乌鸦传媒

WASHINGTON-Medicare is about to announce that beginning in October it will start paying hospitals for use of the thrombolytic drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for treatment of ischemic stroke, according to published reports.

NEW YORK-The FDA has approved Zmax (azithromycin extended release) as a single-dose treatment for adults with pneumonia and certain types of acute mild-to-moderate bacterial sinusitis and pneumonia, Pfizer announced yesterday.

CLEVELAND-Patients who require a tracheotomy to help them breathe often have trouble swallowing, which cuts their caloric intake. The solution, say experts, is to supplement regular meals with feeding by a nasogastric tube, which is what doctors treating Pope John Paul II have decided to do.

ORLANDO-Cardiologists report that aggressive cholesterol-lowering to new super low target levels of LDL is associated with a 22% reduction in risk of heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrest and death from heart disease for patients with stable coronary disease. The reduction to a mean of 77 mg/dL compared with standard cholesterol-lowering therapy that aims to reduce LDL to about 100 mg/dL. In addition, stroke risk was reduced by 25% compared with risk in patients treated to the recommended target of 100 mg/dL.