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Association Between Reduced Ovarian Reserve And Increased Risk Of Trisomic Pregnancy
Women who have a diminished number of eggs in their ovaries, either because they are older or for some other reason such as ovarian surgery, may be more at risk of a trisomic pregnancy than women with an ovarian reserve within the normal, fertile range.
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Group Files Petition Over Enforcement Of Regulations In Adult Film Industry To Prevent Sexually Transmitted Diseases
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation last week filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court asking "the court to order the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to enforce regulations that require condom use in adult-film production or take other reasonable steps to stem the spread of disease," the Los Angeles Times reports (Yoshino, 7/17). In the petition, "the group claims that in the month since an actress tested positive for HIV, the county Department of Public Health has done little to address what it considers to be a serious health threat" (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 7/16). In a statement released last week, the department, said, "The county continues to strongly support state legislation and the regulatory role of the [California Division of Occupational Safety and Health] as the most appropriate means to regulate the practices in the adult-film industry that expose performers to unnecessary and preventable occupational risks of acquiring and transmitting these diseases," adding, "The department does not believe that litigation is the best means to deal with this issue" (Yoshino, 7/17).
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Sometimes Insurance No Match For Health Costs
Americans with serious illnesses who must often choose between paying a mortgage or their health premiums and deductibles are often going broke, The Seattle Times reports.
Cardiovascular

High Calcium Level In Arteries May Signal Serious Heart Attack Risk

Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) using coronary calcium scoring, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology. Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) using coronary calcium scoring, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology. "The amount of calcium in the coronary vessels, as measured by CT, is of high predictive value for subsequent serious or fatal heart attack in these patients, independent of the patient"s age, sex and other coronary risk factors," said the study"s lead author, Marcus Hacker, M.D., resident physician in the Department of Nuclear Medicine, leader of the research unit for nuclear cardiology and assistant medical director at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. CAD is the most common type of heart disease. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, it is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for both men and women, killing more than 500,000 Americans each year. CAD is a condition in which plaque, consisting of cholesterol, calcium, fat and other substances, builds up inside the arteries that supply blood to the heart. When plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, blood flow to the heart is reduced and may lead to arrhythmia, heart attack or heart failure. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging is a nuclear medicine diagnostic procedure that provides excellent three-dimensional images of the coronary arteries to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of CAD. Currently, calcium scoring-measuring the amount of calcium in the arteries-is used as a screening exam and in cases of suspected CAD, but not in cases of known CAD. Dr. Hacker and colleagues set out to determine if calcium scoring would lend additional prognostic value to SPECT findings in patients with known, stable CAD. For the study, 260 patients with CAD underwent coronary artery calcium scoring in addition to SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging. Over a median period of 5.4 years, the patients were followed up for severe cardiac events, meaning cardiac death or nonfatal heart attacks. Twenty-three of the 260 patients had a fatal or severe heart attack, and 40 additional patients underwent bypass surgery. The results showed that patents with an initial calcium score greater than 400 were at significantly increased risk for severe cardiac events. "We found that coronary calcium seems to play an important role in predicting subsequent heart attack or sudden cardiac death, and adds prognostic value to SPECT findings," said co-author Christopher Uebleis, M.D., member of the research unit for nuclear cardiology at Ludwig Maximilians University. Dr. Hacker pointed out that combining calcium scoring and SPECT can help to identify patients with known CAD who are at highest risk for serious or fatal heart attacks. "In these patients, intensified medical therapy, shorter follow-up intervals and, if necessary, bypass procedures may be required to prevent future severe cardiac events." "Stable Coronary Artery Disease: Prognostic Value of Myocardial Perfusion SPECT in Relation to Coronary Calcium Scoring ?Long Term Follow-up." Collaborating with Drs. Hacker and Uebleis were Alexander Becker, M.D., Ines Griesshammer, Paul Cumming, Ph.D., Christoph Becker, M.D., Michael Schmidt, M.D. and Peter Bartenstein, M.D. Radiology is edited by Herbert Y. Kressel, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., and owned and published by the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. (radiology.rsnajnls.org) RSNA is an association of more than 43,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to excellence in patient care through education and research. (RSNA.org) For patient-friendly information on CT, CAD and calcium scoring, visit http://www.RadiologyInfo.org. RSNA


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