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Medicare Showdown
In a stunning rebuke of President George W. Bush, the House and Senate voted July 15 in a strong bipartisan fashion to override his veto, erasing a scheduled reduction of 10.6% in the fees that Medicare pays physicians. John Iglehart reports.
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July 16, 2008 (DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp0805760), in Print August 7, 2008 |

Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet
This study suggests that Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets are effective alternatives to low-fat diets and that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions.
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CME Exam
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Rituximab and Immune Globulin in Renal Transplantation
This study examined the use of intravenous immune globulin and rituximab to reduce anti-HLA antibodies and improve transplantation rates in 20 highly sensitized patients. Sixteen patients (80%) subsequently received a transplant, and the 1-year survival rates for patients and allografts were 100% and 94%, respectively.
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Reducing Injuries from Falls among the Elderly
In this comparison of a region of Connecticut in which persons were exposed to interventions to prevent falls and a region without such exposure, the interventions were associated with a 9% reduction in serious injuries from falls.
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Long-Term Medical and Social Consequences of Preterm Birth
The risks of medical and social disabilities increased with decreasing gestational age at birth. The gestational age at birth was associated with the education level attained, income, the receipt of social security benefits, and the likelihood of establishing a family.
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Exclusion of Patients from Pay-for-Performance Targets
The English pay-for-performance program allows “exception reporting.” From April 2005 through March 2006, physicians excluded 5% of patients, and exception reporting accounted for only about 1.5% of the cost of the program.
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Acetylcysteine for Acetaminophen Poisoning
A 25-year-old man presents to the emergency department with a toothache and is found to have been ingesting large quantities of acetaminophen. Acetylcysteine helps to prevent hepatotoxicity in cases of acetaminophen overdose and also improves survival in patients with acetaminophen-induced hepatic failure.
CME Exam
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A Woman with Fever and Confusion
A 52-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of fever and confusion. The patient lived in a rural area of Massachusetts and had been bitten by mosquitoes. MRI scans showed multiple bilateral lesions in the brain that were hyperintense.
CME Exam
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The Antiinflammatory IgG
A post-translationally modified portion of IgG seems to be the critical agent that mediates the antiinflammatory effect of this molecule.
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Relevance and Rigor in Premedical Education
Despite sweeping changes in scientific knowledge, requirements for admission to medical school have remained virtually unchanged for many decades. Dr. Jules Dienstag writes that he supports greater efficiency and a tighter focus on science that “matters” to medicine.
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Nontraditional Medical Students and the Future of Medicine
Nontraditional students bring maturity, diversity, broader perspectives, and “life experience.” Dr. Sandeep Jauhar asks, are the diverse backgrounds and interests of nontraditional medical students really what the profession needs?
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Perinatal Deaths in a Family with Polycystic Kidney Disease
The authors report on a four-generation family carrying a mutation in the gene for ADPKD2 (PKD2) with previously undetected polycystic kidney disease. In the present generation, however, perinatal death due to polycystic kidney disease occurred in the mother’s second and third pregnancies.
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Reducing Antibody Levels in Patients Undergoing Transplantation

Weekly Adjuvant Paclitaxel in Breast Cancer

Carotid Stenting versus Endarterectomy Free Full Text

Artesunate for Malaria Free Full Text

Apnea and Seizures in a Newborn

More on Alendronate and Atypical Femoral Fractures Free Full Text

Resolution of Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer after Withdrawal of Anti-TNF Therapy
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