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August 21, 2008  Vol. 359 No. 8

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Perspective
777-780

On May 10, 2008, the Journal and the Massachusetts Medical Society brought together 13 panelists — physicians, academics, and business, insurance, and political leaders — for a seminar on U.S. health policy and health coverage. In a discussion moderated ...

781-784

In the face of escalating costs, uneven quality of care, and the growth of the uninsured population, there is broad agreement that the U.S. health care system requires reform. However, Democrats and Republicans remain sharply divided over how to reform it,...

784-787

The lack of access to clean water and basic sanitation represents a silent crisis affecting more than a third of the world's population. Drs. Michele Barry and James Hughes write that this seems an appropriate time to reengage in an ancient conversation ...

Original Articles
789-799

A genomewide screen of patients with myopathy who were taking high-dose simvastatin (80 mg per day) showed a strong association between myopathy and variants of SLCO1B1, which encodes an organic anion–transporting polypeptide. Approximately 60% of the cases of myopathy could be attributed to these variants. The association was replicated in an independent study. Genotyping SLCO1B1 variants may be helpful for tailoring the dosage of statins and safety monitoring.

800-809
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By linking data from national medical registries in Norway, the investigators showed that women with a history of preeclampsia were at higher risk for subsequent end-stage renal disease than were women with a history of uncomplicated pregnancy. Women who had more preeclamptic pregnancies or who also had a low-birth-weight or preterm infant had higher relative risks for later end-stage renal disease. Preeclampsia is a marker for an increased risk of later end-stage renal disease, although the absolute risk in women who have had preeclampsia is still low.

810-820

In this randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 133 children with polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis who had a response to a 16-week course of treatment with adalimumab, a monoclonal antibody to tumor necrosis factor, disease flares were less common when adalimumab was continued than when it was withdrawn. Fourteen patients had serious adverse events, including seven patients with serious infections.

Special Article
821-832

The authors conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in the United States and estimated that vaccinating 12-year-old girls would cost $43,600 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained, as compared with the current screening practice. If vaccine-induced immunity wanes after 10 years, HPV vaccination would be much less cost-effective (>$140,000 per QALY).

Clinical Practice
833-840

A healthy 58-year-old woman answers the telephone and realizes that her hearing is diminished on the left side. She notices aural fullness and loud tinnitus in the affected ear. Self-administered ear cleaning with the use of an over-the-counter kit does not relieve the symptoms. How should she be evaluated and treated?

Images in Clinical Medicine
841
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A 23-year-old male Marine recruit passed out while bending over after a 2.4-km (1.5-mile) run. Chest radiography showed a mass in the anterior mediastinum (Panel A, arrow). His medical history was notable only for the removal of a benign thyroid cyst at ...

e9
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This 63-year-old woman presented with vague pelvic and back pain. She had undergone laparascopic surgery of the fallopian tubes 27 years earlier.

Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital
842-853

A 26-year-old woman was admitted to this hospital because of headache, behavioral changes, abnormal movements, and inability to communicate. Seven weeks before admission, headaches developed, followed by somnolence, mood alteration, confusion, memory loss, incoherent speech, and involuntary movements. An evaluation for infection was negative. Imaging studies showed a normal brain and an ovarian mass consistent with a dermoid cyst. A diagnostic procedure was performed.

Editorials
855-856
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In this year's Shattuck Lecture, we break with long-standing precedent. After 117 Shattuck Lectures delivered since 1890, the lecture this year took the form of a seminar with 13 panelists and a moderator discussing the topic “Health of the Nation — ...

856-858

In the United States alone, it is estimated that adverse drug reactions affect nearly 2 million patients and kill about 100,000 people each year.1 Adverse drug reactions are often classified into two groups. The first group can be explained by the mode of ...

858-860

Preeclampsia, a disorder of pregnancy characterized by elevated blood pressure and proteinuria, complicates approximately 5% of pregnancies.1 Although several risk factors for this condition are well recognized, including nulliparity, extremes of maternal ...

861-862

Despite great expectations and promising results of clinical trials, we still lack sufficient evidence of an effective vaccine against cervical cancer. Several strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer, and two vaccines directed ...

Correspondence
863-864

To the Editor: In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for use in females 9 to 26 years old. The vaccine helps prevent cervical cancer, precancerous genital lesions, and genital warts. Trials of the ...

864-866

To the Editor: A relation between age and serum phosphate levels in adults has been recognized since 1969.1 We used data from the Gubbio Population Study to analyze serum phosphate levels and renal phosphate handling in relation to age in 2107 men and ...

866-867

To the Editor: In their review of the hepatopulmonary syndrome, Rodríguez-Roisin and Krowka (May 29 issue)1 provide a pathophysiological explanation of the symptoms of this syndrome, but they downplay the importance of the history and physical ...

868-869
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To the Editor: In his review of osteoporosis in men, Ebeling (April 3 issue)1 presents the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis. Since then, the WHO has developed an approach to determining risk, using data from large ...

869-870

To the Editor: In his discussion of allergic rhinitis and the clinical use of sublingual immunotherapy, Frew (May 22 issue)1 reports that the adverse effects of such therapy have been limited mainly to the oral cavity, with only a few cases of ...

870-871

To the Editor: The letter by Soldin and Tonning regarding the association between the serotonin syndrome and triptan monotherapy (May 15 issue)1 requires clarification. On the basis of an analysis of 27 cases from the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS)...

871-873

To the Editor: I would like to clarify the selection process leading to the inclusion of the patients in the previous report on survival in the trial of computed tomographic (CT) screening for lung cancer (Oct. 26, 2006, issue).1 The process at 37 of the ...

Book Reviews
874-875

In 2007, spending on health care represented 16% of the U.S. economy — a much greater percentage than that spent in nations with universal access to health care services — while at the same time nearly 50 million Americans were uninsured. These imbalances ...

875-876

This masterly book is strong on diagnosis but, like much of medicine, rather light on evidence concerning the effectiveness of the treatment the authors propose to control drug prices. Drug prices are high, but industry defends its profitability as ...

876-877

When the Willard Psychiatric Center, overlooking Seneca Lake in upstate New York, closed in 1995, a curator from the New York State Museum in Albany roamed the grounds, looking from building to building to see if there were any artifacts worth keeping ...

Corrections
877

Lack of Effectiveness of Cellulose Sulfate Gel for the Prevention of Vaginal HIV Transmission Original Article, N Engl J Med 2008:359;463-472.. In the Abstract, the third sentence under Results (page 463) should have ended with “(hazard ratio, 2.02; P=...

877

Malignant Gliomas in Adults Review Article, N Engl J Med 2008:359;492-507.. The institution in Dr. Wen's address (page 492) should have read “Dana–Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center.” In Table 2 (page 503), the “Dendritic cell and EGFRvIII peptide ...

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