This Week in JAMA: March 7, 2012 Issue Highlights

In the March 7, 2012 issue of JAMA, there was a debate on whether statin therapy should be used as primary prevention in women with high cholesterol but no cardiovascular events. A study involving 38 patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy refractory to drug therapy showed that early surgical intervention led to a lower risk of seizures. Another clinical trial with 139 healthy men aged 18 to 50 found that the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by 5a-reductase inhibitors, such as dutasteride used for benign prostatic hyperplasia and androgenic alopecia, did not affect the anabolic effects on muscle. A retrospective cohort study of 141,029 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans indicated that those with mental health disorders, especially PTSD, were more likely to receive opioids for pain and had higher-risk opioid use patterns. A study of 25 patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) found that bevacizumab reduced cardiac output and episodes of epistaxis. Additionally, there was a discussion on the use of quality indicators in patient care and the challenges of integrating quality improvement measures into practice.