Women are less likely than men to get a recommendation for knee replacement, a Canadian study reports, even when they have the same symptoms.
The researchers selected one man and one woman, both 67, who had identical levels of knee osteoarthritis, as confirmed by two physicians who examined the patients and their X-rays. Then the pair visited 29 orthopedic surgeons and 38 family physicians, with instructions to present their symptoms in exactly the same way: a standard opening sentence describing their problem and ending with the question, “Do you think I need a new knee?”
The researchers found that two-thirds of the doctors recommended knee replacement for the man, while only a third thought it appropriate for the woman. The study, led by James G. Wright, a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto, appeared in the The Canadian Medical Association Journal.
BACTERIUM MAY REDUCE KIDNEY STONE RISK
A common intestinal bacterium is associated with a significant reduction in the risk for kidney stones, a new study has found.
The bacterium, Oxalobacter formigenes, lives in the intestinal tracts of as many as three-quarters of normal adults. There it helps to digest a salt called oxalate that occurs in many vegetables, especially spinach, beets and nuts. Most kidney stones are made primarily of calcium oxalate.
The researchers studied 247 patients with recurrent kidney stones, comparing them with 259 healthy people matched for age, sex and geographical location. They determined the presence of O. formigenes by examining stool cultures. Of the patients with kidney stones, 17 percent were colonized with O. formigenes, compared with 38 percent of those without stones. The study was published online in The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
David W. Kaufman, a professor of epidemiology at Boston University who was the lead author, said other investigators were working on developing the bacterium as a probiotic that could be taken by people who did not have it.
“It appears from our results,” Kaufman said, “that people who have this bacterium will have a lower risk of developing a recurrence of the most common type of kidney stones. But we're still a long way from translating this into practical therapy.”
– NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
