The effects on lipid profiles of pharmacologic inhibition of ATP citrate lyase, an enzyme in the cholesterol–biosynthesis pathway upstream of HMGCR (the target of statins), are similar to those of ...statins. This inhibition may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Statins are known to lower levels of LDL cholesterol, protect against cardiovascular disease, and slightly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. This analysis of genetic variants in 112,772 ...participants from 14 studies suggests that PCSK9 inhibitors may do the same.
Monoclonal antibodies and other therapies that inhibit proprotein convertase subtilisin–kexin type 9 (PCSK9) have been shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels by approximately 50 to 60% in several randomized trials.
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Whether lowering LDL cholesterol levels by inhibiting PCSK9 will reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and, like statins, also increase the risk of new-onset diabetes is unknown.
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Exploratory and post hoc analyses of randomized trials have suggested that lowering LDL cholesterol levels by approximately 70 mg per deciliter (1.81 mmol per liter) with a PCSK9 inhibitor may reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events by up to . . .
The goals of this retrospective cohort study were as follows: 1) to describe the long-term prevalence and timing of hearing deterioration following low-dose (12- to 13-Gy marginal dose) stereotactic ...radiosurgery (SRS) for vestibular schwannoma (VS); and 2) to identify clinical variables associated with long-term preservation of useful hearing following treatment.
Patients with serviceable hearing who underwent SRS for VS between 1997 and 2002 were studied. Data including radiosurgery treatment plans, tumor characteristics, pre- and posttreatment pure tone average, speech discrimination scores, and American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hearing class were collected. Time to nonserviceable hearing was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate associations with time to nonserviceable hearing were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.
Forty-four patients met the study criteria and were included. The median duration of audiometric follow-up was 9.3 years. Thirty-six patients developed nonserviceable hearing at a mean of 4.2 years following SRS. The Kaplan-Meier estimated rates of serviceable hearing at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 years following SRS were 80%, 55%, 48%, 38%, and 23%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that pretreatment ipsilateral pure tone average (p < 0.001) and tumor size (p = 0.009) were statistically significantly associated with time to nonserviceable hearing.
Durable hearing preservation a decade after low-dose SRS for VS occurs in less than one-fourth of patients. Variables including preoperative hearing capacity and tumor size may be used to predict hearing outcomes following treatment. These findings may assist in pretreatment risk disclosure. Furthermore, these data demonstrate the importance of long-term follow-up when reporting audiometric outcomes following SRS for VS.
Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S. Smoking also carries an economic burden, including smoking-attributable healthcare spending. This ...study assessed smoking-attributable fractions in healthcare spending between 2010 and 2014, overall and by insurance type (Medicaid, Medicare, private, out-of-pocket, other federal, other) and by medical service (inpatient, non-inpatient, prescriptions).
Data were obtained from the 2010–2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey linked to the 2008–2013 National Health Interview Survey. The final sample (n = 49,540) was restricted to non-pregnant adults aged 18 years or older. Estimates from two-part models (multivariable logistic regression and generalized linear models) and data from 2014 national health expenditures were combined to estimate the share of and total (in 2014 dollars) annual healthcare spending attributable to cigarette smoking among U.S. adults. All models controlled for socio-demographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, and attitudes.
During 2010–2014, an estimated 11.7% (95% CI = 11.6%, 11.8%) of U.S. annual healthcare spending could be attributed to adult cigarette smoking, translating to annual healthcare spending of more than $225 billion dollars based on total personal healthcare expenditures reported in 2014. More than 50% of this smoking-attributable spending was funded by Medicare or Medicaid. For Medicaid, the estimated healthcare spending attributable fraction increased more than 30% between 2010 and 2014.
Cigarette smoking exacts a substantial economic burden in the U.S. Continuing efforts to implement proven population-based interventions have been shown to reduce the health and economic burden of cigarette smoking nationally.
•Cigarette smoking contributed to 11.7% (more than $225 billion) of annual healthcare spending in the U.S. in 2014.•Medicare or Medicaid together paid more than 50% of smoking-attributable healthcare spending.•The healthcare spending attributable to cigarette smoking increased more than 30% for Medicaid between 2010 and 2014.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, and cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. adults (1,2). To assess progress toward ...achieving the Healthy People 2020 target of reducing the proportion of U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes to ≤12.0% (objective TU1.1),* CDC assessed the most recent national estimates of cigarette smoking prevalence among adults aged ≥18 years using data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The proportion of U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes declined from 20.9% in 2005 to 15.1% in 2015, and the proportion of daily smokers declined from 16.9% to 11.4%. However, disparities in cigarette smoking persist. In 2015, prevalence of cigarette smoking was higher among adults who were male; were aged 25-44 years; were American Indian/Alaska Native; had a General Education Development certificate (GED); lived below the federal poverty level; lived in the Midwest; were insured through Medicaid or were uninsured; had a disability/limitation; were lesbian, gay, or bisexual; or who had serious psychological distress. Proven population-based interventions, including tobacco price increases, comprehensive smoke-free laws, anti-tobacco mass media campaigns, and barrier-free access to tobacco cessation counseling and medications, are critical to reducing cigarette smoking and smoking-related disease and death among U.S. adults, particularly among subpopulations with the highest smoking prevalences (3).
Despite efforts to curtail the use of e-cigarettes among youth, millions of middle and high school students use them. This study, which compares use in 2019 with use in 2020, shows that despite an ...overall decline, an increasing percentage of these students report using disposable e-cigarettes.
Abstract
Please see the full-text version of this guideline (https://www.cns.org/guidelines/guidelines-management-patients-vestibular-schwannoma/chapter_3) for the target population of each ...recommendation listed below.
STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY
Question 1
What is the overall probability of maintaining serviceable hearing following stereotactic radiosurgery utilizing modern dose planning, at 2, 5, and 10 yr following treatment?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering stereotactic radiosurgery should be counseled that there is moderately high probability (>50%-75%) of hearing preservation at 2 yr, moderately high probability (>50%-75%) of hearing preservation at 5 yr, and moderately low probability (>25%-50%) of hearing preservation at 10 yr.
Question 2
Among patients with AAO-HNS (American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hearing classification) class A or GR (Gardner-Robertson hearing classification) grade I hearing at baseline, what is the overall probability of maintaining serviceable hearing following stereotactic radiosurgery, utilizing modern dose planning, at 2, 5, and 10 yr following treatment?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering stereotactic radiosurgery should be counseled that there is a high probability (>75%-100%) of hearing preservation at 2 yr, moderately high probability (>50%-75%) of hearing preservation at 5 yr, and moderately low probability (>25%-50%) of hearing preservation at 10 yr.
Question 3
What patient- and tumor-related factors influence progression to nonserviceable hearing following stereotactic radiosurgery using ≤13 Gy to the tumor margin?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering stereotactic radiosurgery should be counseled regarding the probability of successful hearing preservation based on the following prognostic data: the most consistent prognostic features associated with maintenance of serviceable hearing are good preoperative word recognition and/or pure tone thresholds with variable cut-points reported, smaller tumor size, marginal tumor dose ≤12 Gy, and cochlear dose ≤4 Gy. Age and sex are not strong predictors of hearing preservation outcome.
MICROSURGERY
Question 4
What is the overall probability of maintaining serviceable hearing following microsurgical resection of small to medium-sized sporadic vestibular schwannomas early after surgery, at 2, 5, and 10 yr following treatment?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering microsurgical resection should be counseled that there is a moderately low probability (>25%-50%) of hearing preservation immediately following surgery, moderately low probability (>25%-50%) of hearing preservation at 2 yr, moderately low probability (>25%-50%) of hearing preservation at 5 yr, and moderately low probability (>25%-50%) of hearing preservation at 10 yr.
Question 5
Among patients with AAO-HNS class A or GR grade I hearing at baseline, what is the overall probability of maintaining serviceable hearing following microsurgical resection of small to medium-sized sporadic vestibular schwannomas early after surgery, at 2, 5, and 10 yr following treatment?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering microsurgical resection should be counseled that there is a moderately high probability (>50%-75%) of hearing preservation immediately following surgery, moderately high probability (>50%-75%) of hearing preservation at 2 yr, moderately high probability (>50%-75%) of hearing preservation at 5 yr, and moderately low probability (>25%-50%) of hearing preservation at 10 yr.
Question 6
What patient- and tumor-related factors influence progression to nonserviceable hearing following microsurgical resection of small to medium-sized sporadic vestibular schwannomas?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering microsurgical resection should be counseled regarding the probability of successful hearing preservation based on the following prognostic data: the most consistent prognostic features associated with maintenance of serviceable hearing are good preoperative word recognition and/or pure tone thresholds with variable cut-points reported, smaller tumor size commonly less than 1 cm, and presence of a distal internal auditory canal cerebrospinal fluid fundal cap. Age and sex are not strong predictors of hearing preservation outcome.
CONSERVATIVE OBSERVATION
Question 7
What is the overall probability of maintaining serviceable hearing with conservative observation of vestibular schwannomas at 2, 5, and 10 yr following diagnosis?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering observation should be counseled that there is a high probability (>75%-100%) of hearing preservation at 2 yr, moderately high probability (>50%-75%) of hearing preservation at 5 yr, and moderately low probability (>25%-50%) of hearing preservation at 10 yr.
Question 8
Among patients with AAO-HNS class A or GR grade I hearing at baseline, what is the overall probability of maintaining serviceable hearing with conservative observation at 2 and 5 yr following diagnosis?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering stereotactic radiosurgery should be counseled that there is a high probability (>75%-100%) of hearing preservation at 2 yr, and moderately high probability (>50%-75%) of hearing preservation at 5 yr. Insufficient data were available to determine the probability of hearing preservation at 10 yr for this population subset.
Question 9
What patient and tumor-related factors influence progression to nonserviceable hearing during conservative observation?
Recommendation
Level 3: Individuals who meet these criteria and are considering observation should be counseled regarding probability of successful hearing preservation based on the following prognostic data: the most consistent prognostic features associated with maintenance of serviceable hearing are good preoperative word recognition and/or pure tone thresholds with variable cut-points reported, as well as nongrowth of the tumor. Tumor size at the time of diagnosis, age, and sex do not predict future development of nonserviceable hearing during observation.
The full guideline can be found at: https://www.cns.org/guidelines/guidelines-manage-ment-patients-vestibular-schwannoma/chapter_3.
The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that the burden of death and disease from tobacco use in the United States is overwhelmingly caused by cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products (1). ...Cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. adults, and about 480,000 U.S. deaths per year are caused by cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure (1). To assess progress toward the Healthy People 2020 target of reducing the proportion of U.S. adults aged ≥18 years who smoke cigarettes to ≤12.0% (objective TU-1.1),* CDC analyzed data from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). In 2016, the prevalence of current cigarette smoking among adults was 15.5%, which was a significant decline from 2005 (20.9%); however, no significant change has occurred since 2015 (15.1%). In 2016, the prevalence of cigarette smoking was higher among adults who were male, aged 25-64 years, American Indian/Alaska Native or multiracial, had a General Education Development (GED) certificate, lived below the federal poverty level, lived in the Midwest or South, were uninsured or insured through Medicaid, had a disability/limitation, were lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), or had serious psychological distress. During 2005-2016, the percentage of ever smokers who quit smoking increased from 50.8% to 59.0%. Proven population-based interventions are critical to reducing the health and economic burden of smoking-related diseases among U.S. adults, particularly among subpopulations with the highest smoking prevalences (1,2).
The optimal treatment for sporadic vestibular schwannoma (VS) is highly controversial. To date, the majority of studies comparing treatment modalities have focused on a narrow scope of technical ...outcomes including facial function, hearing status, and tumor control. Very few publications have investigated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) differences between individual treatment groups, and none have used a disease-specific HRQOL instrument.
All patients with sporadic small- to medium-sized VSs who underwent primary microsurgery, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), or observation between 1998 and 2008 were identified. Subjects were surveyed via postal questionnaire using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the 10-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System short form (PROMIS-10), the Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI), and the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life (PANQOL) scale. Additionally, a pool of general population adults was surveyed, providing a nontumor control group for comparison.
A total of 642 respondents were analyzed. The overall response rate for patients with VS was 79%, and the mean time interval between treatment and survey was 7.7 years. Using multivariate regression, there were no statistically significant differences between management groups with respect to the PROMIS-10 physical or mental health dimensions, the SF-36 Physical or Mental Component Summary scores, or the PANQOL general, anxiety, hearing, or energy subdomains. Patients who underwent SRS or observation reported a better total PANQOL score and higher PANQOL facial, balance, and pain subdomain scores than the microsurgical cohort (p < 0.02). The differences in scores between the nontumor control group and patients with VS were greater than differences observed between individual treatment groups for the majority of measures.
The differences in HRQOL outcomes following SRS, observation, and microsurgery for VS are small. Notably, the diagnosis of VS rather than treatment strategy most significantly impacts quality of life. Understanding that a large number of VSs do not grow following discovery, and that intervention does not confer a long-term HRQOL advantage, small- and medium-sized VS should be initially observed, while intervention should be reserved for patients with unequivocal tumor growth or intractable symptoms that are amenable to treatment. Future studies assessing HRQOL in VS patients should prioritize use of validated disease-specific measures, such as the PANQOL, given the significant limitations of generic instruments in distinguishing between treatment groups and tumor versus nontumor subjects.
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