Top stories in health and medicine, January 17, 2013

This series is brought to you by MedPage Today.

1. Mental Health Big Player in Obama’s Gun Plan. Mental health issues were in the spotlight Wednesday in the executive orders President Obama signed and proposals he issued for Congress, all aimed at curbing violent gun deaths.

2. New Hour Rules Not Necessarily Helping Interns. New duty hour regulations meant to limit fatigue and promote patient safety haven’t improved outcomes for surgical interns.

3. Docs Lax in Prescribing Aspirin. More than half of cardiovascular patients who could benefit from aspirin for secondary prevention were not prescribed the drug.

4. Fecal Transplant Boosts Drug Tx for C. Diff. Adding fecal infusion to vancomycin, with or without bowel lavage, was significantly more effective than the drug regimens alone at treating recurrent Clostridium difficile infection.