In episode 246, Mike and James go over all the evidence that has looked at the issue of statins and cognitive impairment. Overall the evidence is not confusing and it indicates that statins do not prevent, treat, or cause cognitive impairment or dementia. Still confused?
Show notes
1) Tools For Practice
Statins and cognitive impairment: Don’t forget the evidence?
In episode 245, Mike and James PREMIUM the listeners with talk about three new studies. Aleglitazar a new drug that was supposed to help people with type 2 diabetes, how best to use delayed antibiotic prescribing and a trial that answers the question about population screening for high cardiovascular risk patients.
Show notes
1) AleCardio – aleglitazar
2) Delayed prescribing of antibiotics
3) INTER99 – Population screening and lifestyle counsellng
In episode 244, Mike and James continue to delve into issues around industry and discuss the costs of research, patent protection, and policies on industry relations. At the end we come to the conclusion that the phrase industry and us includes 2 people so everybody plays a role in the process.
Show notes
1) Industry and us
Handout for the references discussed in this podcast
2) Price Comparison of Commonly Prescribed Pharmaceuticals in Alberta 2014
In episode 243, Mike and James continue to delve into issues around industry and we now focus on how study design, selection of comparators and selective publication can impact the “truth”.
Show notes
1) Industry and us
In episode 242, Mike and James continue to delve into the impact industry marketing has on how and why we prescribe. We get to the evidence around many of the influences and at the end we realize we are all influenced by many things and we are all biased – so deal with it by being aware of the influence.
Show notes
1) Industry and us
In episode 241, Mike and James decide to delve into the impact industry marketing has on how and why we prescribe. We start off by discussing the theoretical issues surrounding the marketing of medications and briefly touch on the ethical dilemmas. At the end we realize we really haven’t discussed any evidence other than our own personal opinion and so we make a pact to discuss the evidence around this area in the next podcast.
Show notes
1) Industry and us
In episode 240, Mike and James target the information around hitting guideline targets. We talk about the futility of trying to get patients to all the thresholds and we end with discussing the problem of collateral damage when we all shoot for these targets.
Show notes
1) Tools For Practice
In episode 239, James, Mike and Adrienne get down and personal with the evidence around testosterone replacement. We find out very quickly that the data suffers from inconsistent results, small sample size, poor method description, lack of validated/useful endpoints, funding bias, and multiple outcome reporting – but other than that it is solid and all the answers are clear.
Show notes
1) Tools For Practice
Testosterone supplementation in men: Let’s pause for a moment
In episode 237, James and Mike, your PREMIUM podcasters bring you two new cardiovascular studies which show no benefit on cardiovascular outcomes and then we quickly finish off with great data on how long do colds and coughs last. The results may surprise you or maybe not.
Show notes
1) DESCARTES – A 52-Week Placebo-Controlled Trial of Evolocumab in Hyperlipidemia
NEJM 2014; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1316222
2) TOPCAT – Spironolactone for Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
N Engl J Med 2014; 370:1383-1392
3) How long does a URTI last in kids
BMJ 2013;347:f7027 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f7027
4) How long does an acute cough illness last?
In episode 237, James and Mike discuss even more listener questions. We cover issues around the SSRI withdrawal problem, warfarin, strep throat, NSAIDs, spironolactone, colchicine and a lot, lot more with less, less skill.
Show notes
1) SSRI discontinuation syndrome
THE NUTRITION PROPOSITION BOOK
Check it out at nutritionproposition.com and think about picking up a copy on Amazon. All the evidence you ever wanted about nutrition and the only nutrition book that won’t tell you what to eat.
