Insidermedicine in 60 - October 5, 2007

From Germany - Having a sibling with so-called "left anterior descending" coronary artery disease is an important risk factor for developing heart disease. Those whose siblings had this problem were 3 times more likely to have a heart attack than those who only had a family history of heart disease. The findings may have important implications for screening.

From Washington - The Redmond-based software giant, Microsoft, is entering the healthcare arena. The company is launching an electronic medical record, called HealthVault, that patients can use to store their confidential medical information. The company believes that the EMR will lower medical errors and improve the portability of important information.

From Maryland - The FDA is considering a third class of medicines that would exist between presciption drugs and those available over the counter. "Behind-the-counter" medicines physically reside behind a pharmacist's counter and require a conversation with a pharmacist. The class might include drugs like the contraceptive plan B and cold remedies containing pseudophedrine.

And finally, from Wisconsin - Researchers have identified changes that allow the bird flu to become more likely to infect humans. Over the past decade, over 250 human cases have been identified, of which 150 were lethal. A single point mutation could allow the virus to better infect the upper respiratory tracts of humans.

For Insidermedicine in 60, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.

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News & Politics

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