Clinical Geriatrics

2010 American Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly
September 29-October 2, 2010; Denver, CO

Polypharmacy in the Elderly: To Prescribe or Not to Prescribe

Denver, CO—The U.S. population is aging, and many persons in this aging population have multiple chronic illnesses. Advances in the treatment of these chronic illnesses have resulted in an increase in the number of prescription and nonprescription medications used by the elderly. Currently, the number of people over the age of 65 years accounts for approximately 13% of the total population, yet this age group takes 31% of the prescribed medications in the United States.

American Academy of Neurology 2010 Annual Meeting
April 10-17, 2010
Toronto, Ontario

Drug Combination for Pseudobulbar Affect in Patients with Neurologic Diseases

Toronto, ON—The combination of dextromethorphan/quinidine (DMQ) provided relief of pseudobulbar affect (PBA) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a 12-week open-label study reported at the AAN meeting.

American College of Cardiology 59th Annual Scientific Session
March 14-16, 2010; Atlanta, GA

Ticagrelor Reduces Mortality as Compared with Clopidogrel After CABG Surgery

Atlanta, GA—Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who had coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery had lower death rates from any cause or from cardiovascular causes when treated with the novel antiplatelet agent ticagrelor versus standard clopidogrel. The improvement in mortality with ticagrelor was achieved despite major bleeding that was similar in the two treatment arms. These findings from an exploratory subgroup analysis of the PLATO (PLATelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes) trial, presented at a late-breaking clinical trials session during the ACC meeting, surprised some investigators.

Poster

Long-Term Safety and Tolerability of Lacosamide for Partial-Onset Seizures

Boston, MA—The purpose of this study, presented as a poster at the annual AES meeting, was to examine the long-term safety of lacosamide (LCM) for partial-onset seizures based on all available data from Phase II-III double-blind and open-label extension trials. William Rosenfeld, MD, of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Care Center for Children and Adults, St. Louis, MO, and colleagues found that long-term LCM treatment was generally well tolerated in their analysis of 1327 patients exposed to

American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Meeting
Philadelphia, PA; October 17-21, 2009

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Sustained Response in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis with Abatacept

Philadelphia, PA—Two-year data from the AGREE (Abatacept Study to Gauge Remission and Joint Damage Progression in Methotrexate-Naïve Patients with Early Erosive Rheumatoid Arthritis) trial show that patients treated with abatacept in combination with methotrexate (MTX) achieved sustained low disease activity scores at 24 months. Results of