Treatment of pain in fibromyalgia patients with testosterone gel: Pharmacokinetics and clinical response.

To test our hypothesis that testosterone deficiency plays an important role in chronic pain, a Phase I/II pilot study was initiated with 12 fibromyalgia patients to verify that a daily dose for 28days with transdermal testosterone gel would 1) significantly and safely increase mean serum testosterone concentrations from low baseline levels to mid/high-normal levels, and 2) effectively treat the pain and fatigue symptoms of fibromyalgia. Pharmacokinetic data confirmed that serum free testosterone concentrations were raised significantly above baseline levels, by assessment of maximum hormone concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC) parameters: free testosterone Cmax was significantly raised from a mean of 2.64pg/mL to 3.91pg/mL (p<0.05), and 24hour free testosterone AUC was significantly raised from a mean of 35.0pg-hr/mL to 53.89pg-hr/mL. Assessment of the typical symptoms of fibromyalgia by patient questionnaire and tender point exam demonstrated significant change in: decreased muscle pain, stiffness, and fatigue, and increased libido during study treatment. These results are consistent with the hypothesized ability of testosterone to relieve the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Symptoms not tightly related to fibromyalgia were not improved.

Malignancy is associated with dermatomyositis but not polymyositis in Northern New England, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate the association of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) and malignancy in patients seen at 1 academic center over a 23-year period. METHODS: Patients were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition (ICD-9) codes and diagnoses, then confirmed by chart review. Population cancer statistics obtained from the US Centers for Disease Control for Vermont and New Hampshire were used for comparison. RESULTS: Chart review confirmed IIM in 198 of 483 patients initially identified by ICD-9 codes. Within 5 years of diagnosis with IIM, malignancy developed in 32 patients (16.2%), 24 of whom (75%) had dermatomyositis (DM). Malignancy and DM developed within 1 year in 75%. The cancer risk associated with DM was much greater than the risk associated with other IIM. The most frequent tumor types were breast, lung, pancreas, and colon. DM patients with cancer were more frequently male and >or= 45 years of age than those without cancer. There were no cases of interstitial lung disease among patients with cancer and any form of IIM. The incidence of cancer was increased in patients with DM compared to age- and sex-matched population controls, both over a 5-year interval surrounding the diagnosis of DM and over the lifetime interval following diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The risk of cancer in IIM is concentrated among patients with DM. The association between DM and cancer was enhanced by its temporal relationship (< 1 year) in 87.5% of these cases. Patients with malignancy-associated DM were more frequently male and over age 45 and less likely to have interstitial lung disease.

The impact of resident duty hours reform on the internal medicine core clerkship: results from the clerkship directors in internal medicine survey.

PURPOSE: In July 2003, resident duty hours regulations were implemented. The impact of these regulations on medical student education has received minimal attention. The objective of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of internal medicine clerkship directors about the impact of resident physician duty hours reform on medical student teaching, assessment, and clerkship structure. METHOD: A survey was sent to 114 institutional members of Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine in May 2004. The survey included 17 attitude items rated on a 5-point Likert scale, five items related to clerkship structure, and four open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics were performed on the responses. RESULTS: Ninety-six surveys were returned (84%). The majority of respondents did not believe duty hours reform had a positive impact on clerkship students' educational experiences, whereas 48.3% agreed or strongly agreed that residents had more difficulty evaluating students' clinical skills. There was not a significant change in inpatient clerkship structure after duty hours implementation. Time for teaching students, concerns about a shift-work mentality, and student continuity with their teams were major challenges. Impact on ambulatory internal medicine rotations was minimal. CONCLUSIONS: Internal medicine clerkship directors are concerned about the impact of resident duty hours reform on student education. Additional studies of this educational impact are needed.