One morning, an 83-year-old woman woke up to find a gray-colored spot in the central vision of her right eye. The spot was constant, and she could not see through it. She had a history of dry age-related macular degeneration and cataract surgery in both eyes.

An abnormality of both first proximal interphalangeal joints was noted in a 54-year-old woman who had recently undergone an elective total hip arthroplasty to treat post-traumatic osteoarthritis. She had had worsening hip pain following an intertrochanteric fracture and open reduction internal fixation several years earlier.

BERN, Switzerland -- The two major drug-eluting stents and bare-metal devices emerged in a three-way mortality dead heat, according to a meta-analysis of 38 randomized trials conducted by an international team.

A recent article made me reconsider a medical tradition that I have taken for granted and, in certain instances, that I may have inappropriately continued. The annual ambulatory history and physical examination is a persistent vestige from a time long gone.

Take this MedPage Today survey that looks at clinicians' ability to interpret clinical studies and implement research into practice.

Six out of every 10 respondents to a MedPage Today poll said Medicare's decision not to reimburse hospitals for the extra costs of treating preventable injuries is overly punitive.

GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- After hip replacement, an investigational oral thrombin inhibitor is an "attractive alternative" to prevent venous thrombosis, researchers here found.

SAN DIEGO -- Cardiac PET imaging offers a safe, accurate, noninvasive method for monitoring the expanding population of long-term survivors of congenital anomalies, according to a small clinical series reported here.

SAN DIEGO -- For patients with equivocal or discordant findings on myocardial perfusion imaging, CT angiography (CTA) can unmask false-negative and false-positive results, investigators reported here.

CLAYTON, Australia -- A small number of special cells that resemble mesenchymal stem cells, bearing the possible application for major anatomic repairs, have been found in human endometrium, investigators here have found.

DENVER -- The increase in high-grade prostate cancer seen among men taking finasteride (Proscar) is probably caused by increased detection, two groups of researchers said.

DALLAS -- Patients with elements of metabolic syndrome are more likely to develop highly acidic urine, increasing their risk of forming uric-acid kidney stones, researchers reported.

SAN DIEGO -- Low-density coronary plaque detected by multi-slice CT angiography (CTA) predicted an increased risk of cardiac events in the absence of hemodynamically significant stenosis.

BOSTON -- Combinations of targeted drugs may overcome the agents' often tepid or transitory individual actions against brain tumors, researchers here said.

SAN DIEGO -- High radiation and contrast exposure with CT angiography (CTA) call into question the escalating use of the technology as an alternative to conventional coronary angiography, investigators concluded.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- For any patient at any age, calcium and ceftriaxone (Rocephin) are a dangerous combination that can increase the risk of lethal precipitates forming in the lungs and kidneys, according to the FDA.

SAN DIEGO -- Routine screening by questionnaire for caffeine intake before pharmacologic cardiac stress testing fails to identify most patients who have detectable serum levels of the stimulant, investigators said here.

ABERDEEN, Scotland -- The contraceptive pill does not increase the overall risk of cancer if used for no longer than eight years, according to a huge British cohort study.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Girls who think that milk gives them indigestion are likely to consume less calcium, and as a result are likely to have weaker bones, said researchers here.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Risk of developing the neovascular or "wet" type of age-related macular degeneration is significantly reduced in patients with diets rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, investigators found.