MAC HELPS DEVELOP TEST FOR BLEEDING DISORDER

McMaster University and other Canadian scientists have discovered the genetic cause for a particular bleeding disorder that traces back to one family in Quebec, and they've developed a genetic test to help diagnose the condition.

Known as Quebec Platelet Disorder, the condition transforms platelets -- blood cells that control bleeding -- from clot formers into clot busters.

Individuals who have QPD are not hemophiliacs, but when they receive a cut, the bleeding can continue for days. An ordinary bruise can become quite large, and joints can become crippled when bleeding seeps into the knees, elbows and ankles, researchers said. Blood transfusions may be required.

Mac hematologist Dr. Catherine Hayward was part of the team, along with scientists from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and Universite de Montreal.

The professor at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine says QPD is the first bleeding disorder attributed to having an extra copy of a gene.

The new genetic test is expected to uncover more people with the condition. Statistics show that about one out of 150,000 people has QPD.

INDEX IDENTIFIES PATIENTS WHO NEED MORE ATTENTION

Canadian researchers have developed a new index to score patients being discharged from hospital on their risk of dying or being readmitted in the next 30 days.

If someone scores high on the so-called LACE index, then it could be a signal to physicians and others providing care that the patient will need extra attention in the days to come, says one of the researchers involved in the project.

That way, bad outcomes might be avoided.

"One of the things that one can do for a high-risk person is to follow them much more closely than you would otherwise," said Dr. Carl van Walraven of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Details on the index were published this week by the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

ANALGESIC MAY CONTRIBUTE TO HEARING LOSS: STUDY

Perhaps it wasn't those years of listening to rock 'n' roll that damaged your hearing after all.

New research suggests that regular use of Aspirin, acetaminophen and other analgesics can substantially increase the risk of hearing loss, especially in men under 50.

Researchers led by Dr. Sharon G. Curhan of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston report in the American Journal of Medicine that use of acetaminophen more than twice a week by such men doubles the risk of hearing loss.

Use of ibuprofen and related nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increases the risk by nearly two-thirds. Regular use of Aspirin increases it by about a third.

Common risk factors for hearing loss include loud noises, alcohol, hypertension, diabetes and the use of the diuretic furosemide.

Studies in animals and anecdotal reports in humans indicate high doses of the analgesics can interfere with hearing, but there have been few studies looking at regular use and none studying acetaminophen, the authors say.

CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE LESS BENEFICIAL WITH AGE

Women older than 40 are unlikely to get much benefit from the vaccine for the virus that causes cervical cancer, a study reports.

The vaccine for human papillomavirus, or HPV, is recommended for women up to age 26 and girls as young as nine.

The study looked at patterns of HPV infection in women aged 19 to 97, said Dr. Ana Cecilia Rodriguez, the lead author of the paper, published online Feb. 15 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The rate of new infections dropped with age and generally cleared up without treatment.

Although cervical cancer is more common in older women, it develops decades after the initial infection with a carcinogenic virus, said Rodriguez.

"Because the HPV vaccine can only prevent infections, and these women are not getting that many new infections," she said, "the potential benefit of HPV vaccination among older women is very limited."