(November 26, 2009 - Insidermedicine)

From London - Dementia is the leading cause of disability in elderly people who live in low and middle income countries, according to a report published in The Lancet. Examining nearly 15,000 elderly people in seven different low to middle income countries, researchers found that dementia was, by far, the biggest contributor to disability in the elderly; the condition rated a median of 25% in population-attributable prevalence fraction.

From Atlanta - The CDC is reporting that there has been a concerning increase in the amount of serious pneumococcal infections associated with the H1N1 flu pandemic. For example, researchers point out that the the amount  of pneumococcal cases in October, 2009 for the city of Denver  was 58. However, the city's five year average of cases for the month of October prior to H1N1 was only 20. This increase also disproportionately affects adults between 20 and 59 years old.

And finally, back to London - Diabetic patients may benefit more from CABG than from PCI with stenting, according to a report published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers randomized over 500 diabetic patients suffering from multi-vessel disease to either stenting or CABG. They found that PCI failed non-inferiority tests regarding one year outcomes of myocardial infarction, stoke and death.