Mad hatters, seafood jubilees, & Pfiesteria Files
...hip, proof of naturalization, driver's license, or letter of permission if children are not traveling with a parent. Follow the U.S. Custom's "Know Before You Go" brochure, available at www.customs.gov/travel/travel.htm Be flexible. Regulations governing cross-border travel are subject to change withou...Women with rare twin-pregnancy complication
Authors of a research letter in this week's issue of THE LANCET provide evidence to suggest that women with a rare twin-pregnancy disorder are at no more increased risk of malignant disease than women with the disorder who choose to have their pregnancy terminated. Hydatidiform...Women with rare twin-pregnancy complication have 40% chance of delivering one baby
Authors of a research letter in this week's issue of THE LANCET provide evidence to suggest that women with a rare twin-pregnancy disorder are at no more increased risk of malignant disease than women with the disorder who choose to have their pregnancy terminated. Hydatidiform...Nation's leading hospitals serving up fast food
...top health institutions are sending. In a research letter published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of t... blame," says Peter Cram, M.D., lead author of the letter and lecturer in the internal medicine department at UMHS. "However, fast food restaurants continue ...Breastfeeding associated with lower risk of childhood obesity
Authors of a research letter in this weeks issue of THE LANCET conclude that breastfed infants could have a 30% reduced risk of childhood obesity compared with children who were given formula milk in infancy. Breastfeeding has been proposed for protection against obesity later i...Location of gene for ear wax could increase understanding of apocrine-gland development
Japanese authors of a research letter in this week's issue of THE LANCET describe how a chance discovery of the location for the gene which codes for ear wax could be a useful step towards a better understanding of the apocrine glands. There are two forms of human ear wax, wet and dry, ...New diagnostic faecal test could identify colorectal cancer
Authors of a research letter in this week's issue of THE LANCET describe a new technique where the detection of a specific protein in faeces could be a marker for colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is a common disease (causing around 500,000 deaths each year worldwide), and sc...Guidelines do not prevent deliberate self harm
...n or a control group. The intervention comprised a letter from the general practitioner inviting the patient to consult, and guidelines on assessment and management of deliberate self harm for the general practitioner to use in consultations. Control patients received usual general practitioner care. After ...Study highlights success of meningitis C vaccination programme among UK children
Authors of a research letter in this weeks issue of THE LANCET report how the introduction of a recent vaccination campaign in the UK has substantially reduced the potential for group C meningococcal infection among children. In the absence of effective vaccination programmes, m...Substantial increase in death rate after bypass surgery for people with anaemia
...obin concentrations, suggest authors of a research letter in this weeks issue of THE LANCET. People with anaemia (individuals with a haemoglobin concentration of less than 100 g per litre) are frequently given a blood transfusion before any major operation. However, results of research suggest that such con...Dental x-rays may detect potential for heart attack, stroke and death
...actors for heart disease and stroke, and the first letter of their last names in common. Next, the investigators examined the medical records of both patient groups for any heart problems and/or strokes that may have occurred after their dental x-rays were taken. Pre-existing risk factors such as any prio...High visibility speed cameras may increase road deaths
...se deaths and injuries on the road, according to a letter in this weeks BMJ. Speed cameras will now be painted yellow and must be visible from a distance of up to 100m. Police forces will also be forbidden from erecting warning signs on roads where there are no cameras. These measures seem destined to placa...Cost-effectiveness assessments important for HIV response in Africa
...es, treatment opportunities, and lives. A research letter (p 1667) in this weeks issue of THE LANCET describes the potential of a low-cost drug combination for people with HIV-1 infection. Nicholas Paton and colleagues from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, gave 22 individuals with HIV-1 a combination of t...No association between ageing gametes and birth defects
Authors of a research letter in this weeks issue of THE LANCET conclude that there is no evidence to support the belief that sexual intercourse too soon or two long after ovulation is associated with an increased risk of birth defects and Downs syndrome. For many years, the agei...Early promise of simple test for diagnosing malignant hyperthermia
German authors of a research letter in this weeks issue of THE LANCET describe the potential of a straightforward test for identifying people at risk of the often fatal reaction to general anaesthetics, a syndrome known as malignant hyperthermia. Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a chain...Alcohol-based disinfectant hand gels could increase infection in hospitals
Authors of a research letter in this weeks issue of THE LANCET suggest that recently introduced disinfectant gels for hand hygiene are significantly less effective than rinses and could contribute to an increase in hospital-based infection. Hand hygiene among health-care workers...Surgery league tables could threaten access to care
...luctance to treat riskier patients, according to a letter in this weeks BMJ. Nicholas Pace, Consultant Anaesthetist at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow argues that before the NHS proceeds much further, note ought to be taken of experience in the United States, the country with most experience in the public ...Audiovisual recording of oral consent for illiterate populations (p 1406)
Authors of a research letter in this weeks issue of THE LANCET describe a novel procedure which uses audiovisual techniques for obtaining medical consent from illiterate people. Informed consent is a legal and ethical requirement of most research in human beings, but obtaining p...Parental smoking around time of conception linked to reduction in male births
...ving male offspring, suggest authors of a research letter in this weeks issue of THE LANCET. The male to female ratio of children has declined substantially over the past few decades. The reason for this reduction is not clear, but it has been suggested that chronic exposure to toxic environmental agents th......of three. In 1998, the researchers sent a personal letter with a questionnaire to 27,000 employees in 45 companies and institutes. More than 12,000 people responded. Of these 8000 were not fatigued at the start of the study. These 8000 received an extensive questionnaire once a year and a short questionnair...