Patients Aged

A UC Irvine doctor has begun an experimental program involving a group of young doctors and elderly patients in an attempt to bridge the generation gap. About 23 medical students are mingling with residents of Heritage Pointe retirement home in Mission Viejo for a series of lectures and small group discussions this month on ethics and medical issues for senior citizens. "The elderly have prejudices about young physicians," said Dr.

The medical consensus on whether to give antibiotics to young children with ear infections has been swinging from one extreme to the other as conflicting clinical trials have pushed pediatricians first toward widespread use of the drugs, then toward a "watch and wait" approach in which most infections seem to clear up on their own. Two new trials reported Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine are nudging the pendulum back toward treatment...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Amgen drug Epogen for the treatment of anemia in children with chronic kidney failure who are undergoing dialysis therapy. Epogen elevates or maintains the red blood cell level and virtually eliminates the need for blood transfusions in patients. The FDA's action came almost on the 10th anniversary of Epogen's initial approval for use with adults.

A UC Irvine doctor has begun an experimental program involving a group of young doctors and elderly patients in an attempt to bridge the generation gap. About 23 medical students are mingling with residents of Heritage Pointe retirement home in Mission Viejo for a series of lectures and small group discussions this month on ethics and medical issues for senior citizens. "The elderly have prejudices about young physicians," said Dr.

Diagnosed with leukemia and cancer of the blood (T-cell lymphoma) two years ago, 14-year-old Sandor Bodo has become a kind of involuntary expert on pain management. "Spinal taps aren't painful for me anymore, because I learned this relaxation technique from a friend who taught me to put a pillow at my stomach and curl your body around it," said Bodo, whose cancer is in remission. "Then you can't even feel it.

Memorial Medical Center this week began immunizing all patients under 15 years of age against measles because of an almost 88% increase in the number of cases in Long Beach since last year. The surge in measles cases has been especially notable among Latinos. "It's important for us to minimize the risk (of infection) to all patients and visitors," said hospital spokesman Ron Yukelson. "If (a child) comes here for a hernia, we don't want (him) going home with the measles."

Contrary to many expectations, older heart attack patients enrolled in health maintenance organizations received better medical care than similar patients treated by private doctors, according to a new study from the UCLA Medical Center and the Santa Monica-based RAND Corp. The results, announced Saturday in Seattle at a meeting of the American Federation for Clinical Research, reinforce studies over the past decade.

The medical consensus on whether to give antibiotics to young children with ear infections has been swinging from one extreme to the other as conflicting clinical trials have pushed pediatricians first toward widespread use of the drugs, then toward a "watch and wait" approach in which most infections seem to clear up on their own. Two new trials reported Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine are nudging the pendulum back toward treatment...

Vitamin E supplements ward off colds in the elderly and may help some seniors avoid upper-respiratory infections that can prove deadly, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. In a study of 617 nursing home patients aged 65 or older, those who swallowed a vitamin E supplement daily had significantly fewer common colds and a 20% overall lower risk of catching a cold, the researchers found.

The long-awaited results of a study gauging the benefits of a controversial heart disease therapy have once more pitted the alternative medicine community against mainstream cardiologists. A clinical trial that cost taxpayers $30 million and took researchers more than a decade to complete suggests that chelation -- the removal of heavy metals from the body -- may offer some benefits to patients who have suffered a heart attack . But those findings were immediately discounted by the editors of the influential journal that published the study's findings.

Diagnosed with leukemia and cancer of the blood (T-cell lymphoma) two years ago, 14-year-old Sandor Bodo has become a kind of involuntary expert on pain management. "Spinal taps aren't painful for me anymore, because I learned this relaxation technique from a friend who taught me to put a pillow at my stomach and curl your body around it," said Bodo, whose cancer is in remission. "Then you can't even feel it.

Contrary to many expectations, older heart attack patients enrolled in health maintenance organizations received better medical care than similar patients treated by private doctors, according to a new study from the UCLA Medical Center and the Santa Monica-based RAND Corp. The results, announced Saturday in Seattle at a meeting of the American Federation for Clinical Research, reinforce studies over the past decade.

Memorial Medical Center this week began immunizing all patients under 15 years of age against measles because of an almost 88% increase in the number of cases in Long Beach since last year. The surge in measles cases has been especially notable among Latinos. "It's important for us to minimize the risk (of infection) to all patients and visitors," said hospital spokesman Ron Yukelson. "If (a child) comes here for a hernia, we don't want (him) going home with the measles."

The Food and Drug Administration today approved the use of the drug AZT to treat children with AIDS. It is the only drug that has been shown to extend the lives of adults with the deadly disease. New labeling on the drug outlines dosage recommendations for patients aged 3 months to 12 years who have the disease or show symptoms of advanced infection with the virus that causes it. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W.

Five more patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome have died here, including four who were stricken while in good health yet failed to respond to treatment that has worked for others, health officials said Sunday. The fatalities raised Hong Kong's death toll to 40 and sparked concerns that the illness is able to kill younger, fitter patients who were previously thought to have a good chance of recovery.