Health Care News

• Urology groups release new overactive bladder guidelines
  The Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction and the American Urological Association released new guidelines on how to diagnose and treat non-neurogenic overactive bladder. The groups urged providers to conduct a thorough history check, physical examination and urinalysis during the first visit. Patients with OAB should be initially offered behavioral therapies, such as bladder training, fluid management and pelvic floor muscle training, and education. The guidelines were published in the Journal of Urology. Medscape (free registration) (10/26)     

• Quitting smoking might extend women's lives as long as 10 years
  A 12-year study of more than 1 million women in the U.K. found that smokers had a nearly threefold higher risk of death if they still smoked three years into the study compared with nonsmokers, but quitting early enough might dramatically cut that risk. Researchers found that smokers reduced the increased risk of premature death by more than 90% when they quit before age 40 and by more than 97% when they stopped before age 30. The study was published online by The Lancet. HealthDay News (10/29), United Press International (10/29)     

• Insulin resistance may add to Alzheimer's risk
  Higher insulin resistance was linked to reduced gray matter at baseline and at four years, as well as medial temporal lobe atrophy, in a study of late middle-aged, asymptomatic patients. "This result is important because morphological changes in entorhinal cortex and anterior hippocampus, particularly the cornu ammonis fields, are sensitive to mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease relative to normative aging," researchers reported in Diabetes Care. Healio/Endocrine Today (10/26)     

• Smoking cessation before stroke may prevent recurring stroke
  Smokers who have strokes were more likely to have a second stroke, a heart attack or die than people who had never smoked or who had quit smoking, according to study based on the cases of 1,500 stroke survivors. The risks were higher with younger stroke victims, Australian researchers reported in the journal Stroke. HealthDay News (10/25)     

• Prenatal intake of probiotics may lower babies' risk of eczema
  Babies born to mothers who took probiotics during the last two months of pregnancy and first two months of breast-feeding had a lower risk of developing eczema than the placebo group, according to a Finnish study. The findings, based on 241 pregnant women and their babies, appear in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Reuters (10/25)     

Pharmaceutical News

• IL-6 therapy does not improve glucose metabolism in diabetes
  Interleukin-6 treatment did not improve glucose metabolism in the skeletal muscle cells of type 2 diabetes patients compared with those who had normal glucose tolerance, a study indicated. However, IL-6 therapy was associated with increased fatty acid oxidation in both groups, researchers reported in Diabetes. PhysiciansBriefing.com/HealthDay News (10/25)     

• Research links flu vaccine to lower odds of cardiac events
  Influenza vaccination was associated with a reduced likelihood of heart attacks and other cardiovascular episodes, researchers reported at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress. One study found that one major cardiac event was prevented for every 34 individuals who received the vaccine. In another study, researchers found fewer implanted cardiac defibrillator shocks to the heart among vaccinated patients. Researchers said the findings were intriguing but warrant more study. WebMD (10/28)     

Hot Topics

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

• Obstetrics group revises cervical cancer screening guidelines (HealthDay News)

• 8 drugs enter FDA's watch list (Medscape (free registration))

• USPSTF says women shouldn't use HRT to prevent chronic disease (Reuters)

• FDA unveils list of NECC's customers (The Washington Times)

• More ACA rules will be in effect in 2013 (The Wall Street Journal)

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

Emerging Trends, Products and Technologies

• Poll indicates higher obesity rates in the U.S.
  Data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey show that 26.1% of U.S. adults are considered obese in 2012, compared with 25.5% in 2008. Researchers also found that the obesity rate in 44- to 47-year-olds increased to 30.4% this year, while it stayed consistent in those ages 24 to 27 and decreased slightly in those ages 60 to 63. The Huffington Post (10/26)     

Health Policy and Legislative News

• Final 2014 MU clinical quality measures are released by CMS
  CMS has issued the final 2014 clinical quality measures for eligible health care providers, hospitals and critical access facilities participating in either stage 1 or stage 2 meaningful use. The agency has also posted a variety of resources to help clarify the measures. Healthcare IT News (10/26)     

AANP News

• AANP's Million Hearts Initiative™ featured in October JAANP
  Two articles featuring the Million Hearts™ initiative are available in the October JAANP. Read the editorial by Dr. Leslie L. Davis and Dr. Janet S. Wright: The Million Hearts™ Initiative: How nurse practitioners can help lead. Also in this issue is an article by Dr. Michelle Edwards that provides a clinical review of novel risk factors for heart disease in women (The enigma of heart disease in women: New insights may precipitate diagnosis and improve patient outcomes).     

• Patient education on pediatric medication safety now available
  A new toolkit designed for use in teaching your pediatric patients' caregivers critical information about how to safely administer prescribed and over-the-counter medications to children and infants. The Safety Matters toolkit, created by AANP in partnership with NAPNAP, includes a flipchart and tear-sheet. Order a free copy by going to the AANP Toolkit page. Electronic copies of this toolkit and others are also available at this site.     

SmartQuote

Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind." --Hans Hofmann, German-American abstract expressionist painter