in urban counties. State Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, who introduced the bill, said that nurse practitioners have been dispensing drugs in rural areas with good results. The bill "provides better access for patients, particularly those with transportation issues or who are seen after normal business hours," Monnes Anderson said. The Lund Report (Portland, Ore.) (2/8)     

AANP News

• AANP president issues challenge
  Angela Golden, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, president of the AANP board of directors, issued a challenge for NPs on Sirius XM's Dr. Radio. As part of AANP's support for the Million Hearts initiative, she asked that NPs share tips for blood pressure control and success stories of how they helped patients reduce high blood pressure. E-mail AANP4MillionHearts@aanp.org to share! Do you know the Million Hearts ABCS for heart health? Aspirin for people at risk, Blood pressure control, Cholesterol optimization and Smoking Cessation. AANP and Million Hearts challenge NPs to share their blood pressure control success stories by e-mailing AANP4MillionHearts@aanp.org.     

• JNP now an official publication of AANP
  JNP: The Journal for Nurse Practitioners is now an official publication of AANP. "We welcome the addition of JNP to our extensive membership benefits," said AANP president Angela Golden. "Since patients are the ultimate beneficiaries of the knowledge and skills of NPs, AANP is pleased that we now have two peer-reviewed journals available for our members." Published 10 times a year, JNP provides a highly credible resource to help NPs stay current with the clinical and policy concerns affecting their day-to-day practice. In addition to peer-reviewed clinical articles, JNP features continuing education opportunities and opinions and commentary on pressing legislative, regulatory and clinical practice issues. JNP is published by Elsevier, a global provider of scientific, technical and health care information products and services. AANP members now have access to both JNP and JAANP as a benefit of their membership. Read more about the journals.     

SmartQuote

The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. ... The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them." --George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright