British hospitals need clinical ethicists
...hown that ethics consultations are associated with reductions in time spent on ventilators and days in hospital, and that most doctors and nurses who have used the service find it helpful. Clinical ethicists could also contribute to the continuing medical education of healthcare staff in medical ethics through ...First head-to-head study to compare lidoderm patch and Celebrex in treating pain
...ensity; (studies have reported that 30% or greater reductions in pain intensity are clinically meaningful to pai...ain intensity. In addition, clinically meaningful reductions in pain were noted in both treatment groups at week 12. "Although these results need to be confirm...Study shows patch therapy may be as effective as oral medications
...allel-group study found that clinically meaningful reductions in pain were noted in the lidocaine patch 5% and the celecoxib groups at week 12. In this study, 71 percent of patients in the lidocaine patch 5% group (N=24) and 72 percent of patients in the celecoxib group (N=39) experienced a 30 percent or great...New self-help technology set to combat eating disorders
...lving 47 sufferers of bulimia revealed significant reductions in binging and self-induced vomiting. The pilot programme, run by the Eating Disorders Unit at South London and Maudsley NHS Trust lasted for 8 weeks and provided the treatment without any therapist input. Modules include sessions on why people deve...Invasive pneumonia and antibiotic resistance decreased after childhood vaccine introduced
...9 to 13.1 per 100,000 in 2002. The most striking reductions in invasive pneumococcal disease were in the young... vaccinated." Other possible explanations for the reductions in invasive disease and antibiotic resistance were not convincing, Dr. Stephens notes. "Our study s...Minorities, poor, uneducated bear the burden
..., "although some significant improvements such as reductions in gender disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) have been noted, disparities in CVD mortality based on race/ethnicity have remained largely unchanged, and disparities in the morbidity of major CVD appear to be increasing." Co-authors of the st...Drug abuse treatment slashes HIV-related sex behaviors in urban meth addicts
...s County. Treatment produced immediate, three-fold reductions in methamphetamine use and in risky sexual behavior. Gains from treatment were generally maintained over a yearlong observation period. IMPACT: Drug abuse treatment merits consideration as a primary HIV prevention strategy for urban gay and bisexua...Common anesthetics appear safe for developing fetal brain
...e of the three commonly used agents, which induced reductions in oxygen metabolism along with increases in cerebral blood flow. Isoflurane is known to produce these actions in the adult brain but it had not been appreciated that such effects could also occur in the fetal brain, he said. Besides the oxygenation ...Emergency clopidogrel could save thousands of lives46,000-patient heart attack trial results
...t attack benefited patients. "Our finding of clear reductions in repeat heart attacks and ventricular fibrillation reinforces this evidence," he said. "Early after a heart attack, however, the benefits and hazards with intravenous then oral metoprolol counter-balanced each other. So, to maximise the benefits an...Two years after gene therapy treatments, severe angina patients showed prolonged clinical benefit
...nation of angina symptoms. Similarly, significant reductions in the number of angina episodes per week and the number of nitroglycerin tablets taken were observed. Given the invasive nature of this trial, there was not a control group that received a placebo. The Phase I trial was followed by a Phase I/IIa tr...School-based smoking prevention programs ineffective
...ased smoking prevention programs produce long-term reductions in smoking prevalence among youth," says the study's first author, Sarah Wiehe, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of pediatrics, Division of Children's Health Services Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine. The researchers reviewed ...Three out of the four million newborn babies who die each year could be saved
...ackage. "However, in order to achieve the kinds of reductions in neonatal mortality that are needed to meet the Millennium Development Goal for child survival, we must also begin strengthening and expanding clinical care for both mothers and babies." WHAT WILL IT TAKE IN REALITY FOR POOR COUNTRIES TO REDUCE NE...Older women can benefit from chemotherapy to treat breast cancer
...rused in older patients or that inappropriate dose reductions are made that decrease its effectiveness. Hyman B....ty. Older women and younger women derived similar reductions in breast cancer mortality and recurrence from regimens containing more chemotherapy." "Our study ad...Similar results found in both older and younger patients undergoing weight-loss surgery
...ns, respectively. Both groups also had significant reductions in medication after surgery, with the older group decreasing from an average of 4.85 to 2.7 medications; and the younger group decreasing from 2.7 to 1.1 medications. "Patients of advanced age can safely undergogastric bypass with operative results ...Medication helps alcoholics control drinking
...should be a desired goal for the patient; however, reductions in drinking may be an acceptable intermediate outcome because there are many other areas of a patient's life that can improve, such as job performance, social relationships, and general physical health." Although naltrexone (ReVia) has been availabl...Breast cancer treatment reduces risk of heart disease
...rt. Studies have shown women taking tamoxifen show reductions in markers of cardiac disease, such as bad cholesterol and homocysteine. However, there is little direct evidence of tamoxifen's heart protective benefits by way of reduced morbidity or mortality. To evaluate its hypothesized cardioprotective affects...14-year study finds that quitting smoking adds years to life
...m healthier and feel better, it caused substantial reductions in death rate." The participants in the study all had mild lung disease, which itself increases risk for more serious lung disease down the road. In an editorial, "Smoking Kills, Experimental Proof from the Lung Health Study," Jonathan M. Samet, MD, ...Herb used to treat diabetes works like modern-day prescription drugs, study suggests
...y 29 and 23 percent, respectively. "These kinds of reductions are similar to what we might see with prescription oral medications for people with diabetes," said Steve Hertzler, a study co-author and an assistant professor of nutrition at Ohio State University. Salacia oblonga, which is native to regions of Ind...Certain gun storage practices can reduce risk of youth firearm injuries, suicide
...from the ammunition is associated with significant reductions in the risk of unintentional and self-inflicted firearm injuries and deaths among adolescents and children. Programs and policies designed to reduce accessibility of guns to youth, by keeping households guns locked and unloaded, deserve further atten......kely to favour RAE ratings. The knock-on effect of reductions in academic staff is for staff in the NHS to carry an additional teaching burden, which is often difficult to fulfill. The authors write that the RAE should be abolished. They believe that research councils and major charitable foundations have effic...