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Carbon coatings to prevent bacteria collecting on indwelling catheters

This team of physicists have coated catheters and ureter stents with an extremely thin layer of diamond-like carbon. DLC-coated surfaces do not react chemically with their environment; they are hardwearing, can be sterilised and reduce friction.

18 Nov 2004

Biotoxin from puffer fish may provide treatment for opioid withdrawal

On November 10, 2004 investigators involved in a Phase IIa clinical trial of the novel biotoxin Tetrodotoxin (TTX) for the treatment of opioid withdrawal enrolled their first participants.

18 Nov 2004

Research provides more evidence of communication between developing nerves and blood vessels

In a developing embryo, the growth of nerves cannot outpace the establishment of life-giving blood vessels. Now, researchers have found that a protein intimately involved in blood vessel patterning actually belongs to a family of proteins known to guide neural development.

18 Nov 2004

Postpartum depression: Beyond the 'Baby Blues'

In a culture where giving birth is often believed to be the most joyful moment in life, many women instead feel tired, sad, anxious, distracted and depressed after the baby is born.

18 Nov 2004

70% of cases of spina bifida are preventable by folic-acid supplementation

A seminar in this week’s issue of THE LANCET discusses the causes, symptoms, and treatments relating to spina bifida, and reinforces an important public-health message for women about to become pregnant

18 Nov 2004

Cells from skeletal muscle could be an important source of stem cells for repairing damaged muscle or nerve tissue

A group of cells called skeletal-muscle satellite cells are able to regenerate muscle fibres. Giulio Alessandri (Carlo Besta Neurological Institute, Milan, Italy) and colleagues investigated whether these cells can differentiate into different types of mesenchymal cell (the types of cell that eventually form connective tissue, bone, cartilage, and the circulatory and lymphatic systems).

18 Nov 2004

Low-cost antibiotic co-trimoxazole should be given to all children with HIV in developing countries

Results of a randomised trial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlight how the low-cost antibiotic co-trimoxazole should be given to all children with HIV in developing countries to help reduce illness and death from opportunistic infections such as pneumonia.

18 Nov 2004

New antidotes for organophosphates are needed to prepare for chemical attacks in the West

Organophosphates are a group of organic compounds containing phosphorus, some of which are used as pesticides. Organophosphates have also been used in chemical weapons and nerve gas attacks, such as the sarin attack in Japan.

18 Nov 2004

Some hospitals face financial upheaval under new NHS payment system

Some hospitals will face sizeable changes to their incomes under a new NHS payment system, say researchers at Dr Foster in this week's BMJ.

18 Nov 2004

NHS patients 'not fully engaged' with their own healthcare

NHS patients lag behind other western countries in actively involving patients and communities in healthcare, says an editorial in this week's BMJ.

18 Nov 2004

Smacking legislation is unworkable for doctors

The recent Commons' decision not to outlaw the physical punishment of children means that the law will offer its most vulnerable citizens (children) less protection from assault than is offered to adults, says an editorial in this week's BMJ.

18 Nov 2004

Acupuncture better than drugs alone for osteoarthritis of the knee

Acupuncture, as a complementary therapy to drug treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee, is more effective than drug treatment alone, find researchers from Spain in this week's BMJ.

18 Nov 2004

The United States has seen a steep rise in caesareans to women with no reported medical risk

Researchers analysed information on four million births per year between 1991 and 2001, identifying mothers with no medical risk or labour and delivery complication noted on the birth certificate. From this group of mothers, they examined those cases where mothers had a first-time caesarean.

18 Nov 2004

New findings have implications for chronic use of COX-2 Inhibitors in pre-menopausal women

Heart disease is less pronounced in women than in men as humans age, but this difference narrows after menopause. Some studies have shown that estrogen slows heart disease in mouse models, but the mechanism is largely unknown.

18 Nov 2004

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from a virus that causes a fatal nervous system disorder, according to research conducted at Brown University and Case Western Reserve University.

18 Nov 2004

Eating apples may protect against Alzheimer's and Parkinsonism

A group of chemicals in apples could protect the brain from the type of damage that triggers such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinsonism, according to two new studies from Cornell University food scientists.

18 Nov 2004

Not only are breast enhancement pills unproven, they could be dangerous

Flip through any women's magazine and you are sure to find advertisements hawking pills to enlarge women's breasts. But do these pills actually work? Probably not, says the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

18 Nov 2004

Majority of seniors switch their primary care physicians because they are forced to

Nearly nine out of ten seniors switch their primary care physicians because they are forced to – not by choice. That's the finding of research published in the November edition of The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice.

18 Nov 2004

Not all congestion-producing chronic rhinosinusitis infections are the same

Rather, this problem that afflicts some 30 million Americans annually has four severity classifications that could help guide treatment today and help find better treatments in the future, says the lead author on the study published in the November issue of The Laryngoscope.

18 Nov 2004

FDA clarifies it's position on Vioxx

For the past several weeks, various allegations and characterizations have circulated and been reported on regarding FDA's approval and post market review of the drug Vioxx, a "Cox-2 inhibitor," that its sponsor, Merck, voluntarily withdrew from the market September 30th, 2004.

17 Nov 2004

Medical News

Carbon coatings to prevent bacteria collecting on indwelling catheters

Biotoxin from puffer fish may provide treatment for opioid withdrawal

Research provides more evidence of communication between developing nerves and blood vessels

Postpartum depression: Beyond the 'Baby Blues'

70% of cases of spina bifida are preventable by folic-acid supplementation

Cells from skeletal muscle could be an important source of stem cells for repairing damaged muscle or nerve tissue

Low-cost antibiotic co-trimoxazole should be given to all children with HIV in developing countries

New antidotes for organophosphates are needed to prepare for chemical attacks in the West

Some hospitals face financial upheaval under new NHS payment system

NHS patients 'not fully engaged' with their own healthcare

Smacking legislation is unworkable for doctors

Acupuncture better than drugs alone for osteoarthritis of the knee

The United States has seen a steep rise in caesareans to women with no reported medical risk

New findings have implications for chronic use of COX-2 Inhibitors in pre-menopausal women

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

Eating apples may protect against Alzheimer's and Parkinsonism

Not only are breast enhancement pills unproven, they could be dangerous

Majority of seniors switch their primary care physicians because they are forced to

Not all congestion-producing chronic rhinosinusitis infections are the same

FDA clarifies it's position on Vioxx

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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