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More doctors, better care, faster access

A report produced today by Primary Care National Director, Dr David Colin-Thome, shows that NHS primary care, the local healthcare people access most frequently, is continuing to expand and provide a wider range of services to patients.

13 Apr 2004

Researchers find next generation of medications to help schizophrenics

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found that a new generation of medications called "atypical antipsychotics" can significantly lower the risk of violent behavior in people with schizophrenia who are being treated in community-based centers.

13 Apr 2004

Extended lymph node dissection, a treatment for gastric cancer

Extended lymph node dissection – a treatment for gastric cancer involving the surgical removal of lymph nodes near the tumor, in distant areas of the stomach, and in some cases, in combination with the removal of the spleen and pancreas tail – has shown no long-term survival benefit for gastric cancer patients

12 Apr 2004

Computerized entry systems may have limited impact on patient harm

Computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) systems decrease medication error, but they may not decrease patient harm due to medication error, according to the results of a study conducted at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and published this week in Archives of Internal Medicine.

12 Apr 2004

Screening for alcohol problems in hospitals needs improvement

Many people admitted to hospitals in the U.S. have alcohol use disorders that go undetected, according to a new study by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

12 Apr 2004

Continuous insulin monitoring does not raise hospital costs

Patients with diabetes whose glucose is continually monitored after coronary bypass artery graft surgery do not incur higher medical costs despite the additional testing, Penn State Diabetes Center researchers report.

12 Apr 2004

Kentucky's first robotic procedure treats prostate

Earlier this year, the University of Kentucky Hospital was the first hospital in Kentucky to perform a minimally invasive, coronary artery bypass graft using surgical robotic instruments.

12 Apr 2004

FDA approval of stomach acid suppressant

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the reformulation of the stomach acid suppressant, PROTONIX(R) I.V. (pantoprazole sodium) for Injection.

12 Apr 2004

AMA tackles health literacy

An estimated 90 million adults – nearly half the adults in America – have trouble understanding medical terms and directions, according to two studies published on April 8 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

12 Apr 2004

Most common skin condition, Molluscum Contagiosum

From diaper rash to eczema to warts, your child's skin can play host to a seemingly endless variety of lumps, bumps and rashes. Although often itchy and uncomfortable, most are benign conditions that can be easily treated or controlled with readily available treatment. Some are the result of allergies or skin irritants, while others are caused by viruses.

12 Apr 2004

Why business is bad for your health

Downsizing in the workplace has been associated with increased sickness absence. However, few data are available on the possible health effects, on individuals, of rapid expansion.

11 Apr 2004

More Americans resorting to stomach-shrinking surgery

Americans are increasingly resorting to stomach-shrinking surgery so much so that health experts and insurance companies are becoming alarmed about the safety issues and cost of such operations.

11 Apr 2004

WHO update on Dengue fever in Indonesia

From 1 January to 4 April 2004 a total of 52,013, mainly hospitalized cases of dengue and 603 deaths have been registered with the Indonesian Ministry of Health. The overall case-fatality rate this year, particularly in Jakarta, has been lower than in previous years.

8 Apr 2004

Unique heart arrhythmia drug represents one of the first molecular-based therapies for heart failure

Heart researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have developed and tested a unique heart arrhythmia drug that could prevent the sudden death of millions of people with heart failure as well as people with an inherited heart disorder. The drug represents one of the first molecular-based therapies for heart failure and avoids the toxicity of current treatments.

8 Apr 2004

Cervical cancer screening in Northern Ireland falls short

Only 72 per cent of women within the target age group in the Province had a cervical smear test in the five-year period up to 31 March 2003 – contrasting with higher figures for England, Scotland and Wales. NHS targets for cervical screening call for a minimum of 80 per cent of Northern Ireland women aged between 20 and 65 to be screened every five years.

8 Apr 2004

Genetic trick makes gene therapy vectors more versatile

A genetic trick used by viruses to replicate themselves has been adapted for laboratory use to build complex protein structures required by immune system cells, according to investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

7 Apr 2004

Molecular analyses of leukemia patients suggest strategies for better treatments

The cure rate for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) might continue to rise with improved use of conventional therapies. But even more effective and less toxic therapies based on genetic and pharmacogenetic studies might one day push the success rate close to 100 percent, according to an article published by investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the April 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Apr 2004

Research shows that intense high dose cholesterol lowering drugs result in a major reduction in deaths and severe heart attacks

If you want to increase your chances of living longer, taking cholesterol drugs is an easy way to do it. That's the message from a Harvard study of 4,162 people hospitalized in 350 places in eight countries. It is the first research to show that intense lowering of cholesterol results in a major reduction in deaths and severe heart attacks.

7 Apr 2004

Women with a history of pre-eclampsia are at increased risk of cancer

Women with a history of pre-eclampsia are at increased risk of cancer, particularly cancers of the stomach, breast, ovary, lung and larynx, according to a Columbia University study recently published by the British Medical Journal. Researchers studied 37,000 women in western Jerusalem, Israel, who delivered babies in three large hospitals between 1964 and 1976.

7 Apr 2004

International obesity experts form a team to review and evaluate obesity

In an effort to help medical professionals, policy-makers, researchers, the news media and the general public evaluate the quality and usefulness of obesity research, a group of international obesity experts has formed a team that will review and evaluate published research papers in the field of obesity.

7 Apr 2004