Health News Archive - November 15, 2005

By Holguin, Fernando; Folch, Erik; Redd, Stephen C; Mannino, David M Study objectives: COPD is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the United States, yet little is known about the prevalence of comorbid conditions and mortality in hospitalized patients with COPD.

By Hansel, Trevor T; Neighbour, Helen; Erin, Edward M; Tan, Andrew J; Et al Introduction: Inhaled anticholinergic drugs are effective bronchodilators in the treatment of COPD, and tiotropium bromide has recently been introduced as a once-daily bronchodilator for use as a maintenance treatment.

By Clark, Fr Peter Some Have Questioned the Treatment's Use in Catholic Facilities Mercy Health System, Conshohocken, PA, has had inquiries concerning whether a new procedure, the NovaSure Impedance Controlled Endometrial Ablation System, can be used in a Catholic health care setting.

DALLAS (Reuters) - An experimental smoking cessation drug by Pfizer Inc. was more effective than GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Zyban and far more effective than a placebo in helping smokers quit the habit in important late-stage studies, researchers said on Tuesday.

High doses of Pfizer Inc.'s cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor failed in a high-stakes trial to help heart attack patients significantly more than moderate doses of Merck & Co.'s rival Zocor, researchers said on Tuesday.

By Amy Norton NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nurse practitioners and physician assistants can care for HIV patients as well as doctors specializing in the disease -- and may do a better job than non-specialist doctors, researchers reported Monday.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc. said on Tuesday its experimental cholesterol drug torcetrapib, combined with its multibillion-dollar selling cholesterol drug Lipitor, significantly increased levels of "good" cholesterol while significantly lowering "bad" cholesterol.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. researchers said on Monday they may have made progress toward explaining why statin drugs, which lower cholesterol, do not work as well in some people as in others -- especially blacks.

Hopes for an effective vaccine against malaria were boosted on Tuesday by new research showing an experimental shot can protect children for at least 18 months.

By Anne Harding NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - African-Americans are three times as likely as whites to refuse surgical treatment for lung cancer, a new study shows. Surgery is the only effective treatment for certain types of early stage lung cancer, and can often cure the disease, Dr.