Genes predict if medication can help you quit smoking

A new study shows the same gene variations that make it difficult to stop smoking also increase the likelihood that heavy smokers will respond to nicotine-replacement therapy and drugs that thwart cravings. The finding suggests it may one day be possible to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from drug treatments for nicotine addiction.

IUDs, implants are most effective birth control

A study by Brooke Winner, MD (pictured), and Jeff Peipert, MD, to evaluate birth control methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used birth control pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who used longer-acting forms such as an intrauterine device (IUD) or implant.

Commencement 2012: New beginnings

Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, congratulates Kristen E. Ziara Harring, as he hands her her Doctor of Medicine degree at the School of Medicine Commencement Recognition Ceremony May 18 at the America’s Center. At the ceremony, 127 students received degrees.

Recommendation against PSA test too drastic

A new recommendation issued today by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force against routine PSA testing for healthy men age 50 and older goes too far, says a prostate cancer expert at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
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