This paper consists of subgroup analyses from ALLHAT, trying to work out how it is that some blood pressure lowering agents—notably the thiazide diuretics—increase blood sugar but still appear to […]
Richard Lehman’s weekly review of medical journals
JAMA 8 November 2006
As many people get older, they become fatter and their blood pressure rises. Some become diabetic. To maintain cardiac output, heart myocytes hypertrophy and stay hypertrophied over long periods, causing […]
NEJM 9 Nov 2006
Is it time that we had another go at eliminating malaria from the world? According to Nicholas White, prof at Bangkok, we already have the necessary tools and do not […]
BMJ 11 Nov 2006
Most of us are willing to concede, with varying degrees of regret, that civilised nations need standing armies, and that for these to be effective, soldiers need to be trained […]
Blake for the week
from Auguries of Innocence A truth that’s told with bad intent Beats all the lies you can invent. […]
Lancet 11 Nov 2006
What is the equation used to calculate the cardiovascular mortality burden in populations due to higher-than-optimum blood glucose? Pencils at the ready: you have thirty minutes. Or you may prefer […]
Ann Intern Med 7 Nov 2006
As I approach the threshold of old age, I wonder whether I will accept the process of crumbling with good grace, or discover that I have a strong desire to […]
War Poem
I write on Nov 11th, when we remember the dead of all wars, but especially those of the Great War, which ended with an armistice on this date, allowing the […]
Virgin Territory: a Tale of Two Covers
The cover of this week’s Lancet declares that “It is less contentious to promote abstinence and faithfulness than sex education, condoms, and safe abortion, but these are what is needed. […]
Arch Intern Med 23 Oct 2006
In an early episode of Blackadder, our hero has to fend off the eager amorous attentions of a large hairy infanta from Spain, played by Miriam Margoyles. This study from […]