Keep abreast of what your patients are currently seeing in the media with our round-up of popular news stories, available from WHF as abstracts with links to the full-text articles.

From the week of January 21, 2008:

Gastric Lap-Band Surgery Can Send Diabetes Into Remission

Americans are getting heavier and heavier, and the number of cases of diabetes in this country has skyrocketed. Gastric weight-loss surgery has become an increasingly popular way to combat obesity in the US, and can reduce the incidence of diabetes. New research suggests that gastric lap-band surgery, a less drastic procedure than gastric bypass that places a band around the upper stomach, limiting the amount of food that can pass through, is also beneficial to diabetics. Substantial weight loss is required to reverse the incidence of diabetes, and lap-band surgery is generally more effective than diet and exercise alone. The study concludes that the amount of weight loss, not the method, impacts the reversal of diabetes. For overweight diabetics who have had trouble losing weight in a more traditional manner, gastric lap-band surgery shows promise as a more effective means of diabetes reversal.

Read the full story on healthday.com

New Precaution for Contraceptive

A new study on the contraceptive skin patch Ortho Evra^® has found that women using this form of contraception have a higher risk of blood clots than women using birth control pills. The FDA recommended adding this new finding to the drug’s label. Ortho Evra releases hormones through the skin directly into the bloodstream, exposing women to approximately 60% more estrogen than women using typical birth control pills. The FDA still believes the skin patch is a safe and effective form of contraception, but advises women with other risk factors for blood clots to discuss the side effects of Ortho Evra with their healthcare provider. The patch is only available with a prescription.

Read the full story on nytimes.com

Study Says Implants Double Risk of Infection in Breast Reconstruction

A study of breast reconstruction surgery following mastectomy found that women who use artificial implants are twice as likely to acquire an infection at the surgical site as women who use their own abdominal tissue for reconstruction. All patients studied were given prophylactic antibiotics at the time of surgery to stave off infection. Reconstructive surgery with implants entails inserting a foreign object into the body and requires multiple procedures, creating a greater chance for infections to develop. Reconstruction with abdominal tissue has its own set of risks, including a longer surgical time than implant surgery, which increases the risk of blood clots and lung embolism, and a small possibility of transplanted tissue dying. These findings do not extend to breast augmentation surgery in non-cancer patients.

Read the full story on nytimes.com

Pregnancy Problems Tied to Caffeine

The link between caffeine and pregnancy problems has been the subject of many studies, with varied and sometimes ambiguous findings. However, a new study being published this week in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology claims that women who consume 200 mg or more of caffeine per day (roughly 10 oz of coffee) may double their risk of miscarriage. The study was based on 1063 pregnant women, and took into consideration other risk factors, such as the mother’s age and smoking habits. The researchers involved in this study say that, optimally, women should cut caffeine out of their diet completely for at least the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine have not taken official positions on caffeine consumption during pregnancy, but the March of Dimes plans on advising pregnant women or those trying to conceive to restrict caffeine intake to under 200 mg a day based on the study.

Read the full story on healthday.com