Mixed Bag

Calcium channel blocker effect on insulin resistance and inflammatory markers in essential hypertension patients
We imply that use of this CCB lercanidipine can be favored in EH patients due to its combined anti-PMNL priming and anti-inflammatory effects, in addition to its anti-hypertensive characteristics. Farah R, Khamisy-Farah R, Shurtz-Swirski R. Int Angiol. 2013 Feb;32(1):85-93. PMID: 23435396

Increasing rate of knee replacements linked to obesity among young, researchers say
Contrary to popular myth, it is not the aging Baby Boomer or weekend warrior that is causing the unprecedented increase in knee replacement surgeries. Data gathered by more than 125 orthopedic surgeons from 22 states across the U.S. show a more mundane culprit: rising rates of obesity among those under the age of 65. Eurekalert!

Patient in 'vegetative state' not just aware, but paying attention
A patient in a seemingly vegetative state, unable to move or speak, showed signs of attentive awareness that had not been detected before, a new study reveals. This patient was able to focus on words signalled by the experimenters as auditory targets as successfully as healthy individuals. If this ability can be developed consistently in certain patients who are vegetative, it could open the door to specialised devices in the future and enable them to interact with the outside world. Eurekalert!

FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA approves label changes for anti-seizure drug Potiga (ezogabine) describing risk of retinal abnormalities, potential vision loss, and skin discoloration
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved changes to the drug label of the anti-seizure drug Potiga (ezogabine), underscoring risks of abnormalities to the retina in the eye, potential vision loss, and skin discoloration, all of which may become permanent. The revised label includes a new boxed warning, the most serious type of warning FDA gives, because of the risk of abnormalities to the retina, a part of the eye that is needed for vision. We advise that Potiga use be limited to patients who have not responded adequately to several alternative therapies to decrease the frequency of seizures, or epilepsy, and for whom the benefits of treatment outweigh the risks. FDA

Risk of osteoporosis drug's side effects not significant, Loyola researchers find
Researchers studied 237 patients before and after they received injections of zoledronic acid. They found that a slight and clinically insignificant decline in calcium levels may be seen after the first infusion, but these effects appear to be transient. The findings apply only to individuals with normal vitamin D levels and kidney function prior to infusion and cannot be generalized to those with renal insufficiency and existing calcium and vitamin D deficiencies. Eurekalert!