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Few high-quality guidelines exist for prescribing opioids to pain patients
Date: Nov-11-2013Rigorous clinical practice guidelines could help physicians reduce rates of opioid misuse and overdose deaths among patients with chronic pain, according to an article published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Over the past two decades, rates of opioid abuse and overdose deaths have increased dramatically, highlighting the need for high-quality prescribing guidelines. Recent efforts have focused on redefining standards of care for patients with chronic pain, who may be prescribed opioids for long-term use...
Insufficient evidence that multivitamins prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease or death
Date: Nov-11-2013A systematic review of published studies found insufficient evidence that vitamin and mineral supplements are effective for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, or mortality from those diseases in healthy adults, according to an article published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Two studies included in the review found lower overall cancer incidence in men who took a multivitamin for over 10 years. Those same studies showed no cancer protection benefit for women...
Maternal exercise benefits newborn brain development
Date: Nov-11-2013Though pregnant women are advised to consult their doctor before beginning an exercise program, researchers in Canada have found that expectant mothers who exercise at least 20 minutes three times per week could be giving their child a head-start, cerebrally speaking. Prof. Dave Ellemberg, from the University of Montreal, conducted the research with his colleagues in partnership with the affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine children's hospital. They recently presented their research at the Neuroscience 2013 congress in San Diego, CA...
New imaging method 'predicts' heart attack risk
Date: Nov-11-2013The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that around 715,000 Americans suffer a heart attack every year. Now, scientists have created a new imaging technique that could identify which patients are at high risk. This is according to a study published in the The Lancet. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in the UK say the test - carried out using positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) - is able to "light up" dangerous fatty plaques in the arteries that are in danger of rupturing. This is a process that can cause heart attacks...
Colds and sore throats not helped by ibuprofen
Date: Nov-11-2013A study published recently in the British Medical Journal raises doubts about the advice patients receive when they complain of colds or sore throats. Apart from some exceptions, it questions the wisdom of treating these conditions with ibuprofen and suggests steam inhalation does not help either. Researchers from the University of Southampton in the UK carried out a trial with 889 primary care patients aged 3 and over with acute respiratory tract infections (colds and sore throats)...
Spinal cord injury: potential urine control with prosthetic bladder
Date: Nov-11-2013New research led by the University of Cambridge in the UK brings hope for people with spinal cord injury to regain control over their bladder. Writing in a recent online issue of Science Translational Medicine, Dr. Daniel Chew, of the Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, and colleagues describe how they tested their neuroprosthetic bladder in rats. Neuroprosthetic devices have long been known to help paralyzed individuals regain control of an arm or a leg. Now this new study shows they may one day help them gain control of organs like the bladder...
FDA approves medtronic-proprietary software for use with non-medtronic leads to detect defibrillator lead issues
Date: Nov-11-2013Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) has announced FDA approval of its Lead Integrity Alert (LIA) software for use with non-Medtronic leads. Proprietary and exclusive software that resides in Medtronic defibrillators, LIA is now approved to report performance issues on Durata® and Riata® defibrillator leads (St. Jude Medical) and Endotak® (Boston Scientific) defibrillator leads when connected to a Medtronic device...
Hope for transplant patients as study finds key to organ scarring
Date: Nov-11-2013Patients with damaged organs could be helped by new treatments after scientists have discovered how tissues scar. Researchers say that the finding could pave the way for new drugs and eventually reduce the number of patients on organ transplant waiting lists. Fibrotic diseases occur in many tissues within the body - including the liver, lung or kidneys - and have a range of causes including viruses or toxins. Experts say that the main source of scar tissue is found in specialised cells called Myofibroblasts...
Oxygen levels in tumours affect response to treatment
Date: Nov-11-2013The genetic make-up of a patient's tumour could be used to personalise their treatment, and help to decide whether they would benefit from receiving additional drugs as part of their radiotherapy programme, according to a recent study involving scientists from the Manchester Cancer Research Centre. Tumours with lower levels of oxygen - known as hypoxia - often respond less well to radiation therapy. There are several agents that can be given to patients before radiotherapy to reduce hypoxia, but these are not given as standard...
A genetic study on South Asians adds an important piece to the jigsaw puzzle of human skin color variation
Date: Nov-11-2013Though genetics of skin pigmentation has shown recent advancements in the last decade, studies involving populations of South Asia, one of the major hot spots of pigmentation diversity, is still in its infancy...
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