Cardiology

Randomized controlled trials remain the gold standard, but a researcher at Kidney Week 2012 says that new approaches and study designs are needed that reflect real-world drug use and account for confounding variables.

Patients with end-stage renal disease who live in the Midwest begin dialysis at an earlier stage than patients who live in other regions of the US.

Results from the TEMPO trial presented at Kidney Week 2012 show that treatment with tolvaptan slowed the increase in total kidney volume and the decline in kidney function in patients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD).

Increasing numbers of people are on kidney transplant waiting lists. However, the number of potential living donors may shrink as more Americans qualify as pre-diabetic, making them less than ideal donor candidates.

Experts at Kidney Week 2012 discuss several treatment options for hyponatremia, including fluid restriction, loop diuretics, and the use of selective vasopressin V2-receptor antagonists.

A diet rich in highly alkaline fruits and vegetables helps reduce a marker of kidney injury and preserve kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease.

The powerful immunosuppressive drugs used to prevent allograft rejection are associated with severe side effects. A "mixed chimerism" strategy in which patients undergo simultaneous bone marrow and kidney transplant from the same donor may improve transplant survival and reduce the need for these drugs.

Use of peritoneal dialysis in patients with end-stage renal disease is declining due to lack of physician training and awareness, financial disincentives, and other factors. However, with proper patient and provider education, it is possible to grow a successful peritoneal dialysis program.

Study results reported at Kidney Week 2012 reveal that patients with early-stage CKD fare better in the public health system, which also appears to produce fewer racial and ethnic health disparities in care delivered to this population.

However, researchers at IDWeek 2012 said that although the drug showed a biological and a clinical effect during a phase III study, it did not meet the primary efficacy outcome.

Researchers at IDWeek 2012 presented new information and guidance on the diagnosis and management of three of the most deadly infectious diseases: pneumonia, meningitis, and endocarditis.

Investigators at more than one dozen sites will enroll hundreds of neurologically injured patients to study the effects of low serum sodium concentrations prior to therapy.

Hyponatremia is frequently seen in patients with hepatic impairment and portal hypertension, and is associated with wide range of severe complications and comorbidities. Pharmacologic treatment with vasopressin receptor antagonists offer management options beyond standard therapy.

In the first long-term active-comparator trial of efficacy and augmentation in restless leg syndrome (RLS), outcomes with pregabalin were better than those observed with pramipexole.

Although the intra-cerebral hemorrhage (ICH) score at hospital admission is typically used to estimate the potential prognosis in stroke patients, a new study suggests that the 24-hour ICH score is a more accurate assessment.

According to a randomized, controlled clinical trial reported at the Emerging Science session, pregabalin was found effective in relieving chronic neuropathic pain and pain-related sleep disturbances associated with spinal cord injury.

Results from the FREEDOMS II trial found oral fingolimod administered at a daily dose of 0.5 mg to reduce relapse rates by almost 50% in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Mark F. Mehler, MD, discussed how brain and behavior are becoming better understood through the emerging discipline of epigenetics.

The 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology presented a phase 3 randomized, double-blind clinical trial which found that levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel was more effective than standard oral levodopa-carbidopa.

In this video about hyponatremia, Dr. Paul Kattupalli reviews some of the important things healthcare professionals need to remember when treating patients with hyponatremia.

An investigational oral drug for multiple sclerosis (MS), called ONO-4641, reduced the number of lesions detected on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans

Updated guidelines for prevention of chronic migraine headache were unveiled during the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

A new study presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology suggests that the drug florbetaben can be used as a biomarker with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to diagnose AD by detecting amyloid plaques in the brains of living people suspected of having AD.

Dr. Sacco highlights some of the key takeaway points that he will speaking about during the Robert Wartenberg Lecture at this year's AAN Annual Meeting. He also discusses his involvement in the Northern Manhattan Study, which evaluates stroke in African and Hispanic Americans.

Tolvaptan, a vasopression V2 receptor antagonist used to increase low levels of sodium in the blood, could be a cost effective way of managing patients who have hyponatremia.

The Million Hearts program, which led to February being named American Heart Month, and Wear Red Day, established by the American Heart Association to focus attention on women's heart issues, are both intended to reduce the toll of cardiovascular disease.