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Results announced at the 2006 ESC meeting in Barcelona questioned the long-term safety of drug eluting stents (DES) and sparked intense discussion.

Sudden and unexpected deaths in young competitive athletes are uncommon but highly visible events, which raise concern and ethical issues in both the lay public and medical community. Which is the best strategy to timely identify individuals with cardiac disease responsible for sudden death (primarily, HCM) is largely debated. Namely, the extent to which sophisticated testing, such as echocardiography, is needed is still undefined.

Frequently, autopsy becomes the principal diagnostic tool when macro and microscopic analyses provide a conclusive diagnosis in cardiomyopathies. However, on average one third of autopsies do not identify a pathologically defined cause of death and these deaths are classified as "natural" or arrhythmogenic. In the athlete, the most common causes of sudden cardiac death are of inherited origin. This represents a tremendous burden to families, community and health care.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) during sports activity is an uncommon, but catastrophic event. Different efforts to reduce the risk of SCD related to sports have been undertaken. What is the role of the exercise test in this context? What does a positive exercise test mean?

Young competitive athletes are perceived by the general population to be the healthiest members of society. The possibility that highly trained athletes may have a potentially serious cardiac condition that can predispose to life-threatening tachyarrhythmias or sudden cardiac death seems paradoxical. However, high-risk ventricular tachyarrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in the athlete although uncommon, are extremely visible events due to the high profile of elite and professional athletes.

MUNICH – Data from a Phase II study of an investigational drug designed to block formation of blood clots show potential for added protection against a second heart attack or stroke among patients who are already taking state-of-the-art prevention therapy, according to researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

While the results of the study did not show a statistically significant difference in ischemic events among any of the four doses of apixaban evaluated, trends emerged that support further study, the scientists said.

Reston, Va.—In the largest multi-institutional study to date examining the impact of positron emission tomography (PET) in changing disease management of individuals with suspected recurrent colorectal cancer, researchers found that treatment plans were changed for more than half of patients, according to an article in the September issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--- Doctors and medical centers across the United States are debating the use of electronic health records (EHR). This month’s Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, provides a look at Eye M.D.s’ actions and opinions on the issue. Also highlighted this month are two research studies that will help doctors identify patients who are most vulnerable to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of severe vision loss in the United States and most Western countries.

With close monitoring and a few standard precautions, nearly all children with known or suspected vaccine allergies can be safely immunized, according to a team of vaccine safety experts led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Writing in the September issue of Pediatrics, the multicenter research team offers pediatricians a step-by-step tool for quickly identifying children with allergic reactions to vaccines, and a much-needed guide, they say, to safely immunize those who are allergic.

Academic health centers (AHCs) have a critical role in enabling, encouraging, and rewarding the sharing of biomedical research data, say a team of academics in this week's PLoS Medicine. "The leaders of medical schools and academic-affiliated hospitals," they say "can play a unique role in supporting this transformation of the research enterprise."

A comprehensive study using nationwide data on hip and knee replacements in England has found that one in seventy-five patients require a revision of their joint replacement after three years. Although this compares favourably with the rest of the world, the study published in this week's PLoS Medicine reinforces concerns about the new surgical techniques of hip resurfacing and unicondylar knee replacement.

BOSTON, Mass. (September 1, 2008)—Direct-to-consumer advertising may not be giving big pharma such a big bang for their buck after all. Despite the billions spent on bringing drug marketing campaigns straight into patients' living rooms, such strategies have a modest effect at best—and in some cases, no effect at all.

Although most people imagine wolves chasing deer and other hoofed animals, new research suggests that, when they can, wolves actually prefer fishing to hunting. The study, published today in the open access journal BMC Ecology, shows that when salmon is available, wolves will reduce deer hunting activity and instead focus on seafood.

Children burn more than four times as many calories per minute playing an active video game than playing a seated game, and their heart rate is also significantly higher with the active game, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A majority of U.S. hospitals on the East coast distribute formula sample packs to new mothers, contrary to recommendations from most major medical organizations concerned about the potential for distributing these packs to reduce breastfeeding rates, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, the practice is changing significantly.