The Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS) found no overall reduction in risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events among postmenopausal women with CHD. However, in the hormone group, findings did suggest a higher risk of CHD events during the first year, and a decreased risk during years 3 to 5.

Noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) has been demonstrated to be effective in preventing the need for endotracheal intubation in some patients who present with acute respiratory failure. It is also used for patients who develop acute respiratory distress after extubation, but there are no randomized controlled trials that address its effectiveness in this population.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with excellent short-term improvements in ischemic symptoms, yet only three fifths of PCI patients at 5 years and one third of patients at 10 years remain free of major adverse cardiac events (MACE).

Little is known about qualitative and quantitative characteristics of indexed health sciences electronic journals (e-journals).

To compare family physicians' ability to retain information when reading a review article on paper vs on screen, and in their mother tongue vs in English.

Better peer review is needed, but proven methods to improve quality are unknown. Our objective was to determine whether written feedback to reviewers improves subsequent reviews.

The purpose of this report is to summarize and integrate the findings of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), a randomized controlled clinical trial, and the succeeding observational follow-up of the DCCT cohort in the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study, regarding the effects of intensive treatment on the microvascular complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus. The DCCT proved that intensive treatment reduced the risks of retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy by 35% to 90% compared with conventional treatment. The absolute risks of retinopathy and nephropathy were proportional to the mean glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) level over the follow-up period preceding each event. Intensive treatment was most effective when begun early, before complications were detectable. These risk reductions, achieved at a median HbA(1c) level difference of 9.1% for conventional treatment vs 7.3% for intensive treatment have been maintained through 7 years of EDIC, even though the difference in mean HbA(1c) levels of the 2 former randomized treatment groups was only 0.4% at 1 year (P<.001) (8.3% in the former conventional treatment group vs 7.9% in the former intensive treatment group), continued to narrow, and became statistically nonsignificant by 5 years (8.1% vs 8.2%, P =.09). The further rate of progression of complications from their levels at the end of the DCCT remains less in the former intensive treatment group. Thus, the benefits of 6.5 years of intensive treatment extend well beyond the period of its most intensive implementation. Intensive treatment should be started as soon as is safely possible after the onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus and maintained thereafter, aiming for a practicable target HbA(1c) level of 7.0% or less.

Epidemiologic data demonstrate that moderate alcohol intake is associated with improved insulin sensitivity in nondiabetic individuals. No controlled-diet studies have addressed the effects of daily moderate alcohol consumption on fasting insulin and glucose concentrations and insulin sensitivity.

Many people with diabetes experience lower-limb ulcers. Footwear has been implicated as a primary cause of foot ulcers, yet research is limited on the efficacy of shoe and insert combinations to prevent reulceration.

Lower-than-commonly-prescribed doses of conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs) with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) improve vasomotor symptoms and vaginal atrophy, provide acceptable bleeding and lipid profiles, and afford endometrial protection. This lower-dose therapy's protection against loss of bone mineral density (BMD) associated with menopause has not been thoroughly investigated.

Illness and hospitalization often trigger functional decline among older persons. Home care services implemented for functional decline provide an opportunity to intervene to improve outcomes.

Mortality rates among US hemodialysis patients are the highest in the industrialized world at 23% per year. Measures of dialysis dose (Kt/V) correspond strongly with survival and are inadequate in one sixth of patients. Inadequate dialysis is also associated with increased hospitalizations and high inpatient costs. Our previous work identified 3 barriers to adequate hemodialysis: dialysis underprescription, catheter use, and shortened treatment time.

Trials comparing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and thrombolytic therapy for treatment of acute myocardial infarction (MI) suggest primary PCI is the superior therapy, although they differ with respect to the durability of benefit. Because PCI is often limited to hospitals that have on-site cardiac surgery programs, most acute MI patients do not have access to this therapy.

The Term Breech Trial found a significant reduction in adverse perinatal outcomes without an increased risk of immediate maternal morbidity with planned cesarean delivery compared with planned vaginal birth. No randomized controlled trial of planned cesarean delivery has measured benefits and risks of postpartum outcomes months after the birth.

Extracts of Hypericum perforatum (St John's wort) are widely used for the treatment of depression of varying severity. Their efficacy in major depressive disorder, however, has not been conclusively demonstrated.

Pramipexole and levodopa are effective medications to treat motor symptoms of early Parkinson disease (PD). In vitro and animal studies suggest that pramipexole may protect and that levodopa may either protect or damage dopamine neurons. Neuroimaging offers the potential of an objective biomarker of dopamine neuron degeneration in PD patients.

Little randomized evidence is available to guide the in-hospital management of patients with an acute exacerbation of chronic heart failure. Although intravenous inotropic therapy usually produces beneficial hemodynamic effects and is labeled for use in the care of such patients, the effect of such therapy on intermediate-term clinical outcomes is uncertain.

Decompensated congestive heart failure (CHF) is the leading hospital discharge diagnosis in patients older than 65 years.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is associated with a decline in cognitive function, which has largely been attributed to the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (on-pump procedures). Cardiac stabilizers facilitate CABG surgery without use of cardiopulmonary bypass (off-pump procedures) and should reduce the cognitive decline associated with on-pump procedures.