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.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Circulating tumor epithelial cells may open a window on the response of breast cancer to adjuvant therapy and, possibly, the risk of relapse as well, researchers said.

GARCHE, France -- Tadalafil (Cialis) may help some men with spinal cord injuries have erections sufficient for satisfactory sex, reported European investigators.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Anastrozole (Arimidex), an aromatase inhibitor, appears to reverse gene methylation, a marker of malignancy risk, in breast cancer.

ATLANTA -- Having more than a high school education is associated with a lower risk of dying from cancer, researchers here said.

ATLANTA -- Income status appears to play a greater role than race in explaining why some men are less likely to undergo surgery for prostate cancer and may explain why mortality is higher among minorities.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- In the days before Medicare Part D, many older patients simply stopped taking medications for chronic diseases when they reached a health plan's annual drug-benefit cap-similar to the government's "doughnut hole."

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11 -- A retrospective study has cast doubt on the role of "boost" radiation therapy for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), although the practice is likely to continue, researchers said.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Faithful adherence to adjuvant tamoxifen may be a life-saver for breast cancer patients, researchers said here.

SEOUL, South Korea -- The predominance of adenocarcinoma histology in lung cancer resulted from changes in cigarette design that allowed cancer-causing chemicals to penetrate deeper into airways, a long-time critic of the tobacco industry asserted here.

NEW YORK -- The so-called Mediterranean diet appears to lower mortality among Alzheimer's patients, with a possible dose-response effect, researchers reported.

LYON, France --Vitamin D, widely touted for its ability to improve bone health, may also reduce all cause mortality by a small but statistically significant degree.

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. -- Reports of drug-related injury, disability, and death sent to the FDA nearly tripled during an eight-year period beginning in 1998, according to an analysis of agency data.

SEOUL, South Korea -- Adding an antisense agent to chemotherapy failed to improve survival in patients with previously treated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a study reported here.

TORONTO -- An antidepressant may be just as effective as an antipsychotic for calming agitation and treating psychotic symptoms in older patients with dementia, investigators here reported.