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 - listening to lungs

It’s a toss-up: In a comparison of their relative cardiovascular risk, neither of two long-acting bronchodilators for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease appeared to be safer than the other.

 - salt

Authors of a report released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on sodium intake by the American public failed to be persuaded that lowering daily consumption below 2,300 mg a day affected outcomes. The American Heart Association (AHA) countered the report missed the mark in its conclusions.

 - ICD

Patients implanted with dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) had higher rates of complications at one year than did patients who received single-chamber devices, with no apparent benefits in hospitalization or mortality. The results were published in the May 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

 - Imaging Machine

Quantifying body fat and other clinical factors in obese patients with diabetes using CT or magnetic resonance (MR) may help physicians detect and manage comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, according to a review published in the May issue of Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics. But is that enough to justify “one-stop shop” imaging?

 - Gavel

Ranbaxy has agreed to pay $500 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that claimed the pharmaceutical manufacturer made and distributed adulterated drugs at two facilities in India. The payment includes $350 million as a civil settlement plus $150 million in criminal fines.