British hospitals need clinical ethicists
...led elsewhere. "Clinical ethics committees cannot alone cope with the demands of ethically troubled doctors at the coalface. The use of clinical ethicists would represent an important step forward," he concludes....Sexual lifestyles vary among ethnic groups in Britain
...transmitted infections. He adds: "Sexual behaviour alone doesn't explain the differences in STIs among ethnic groups. Cultural factors, age and marriage patterns, and varying levels of infection in different communities are all likely to be important in explaining differences. This study highlights the nee...Brain activity prior to treatment flags vulnerability to antidepressant side effects
...edication at a lower dose or opt for psychotherapy alone when treating patients susceptible to antidepressant side effects." Antidepressant side effects can be related to medication or to factors such as patient expectations derived from educational materials or consultations with a physician, but determin...Unexpected benefit seen in treating HER-2 breast cancer with new preoperative drug combo
...iminating 42 percent more tumors than chemotherapy alone - that the clinical trial testing of this new trea...eptin and chemotherapy against use of chemotherapy alone in patients with operable breast cancer, Buzdar says. Patients enrolled in the study were randomized...Acupuncture found to lower elevations in blood pressure
... the wrist. The researchers found that acupuncture alone had no effect on blood pressure. Next, they added electrical stimulation to the acupuncture treatment by running an electrical current through the needles. High frequencies of stimulation also had no effect, but low frequencies lowered increased blo...Hepatitis C and health-related quality of life
...he MCID. Further, they caution, the vitality scale alone may not capture all the key aspects of HRQOL in HCV. Still, their findings offer a number of important revelations about health-related quality of life in patients with HCV. "In conclusion," the authors report, "chronic HCV diminishes HRQOL across a...Improving access to healthy food has little effect on diet
...Changing access through improving retail provision alone may not have a substantial impact on diet and health. An approach that changes knowledge and access simultaneously may have a better chance of securing improvements in diet and health and a reduction in health inequalities," they conclude....Simple intervention encourages sun protection behaviors
...y had not been informed. "Neither the intervention alone nor the intervention plus sunless tanner use significantly reduced these [previous] already low sunbathing rates" the authors report. "However, the intervention significantly increased use of sun protection during incidental sun exposure." Thirty-se...Acupuncture relieves pelvic pain during pregnancy
... clear clinical advantages over standard treatment alone for reduction of pain in pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain, say the authors. Acupuncture was superior to stabilising exercises in this study, they conclude....Mountaineering doctors hike medicine to new heights with Xtreme Everest
...s are working at extreme altitude. The experiments alone entail a risk of thrombosis and other complications; combined with the harsh mountain conditions, only the toughest are likely to finish the job. The summiting team, all of whom work with anaesthesia, intensive care or remote medicine, hope to draw ...Cardiovascular health disparities must be eradicated
.... "Thus, health care professionals and scientists alone cannot solve them. But the community of medicine and science, when challenged and mobilized, can be a powerful force that can help to implement changes through education, research and advocacy."Co-authors of the executive summary are Emelia J. Benja...Use of potentially inappropriate medications among elderly common in some European countries
...ndividuals aged 85 years or older and those living alone were less likely to receive inappropriate medications. "In Europe, use of potentially inappropriate medications among frail community-dwelling elderly persons appears to be common, with substantial regional variations. The differences likely reflect ...Prostate cancer screening practices examined
...sy rates. The biopsy rate in men with positive DRE alone was 28 percent. The initial data indicate that younger men, men with a family history of prostate cancer and African American men are more likely to have a biopsy after an abnormal screening result. "These statistics parallel many medical recommendat...Medicaid enrollment at late stages may partly explain poor outcomes for cancer
...cent studies demonstrate that access to healthcare alone does not improve survival rates for many cancers. A recent study showed, for instance, that Medicaid-supported breast cancer patients have similarly poor outcomes to uninsured patients. However, there is little research to explain the surprising lack...Bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy prolongs survival for some patients with advanced lung cancer
...e addition of bevacizumab, followed by bevacizumab alone until disease progression. Patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung were not included in the study because previous clinical experience suggested that patients with this particular type of NSCLC had a higher risk of serious bleeding from t...Age shouldn't be a factor in kidney transplantation
...ON-SALEM, N.C. Growing evidence suggests that age alone shouldn't prevent older adults from being organ donors or having a kidney transplant themselves according to researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The findings could help alleviate a serious shortage of organs for transplant...Sharing clinical trial results with participants may be beneficial
... participants in a cancer trial of breast excision alone for women with ductal carcinoma in situ. The study was stopped early because of a high rate of local recurrence. 85 (90%) of the 94 participants who responded chose to receive results; these women were more educated than those who chose not to. 68 (...Drug companies and governments must act on fake drug problem
...ted 192,000 patients killed by fake drugs in China alone in 2001 gives an indication of the health consequences of counterfeiting. The recent discovery of fake HIV medicines in Central Africa "raises the prospect of a disastrous setback in the treatment of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, unless vigorous action...Breakthrough in medical research: New chemotherapy gives hope to brain tumour patients
...ars only 10% of patients treated with radiotherapy alone were alive, compared to 26% of patients receiving the combination of both radiotherapy and temozolomide chemotherapy. If patients were to be selected according to their molecular profile - the investigators analysed the functionality of a gene respon...Combining PET and CT scans leads to more accurate radiation therapy for lung cancer patients
...s contain cancer cells and which do not. PET scans alone do not give enough anatomical information to accurately define the tumor volume....