TY - JOUR T1 - From the journals, December 2004—January 2005 JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 153 LP - 153 VL - 55 IS - 511 AU - Richard Lehman Y1 - 2005/02/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/55/511/153.2.abstract N2 - 2498 Levodopa remains the mainstay of treatment for Parkinson's disease, but does it accelerate the disease, as some imaging studies have suggested? Fortunately not: this big cohort study shows that it slows clinical progression.2581 A big, randomised prospective trial showing that statistically, repeat caesarean section is safer than trial of labour. But it takes 588 extra caesareans to prevent one serious adverse event.2611 Acute infection raises the risk of myocardial infarction, but fortunately a search of the UKGP Research Database shows no link with vaccination.20 One of the best markers for the risk of cardiac events due to inflammation is C-reactive protein (CRP), which is lowered by statin treatment. Here are two studies that demonstrate that the degree of CRP lowering with statins predicts their protective effect, at least as well as measuring LDL-cholesterol.2097 A worrying report of increased rates of cancer in children … ER -