by PWeekly | Dec 13, 2016
Assessing Asthma Exacerbation Susceptibility Previous research indicates that 50% of patients with asthma report having had an exacerbation in the previous year despite the majority of these individuals reporting that they have “mild” disease. Few studies have assessed the characteristics and determinants of exacerbations. For a study, researchers assessed exacerbations and their associations among African Americans with asthma. Asthma control was assessed using the 5-item Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ5). The likelihood of a future exacerbation increased with worsening ACQ5 scores. The investigators identified an exacerbation susceptibility phenotype that was independent of asthma control and may require more precise therapeutic targeting. ————————————————————– Milk Allergy & QOL Current data are lacking on quality of life (QOL) measures among patients with an allergy to cow’s milk. Patients who are allergic to cow’s milk (or their guardians) and were candidates for oral food challenge or desensitization completed a QOL questionnaire over a 3-year period for a study. Among respondents, 45% reported in the fields of “emotional impact” and “symptoms of disease” that food allergies affected their life in moderation. About 52% reported that they were affected somewhat by the negative repercussions of their allergy. Nearly half (49%) of participants reported that the impact of social and dietary restrictions was serious. Also, 55% said they were slightly affected by personal expectations regarding their disease and its repercussions. Additionally, 72% had only discrete future expectations regarding improvement of their disease. ————————————————————– Selecting Patients for Thermoplasty Brochial thermoplasty (BT) is an endoscopic treatment for severe persistent asthma in which heat is applied to the small airway for 10 seconds, causing atrophy of the small...
by Physicians Weekly | Jul 18, 2012
A small observational study suggests that initiating immunotherapy early may improve seizure outcome in patients with medically intractable epilepsy for whom clinical and serological clues suggest an autoimmune basis. At an average of 17 months after these patients received immunotherapy, 81% reported improvements and 66% were seizure free. Abstract: Archives of Neurology, May...
by Physicians Weekly | Mar 15, 2010
When managing kidney cancer, clinicians have traditionally used a one-size-fits-all approach. However, emerging evidence is demonstrating that all kidney cancer patients are not the same. Likewise, not all localized and metastatic kidney cancers are the same. Improving survival rates in kidney cancer is paramount, and several new targeted therapies that have been introduced to the treatment armamentarium have been shown to improve survival. As these therapies continue to emerge as viable treatment options, it’s important to determine the patients who stand to benefit most from them. New Long-Term Data In the November 1, 2008 issue of Cancer, my colleagues and I had a study published in which we assessed nearly 1,500 patients treated for kidney cancer in the last 15 years. Our investigation used an integrated staging system—developed at UCLA—which brought together medical oncologists, urologists, surgeons, clinical trial experts, and scientists for collaboration. A key finding of our study was that patients with localized kidney cancer could have low-, intermediate-, or high-risk cancers, and some may have better outcomes than others depending on the aggressiveness of the disease. Patients with low-risk, localized cancer had a 5-year survival rate of 97% and a 10-year survival rate of 92%. Those at intermediate-risk had 5- and 10-year survival rates of 81% and 61%, respectively. High-risk patients had 5- and 10-year survival rates of 62% and 41%, respectively. In the past, these groups of patients may have been treated in similar manners, but it’s clear that they should be treated individually according to their risk levels. In patients with metastatic kidney cancer, our study showed that those with low-risk disease should receive aggressive...
