Mixed Bag

Stenting of neck arteries tied to higher stroke risk in seniors
For patients being treated for a blockage in the artery that supplies blood to the head, inserting a stent may raise the risk of stroke more in elderly patients than in younger patients, a large new evidence review finds.

However, death risk was similar for older and younger patients receiving stents. And it was not as high as it was for older patients who underwent a different surgical procedure—called endarterectomy—to unblock the clogged artery. The report was published Oct. 23 in the online edition of JAMA Surgery. MedicalXpress

CDC: Trends in cholesterol levels of US adults estimated
From 2009-2010 to 2011-2012, there was no change in the percentage of adults with high total cholesterol, or in the percentage undergoing cholesterol screening, according to an October data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). MedicalXpress

Does the timing of surgery to treat traumatic spinal cord injury affect outcomes?
Performing surgery to take pressure off the spine after a traumatic injury soon after the event could prevent or reverse some of the secondary damage caused by swelling and decreased blood flow to the injured spine. However, strong evidence to support early spinal surgery is lacking, mainly because the available study data cannot be easily compared, as explained in a review of this controversial field published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Eurekalert!

Young, black women at highest risk for lupus, suffer more life-threatening complications
Young, black women have the highest rate of developing lupus and are most likely to be diagnosed at a younger age than whites and during childbearing years, according to a new University of Michigan study of lupus in Southeastern Michigan. In Michigan, lupus prevalence was three times higher than previous estimates, reaching one in 537 black female Michiganders in the region, compared to one in 1,153 white women, according to the findings that appear in Arthritis and Rheumatism. Eurekalert!

Race, ethnicity has no impact on long-term mortality in T2DM
For adults with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease, race/ethnicity has no significant impact on the long-term risk of death, according to a study published in the Nov. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology. MedicalXpress

Study Finds That Paying People to Become Kidney Donors Could Be Cost-Effective
A strategy where living kidney donors are paid $10,000, with the assumption that this strategy would increase the number of transplants performed by 5% or more, would be less costly and more effective than the current organ donation system, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). The findings demonstrate that a paid living donor strategy is attractive from a cost-effectiveness perspective, even under conservative estimates of its effectiveness. NewsWise