British hospitals need clinical ethicists
...e of medicine, yet conclusive evidence exists that doctors need help with ethical problems, writes Daniel Sok... service in drafting hospital policies and helping doctors resolve ethical dilemmas, most are ill suited to respond to the immediate problems that doctors enco...New marker for early diagnosis of kidney failure identified
...0% of patients in intensive care units. Currently, doctors use a marker called serum creatinine to diagnose kidney failure. Prasad Devarajan (Cincinnati Children's Hospital, USA) and colleagues looked at whether high levels of a protein called neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) could give an e...Public morally obliged to take part in scientific research, says leading ethicist
...in it. While history has proved that suspicion of doctors and biomedical research is well founded, he says, this does not mean that research is guilty until proven innocent. "Vigilance against wrongdoing is one thing; the inability to identify wrongdoing, with the result that the good is frustrated and har...U of M researcher says Viagra may cause permanent vision loss in some men
...s also had a low cup to disk ratio, which is a way doctors measure the small circular indentation where the optic nerve connects to the eyeball. The low cup to disk ratio means that the blood vessels and nerves are tightly bundled together into the small space in the back of the eye. "Viagra regulates a chem...Study finds that coordinating care of chronically ill patients does not increase liability
..., N.C. Conventional wisdom is wrong: primary care doctors who coordinate the care of their patients by speci...tually have lower liability risk than primary care doctors who do not attempt care coordination. That is one finding from a study by Mark Hall, J.D., of Wake F......erosis and related diseases. In the United States, doctors write millions of prescriptions for statins each year. However, commonly, patients on statins have elevations of liver enzymes. Current statin product packaging recommends monitoring patients' liver values over the course of their usage. This recomme...Research offers hope of new treatments for liver damage
...on of Journal of Clinical Investigation, will help doctors to understand the mechanisms by which the liver is damaged and repaired and may lead to future treatments. Researcher Dr Jeremy Duffield explained: "The links between the immune system, inflammation and scarring in the liver have not been well unders...Specific test key to determine whether or not allergy symptoms are really allergy-related
...ger allergic rhinitis," she said, adding that some doctors already use blood testing. "Knowing whether or not...ng," Szeinbach said. "For more severe cases, these doctors could refer patients to an allergist or other specialist." Family doctors need a better way to accur...Chronic fatigue patients show lower response to placebos
...CFS, a great deal of controversy exists among both doctors and patients as to whether its origins are primari...lternatively, disconnects between how patients and doctors view the illness "may impede development of a collaborative therapeutic relationship," reviewers sug...UNH launches 2nd spinout company with NIH grants
...g cause of death in the United States, by allowing doctors to see which parts of the lungs are affected. Hersman has secured FDA approval to test polarized xenon with MRI in humans. The testing is scheduled for later this year with Sam Patz, a collaborator at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "The pres...New studies show mixed results on epilepsy drugs and birth defects
... toll-free (888) 233-2334. Women can talk to their doctors about enrolling in the International Lamotrigine Pregnancy Registry....Hospitals may now be more willing to partner up with former adversaries
... they received points to the need for contact with doctors and upper-level management. "While hospitals no longer view QIOs as adversaries their impact as partners can be strengthened if they can have more direct and influential relationships with physicians and senior management at the hospital," the autho...PillCam enables study of esophagus by swallowing a pill
...s to acquire the PillCam ESO technology. It allows doctors to quickly and easily assess the presence of esophageal diseases such erosive esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus and esophageal varices. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration late last year, the PillCam ESO is a smooth plastic capsule about the...Research suggests possible blood test for multiple sclerosis
...dical Center and colleagues suggests that one day, doctors may be able to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) with a simple blood test. The findings are reported in the current issue of the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience. "In some patients, it is difficult to conclusively diagnose MS," said Jagannadha Avasar...Cardiologists underestimate racial and ethnic disparities in care
... awareness of disparities is to help health plans, doctors and nurses look in their own back yards and understand what goes on in their own hospitals and practices," she said. "Even if awareness is slow to increase, some data suggest that improving quality of care through the use of practice guidelines can p...Prostate cancer screening practices examined
.... The outcome of the study should aid patients and doctors in making decisions about diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. "It's a complex decision," Andriole explains. "Say your father had an abnormal PSA test, and he's 76 and has a bad heart, diabetes, or recently had a stroke. Frankly, the patient a...Newly discovered pathway might help in design of cancer drugs
...rugs and therapies. The method could enable future doctors to target treatment more precisely, rather than directing chemotherapeutic medication or radiation to tumors through a scattershot approach, said Marc Greenberg, a chemistry professor in the university's Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, wh...AACC and The Endocrine Society partner to promote patient education
... vital role in medical decision-making, but often, doctors and patients don't make the time to discuss the te...tool for patients who want to understand why their doctors have ordered certain tests," said Anthony R. Means, Ph.D., President of The Endocrine Society. "We ...ESMO Scientific & Educational Conference (ESEC)
...Medical Oncologists Masterclass will provide young doctors with an expert insight and valuable suggestions on scientific publications and research. Oncology Highlights of the most important advances in cancer treatment presented at other cancer conferences. Scheduled Press Conference Friday, 3 June 2005, 1......e components of a tattoo ink have been identified, doctors removing the inks can use their knowledge of the chemical characteristics of the components to select a treatment that will be most effective and, hopefully, the least painful for the patient," Wagner says. The American Chemical Society is a nonprofi...