A study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery has provided the first evidence that the shape of a person
The introduction of CT pulmonary angiography has been associated with an 80% rise in the detection of pulmonary emboli in the US, but with little change in death rates.
Professor Renda Soylemez Wiener and colleagues argue this is evidence of over-diagnosis. They say some patients are helped, but many are harmed by the adverse effects of unnecessary treatment.
This article is the first of a series looking at the risks and harms of over-diagnosis in a range of common conditions. The series, together with the Preventing Overdiagnosis conference in September, are part of the BMJ’s Too Much Medicine campaign to help tackle the threat to health and the waste of money caused by unnecessary care.
Pulmonary embolism has been described as one of the most commonly missed deadly diagnoses. Until recently, ventilation-perfusion (VQ) scanning was the first line test, but a new technology introduced in 1998
Researchers in the Milwaukee area have developed a new automated test to identify most leading causes of bacterial bloodstream infections 42 hours faster than conventional methods, potentially reducing medical bills by about $21,000 for patients suffering from sepsis.
The automated nucleic acid test, developed by researchers at Froedtert Hospital & The Medical College of Wisconsin and a company called Nanosphere, identifies genetic information of bacteria and antibiotic resistance for 12 of the most common bacteria that cause sepsis.
Sepsis caused by bacterial bloodstream infections results in up to 500,000 hospitalisations each year and accounts for 11% of intensive care unit admissions in the United States, according to a study released Tuesday evaluating the effectiveness of the new test. It has a mortality rate of 25% to 80% in critically-ill patients. Gram-positive bacteria
Strokes occur when a brain clot blocks blood flow in parts of the brain, essentially starving groups of neurons of oxygen, which is necessary for normal function. Nearly 130,000 of the 795,000 strokes Americans suffer annually result in death, accounting for roughly 5% of deaths in the U.S. The remaining 665,000 stroke patients suffer a wide variety of side effects ranging from complete loss of motor function to loss of speech to a catatonic state. Because of the horrific nature of these cerebrovascular events and their consequences, many clinical researchers focus on prevention, rehabilitation and restoration of function for stroke victims.
A technique developed through these efforts utilises transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to improve language function in stroke patients with chronic aphasia. Patients who have undergone this procedure have previously reached a plateau in their ability to produce fluent language, despite signs of understanding and frustration at their inability to communicate.
‘The heart of our work is to use non-invasive brain stimulation
Vitamins, minerals, herbs and other dietary supplements are widely available in supermarkets and drug stores across the nation without a prescription, so it’s no surprise that nearly half of all Americans take them.
But they do carry risks, including potentially adverse interactions with prescription drugs, and some people may even use them in place of conventional medications. So it’s important that primary care physicians communicate the pros and cons of supplements with their patients. In fact, both the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health suggest that patients consult with their doctors before starting to take them.
A new UCLA-led study examined the content of doctor
Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is considered the treatment of choice for early-stage non
A quarter of people with diabetes are not getting an annual check that is vital for picking up the early signs of kidney failure, according to a new analysis by Diabetes UK.
According to the analysis, based on National Diabetes Audit data, 25 per cent of people with diabetes in England were not recorded as having the urine check (called a urinary albumin) during 2010/11. The situation is only slightly better in Wales, where 21.6 per cent did not get a check during the same period.
Kidney failure is common in people with diabetes, but checking the urine for the presence of a protein called albumin can give an early warning of kidney damage, allowing people to be given treatment to help stop it getting worse. Unless people get this urine check, they are unlikely to find out they have kidney damage until it has already developed into an extremely serious health issue.
The urine check is one of the two checks people with diabetes should have every year to screen for kidney complications. The other part of the screening is a blood test to show how well the kidneys are working
A drug targeting a protein complex containing two different types of opioid receptors may be an effective alternative to morphine and other opioid pain medications, without any of the side effects or risk of dependence, according to research led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Morphine is still the most widely-used pain reliever, or analgesic, in people with severe pain, but chronic use can lead to addiction and negative side effects such as respiratory issues, constipation, or diarrhoea.
In a previous study by Lakshmi Devi, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at Mount Sinai, researchers identified a therapeutic target called a GPCR heteromer, which is a protein complex that is made up of two opioid receptors called mu and delta. They also showed that the heteromer is abundant in the area of the brain that processes pain, and is the likely cause of morphine tolerance and side effects.
In the current study, Dr. Devi carried out high throughput screening in collaboration with researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to identify which small molecules might act on the signalling pathway associated with this protein complex. Researchers found one compound called CYM51010 that was as potent as morphine, but less likely to result in tolerance and negative side effects. Dr. Devi
Newly published findings by medical researchers at the University of Alberta provide more evidence that music decreases children
A brain imaging research team led by Simon Fraser University neuroscientist Dr. Ryan D
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