FDA requires boxed warning about tendinitis risk on fluoroquinolones.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)(United States. Food and Drug Administra The Food and Drug Administration said that manufacturers of fluoroquinolone drugs will be required to add a boxed warning to the label and provide a medication guide for patients explaining . . .

Reproductive information on labels slated for revision.(NEWS FROM THE FDA) The system that uses letters of the alphabet to categorize drugs' pregnancy and lactation risks will be replaced by a more consistent format designed to be more useful to health care professionals . . .

AMA apologizes for racial discrimination and pledges change.(News)(American Medical Association) African American physicians are looking for action to back up the words of apology recently tendered by the American Medical Association for more than a century of racial inequity and bias. In . . .

Blood test identified patients with lung cancer.(News)(Clinical report) TORONTO -- Gene expression profiling of peripheral blood lymphocytes successfully identified lung cancer patients with an overall accuracy of 87% in a cross-sectional study of 230 subjects. The . . .

Gastric bypass reduces [HbA.sub.1c] levels in diabetes.(News)(Clinical report) NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. -- Patients with type 2 diabetes who have undergone laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery might experience a significant drop in hemoglobin [A.sub.1c] levels to below . . .

Brain stimulation tops medications for Parkinson's; Serious adverse events occurred in 40%.(News)(Clinical report) CHICAGO -- Preliminary data from two trials suggest that deep brain stimulation may be superior to the best medical therapy in Parkinson's disease, and that stimulating specific targets may lead to . . .

Vital signs.(News)(Table)(Brief article) Top 10 Channels for Prescription Drug Distribution in 2007 (in billions of dollars) Chain drugstores $ 98.0 Mail services $ 44.6 Independents $ 38.7 Clinics . . .

Findings focus on depressed teens.(News)(Clinical report) PHOENIX -- The only prospective, randomized, controlled comparison of treatment for resistant depression in adolescents is yielding new insights about efficacy and suicidality through several post . . .

Botox at sea.(INDICATIONS)(Brief article) Does anyone out there remember "The Love Boat"? If you do, then you certainly remember the show's theme song. If you don't, go find it on YouTube before you read any further. That's okay, we can . . .

Think and you shall receive.(INDICATIONS)(Brief article) This is how "Planet of the Apes" began, right? With Charlton Heston jabbering something like, "Get your stinking robot arm off me, you damn dirty ape!" The University of Pittsburgh reports that a . . .

Downsized by fruit.(INDICATIONS) Somewhere, a Keebler elf is crying. The mothers of America have broken his heart. According to a report in USA Today, the most popular snack for children under 6 years old is no longer cookies. . . .

The walking wounded.(INDICATIONS)(Brief article) There's a war going on right now, and we're not talking about the war on terror. This war is being fought on the golf course, and it pits golfers who use carts against those who walk. Researchers . . .

Know your enema.(INDICATIONS)(Brief article) Here in the Washington area, we're a bit jaded when it comes to monuments. But there's a new statue in Russia that definitely caught our attention. Located at the Mashuk-Akva Term spa in . . .

Has the time come for universal coverage?(LAW & MEDICINE) With Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), a staunch supporter of patient rights and health care, now battling brain cancer, the subject of health care in our nation becomes all the more poignant. In . . .

When caring for patients isn't enough.(THE REST OF YOUR LIFE) Throughout most of his 30-year career as a urologist in Joliet, Ill., Dr. Ernie Tan has donated money to various charities, including supporting an orphanage in his native country, the Philippines. . . .

Simplify care by prioritizing comorbidities.(Practice Trends) WASHINGTON - The key to managing multiple comorbidities is to identify the highest priorities for an individual patient, according to Dr. Cynthia M. Boyd. Start by considering how the treatment . . .

ACP extends, expands diabetes care initiative.(Practice Trends)(American College of Physicians) WASHINGTON -- The American College of Physicians, building on a successful 3-year initiative to improve diabetes care among medical practices, will extend the initiative by 2 years and expand it to . . .

Physician quality can't be boiled down to a few measures.(Practice Trends) PITTSBURGH--Preliminary results from the American Board of Internal Medicine's Comprehensive Care Project confirm what many internists already know intuitively: Overall physician "quality" can't . . .

Insurer ranking systems challenged in mass.(Practice Trends)(Massachusetts) The Massachusetts Medical Society has filed suit against a state agency and two insurers to "correct the wrongs" in programs that charge patients copayments based on physicians' . . .

Google, Microsoft launch personal health record systems.(Practice Trends) WASHINGTON--Both the search engine giant Google and the software colossus Microsoft are attempting to revolutionize health care information technology, one patient at a time. Google launched . . .