Health News

Hospitals Not Qualified To Treat Dementia Patients

Date: Oct-04-2012
According to nursing students in the UK, their placement hospitals do not have suitable environments to care for dementia patients. Additionally, certified nurses felt unable to give the proper care and somewhat out of touch with their patients. Students reported that nurses "saw the disease", rather than the patient, resulting in treatment without dignity and difficulties with basic care such as nutrition. The nursing students determined that the cultural and physical habitats of the hospitals were not equipped to care for people with dementia...

Once-weekly DPP-4 Inhibitor MK-3102 Reduces Blood Glucose With Low Risk Of Hypoglycaemia

Date: Oct-04-2012
The investigational once-weekly oral DPP-4 inhibitor MK-3102 (MSD) improves glycaemic control with low risk of symptomatic hypoglycaemia in type 2 diabetes, show results of a study reported at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting (1-5 October 2012; Berlin, Germany) supporting ongoing phase III trials.  The phase IIb study randomised 685 type 2 diabetes patients with inadequate glycaemic control on diet and exercise and an average baseline HbA1c of around 8% to one of five doses of MK-3102 (0.25, 1, 3, 10 or 25 mg) or placebo...

Hypertension During Pregnancy Linked To Low IQ In Offspring

Date: Oct-04-2012
High blood pressure in mothers while they are pregnant can lead to negative effects in her offspring's thinking skills which may carry through until they are much older, according to a study published online in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Katri Räikönen, PhD, from the University of Helsinki in Finland explained: "High blood pressure and related conditions such as preeclampsia complicate about 10 percent of all pregnancies and can affect a baby's environment in the womb...

Elderly With Type 2 Diabetes Have Similar Glycaemic Control But Less Hypoglycaemia With Sitagliptin Compared To Sulphonylureas

Date: Oct-04-2012
Sitagliptin (Januvia, MSD) provides similar glycaemic improvement but with less hypoglycaemia compared to sulphonylurea (SU) treatment in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes, show results reported at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting (1-5 October 2012; Berlin, Germany). Researchers carried out a post-hoc analysis pooling data from three double-blind clinical studies for patients with type 2 diabetes aged 65 and older treated with sitagliptin (100mg/day) or a sulphonylurea (glipizide or glimepiride in titrated doses)...

Type 2 Diabetes Patients Need More Individualized Care To Avoid Hypoglycemia, International Survey Warns

Date: Oct-04-2012
More than half of type 2 diabetes patients taking part in an international survey reported having had symptoms of hypoglycemia at least once, but only around one-third said they had discussed low blood sugar during routine check-ups with their physician. Researchers reporting the results at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting (1-5 October 2012; Berlin, Germany) said the findings underline the need for individualised treatment and advice to take account of patients' lifestyle and risk factors...

Tenth Birthday Of Life-saving TAVI Heart Implant - UK Lags Behind Europe In Patient Use

Date: Oct-04-2012
Over the span of a lifetime, the human heart beats more than two billion times. With each beat, flexible valves within the heart's chambers open and shut to prevent blood flowing backwards. With advancing age these valves can start to fail; the opening can become narrowed or the valve may leak.  Narrowing of the aortic valve - known as aortic stenosis - is one of the most common forms of heart disease...

50-Hour Whole Genome Test Could Reduce Deaths In Critically Ill Babies

Date: Oct-04-2012
Many babies requiring critical care have genetic diseases that can progress rapidly, and the sooner doctors can diagnose them, the sooner the infants get the treatment they need, which can often be life-saving. Currently it takes weeks to test just one gene, but US researchers reporting in Science Translational Medicine this week describe how they have developed a prototype whole genome sequencing test that only takes 50 hours from blood sample in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to doctors seeing the results...

IU Research Finds Memory, Thought-Process Training Promising Options For Breast Cancer Symptom Management

Date: Oct-04-2012
A new Indiana University study is the first of its kind to show it may be possible to improve memory and thought process speed among breast cancer survivors. Diane M. Von Ah, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor at the IU School of Nursing and a researcher at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, and colleagues studied two different treatment options for breast cancer survivors because they often report problems with memory or feelings of mental slowness, which can lead to depression, anxiety, fatigue and an overall poorer quality of life...

Serious Complications In People With Type 1 Diabetes And Ongoing Poor Blood Sugar Control

Date: Oct-04-2012
Strategies implemented in high-income countries to improve blood glucose control in people with type 1 diabetes and so reduce complications, such as heart attacks, strokes, and early death, are working, but there is much need for further improvement, according to a study from Scotland published in this week's PLOS Medicine...

PPG Is Acknowledged By 70% Of Diabetes Specialists As Being Equally Important To FPG For Achieving HbA1c Goals In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Date: Oct-04-2012
A new survey commissioned by Sanofi Diabetes reveals that seven in 10 (70%) diabetes specialists believe that postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) is as important as fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in the management of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for achieving target glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levelsi. In addition, 80% of those surveyed suggest there is a need for new treatments that address elevated PPG concentrations, leading to optimal glycaemic controli...