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Preventive techniques greatly reduce pressure ulcers

Working together to reduce the occurrence of pressure ulcers in patients throughout various care settings, members of the New Jersey Hospital Association's Pressure Ulcer Collaborative have reported a 70 percent reduction in the incidence of new pressure ulcers after nearly two years of applying shared best practices and preventive techniques.

18 Jul 2007

Saline for chronic rhinosinusitis

Spraying salty water (saline) into your nose can help reduce the symptoms of pain and congestion that accompany long-term infections of the nasal passages, a Cochrane Systematic Review has concluded.

18 Jul 2007

Short course of corticosteroids after asthma attack beneficial

Giving patients a short course of corticosteroids after they have been discharged from hospital for an asthma attack reduces the chances of a relapse, a Cochrane Systematic Review has found. Giving the steroids also reduces their use of inhalers.

18 Jul 2007

Eating disorders patients are likely to abuse Alli

Eating disorders patients are likely to abuse Alli, the first over-the-counter diet drug approved by the FDA, predicts a Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute psychologist who specializes in treating these patients.

18 Jul 2007

Poor information on diet, but exercise seems good for adult type 2 diabetes

There are no high quality data to assess how well dietary treatments for type 2 diabetes work in people who have just been told they have the disease, but there is evidence that taking on exercise seems to be one way of improving blood sugar levels, according to the findings of a Cochrane Systematic Review.

18 Jul 2007

Management of faecal incontinence in adults

Adults who involuntarily lose solid or liquid stools no longer have to suffer in silence, thanks to new national standards on treating and managing the condition, known as faecal incontinence.

17 Jul 2007

Venous thromboembolism in the U.S.

Venous thrombosis (VTE), the formation of blood clots in a vein, is a major health problem for hospitalized patients in the United States.

16 Jul 2007

Children with Tourette's better at mental grammar skills

Children with Tourette's syndrome may have to put up with some unwanted movement and verbal tics, but neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center and the Kennedy Krieger Institute have found that they are much quicker at processing certain mental grammar skills than are children without the disorder.

16 Jul 2007

Things that can trigger heart attacks, strokes and cardiac arrests

Heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac arrests seem like they come out of the blue, but most don't.

13 Jul 2007

Understanding obesity stigma

The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) is pleased to announce the release of its newest patient- focused brochure, titled "Understanding Obesity Stigma."

12 Jul 2007

New criteria for probable Alzheimer's disease

An international group of Alzheimer's disease (AD) experts have proposed new criteria for the reasearch diagnosis of the condition, as they argue the existing criteria are out of date due to unprecedented growth of scientific knowledge in the field. The proposal is put forward in a Position Paper published early Online and in the August edition of The Lancet Neurology.

9 Jul 2007

Leading-edge treatment for Crohn's disease at Pediatric Infusion Center

Seventeen-year-old Eliot Drieband explains what it's like to have Crohn's disease - a type of inflammatory bowel disease - in the same matter-of-fact way she describes preparing for an advanced placement exam, working on the school newspaper, starting an organ donor awareness club for teens and being a peer counselor for other kids facing chronic, life-altering illnesses.

9 Jul 2007

High-risk patients need improved guidance on heart attacks

Varying advice means patients at high-risk of having a heart attack are unclear about when symptoms are potentially life threatening and when they should call an ambulance, argue a group of heart specialists in this week's BMJ.

9 Jul 2007

Chronic insomnia can lead to anxiety and depression

Everyone has an occasional night of bad sleep. For most people, insomnia lasts only a few days and goes away without treatment.

4 Jul 2007

One in four Britons have mental health problems

The UK's first jargon-fee guide to mental health aimed at the general public is published this week.

4 Jul 2007

Four hours in ecomony class doubles the risk for deep vein thrombosis

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the chances of developing deep vein thrombosis ( DVT) double after traveling for four hours or more; this says WHO equates to one in 6,000 long-haul passengers at risk of potentially dangerous blood clots.

2 Jul 2007