Clipmarks | tabsey's 'medical' clips

Suicide rate much higher for medical students: AMSA

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:31:14 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Bullying and nowhere to hide.

The Australian Medical Students Association's (AMSA) convention has heard that suicide rates for medical students are dramatically higher than the average rate for students.

The Association says there needs to be a big change in the way cases of bullying are handled within the medical profession to ensure students are protected.

The organisation's president, Michael Bonning, says bullying by teachers has been accepted for too long.

"It's absolutely amazing that for a well-informed and well-educated part of the community that people feel they're so trapped and they have no one they can turn to," he said.

"We think part of this stems from the culture that's set up inside medical education."

Tags: old, ideas, aren't, necessarily, correct

Researchers identify cancer preventive properties in common vitamin supplement

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:00:07 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: RESVERATROL I think that I would be incorporating this into my diet straight away, if I was from a family with a history of breast cancer. If it is not what they hope, you won't be much worse off financially.

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

PHILADELPHIA – Early laboratory research has shown that resveratrol, a common dietary supplement, suppresses the abnormal cell formation that leads to most types of breast cancer, suggesting a potential role for the agent in breast cancer prevention. Resveratrol is a natural substance found in red wine and red grapes. It is sold in extract form as a dietary supplement at most major drug stores.

"Resveratrol has the ability to prevent the first step that occurs when estrogen starts the process that leads to cancer by blocking the formation of the estrogen DNA adducts. We believe that this could stop the whole progression that leads to breast cancer down the road," said Eleanor G. Rogan, Ph.D., a professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Rogan was the lead author of the report that was published in the July 2008 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Tags: medical

Poor at higher risk of death after intensive care: study

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 10:41:48 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: The study reached it's conclusions and they should be used as a basis of improving survival rates. Whilst I acknowledge that the poor use drugs to escape the boredom, or whatever, all other "classes" use drugs. The rich will not need pain killers, they have purer stuff at home.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

New research shows that lower socioeconomic status is a major factor in the long-term survival of people who have spent time in hospital with a critical illness.

The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, analysed 15,000 patients who had been admitted to intensive care units in Western Australia.

Doctor Kwok Ho from Royal Perth Hospital says the report found being poor was the single biggest factor in determining whether patients would survive after their release from hospital.

He says lower socioeconomic status was more of a detrimental influence on the outcome than many other factors, including age.

He said one explanation could be because that group could not afford to get specialist medical care.

But he says other lifestyle factors such as smoking or possible drug use might also be to blame, and more should be done to improve the long-term outcomes of patients.

Tags: drugs, don't, effect, the, rich

It's a cancer clinic called Hope. But critics accuse it of preying on the vulnerable

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:56:47 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Plenty of these around the world, giving alternative medicine a bad name.

Clip Source: www.theage.com.au

A MELBOURNE cancer clinic that specialises in alternative therapies acted unethically and did not fully inform dying cancer patients about the lack of scientific evidence for their treatment, despite charging them thousands of dollars, a two-year investigation is expected to find.

The inquiry by the state's health watchdog is expected to recommend that Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the Medical Practitioners Board investigate the Collins Street-based Hope Clinic to see if charges should be laid.

The clinic's director, Noel Campbell, is a disgraced former dentist who told The Sunday Age he had achieved "complete remission" in some early-stage cancer patients and had extended and improved the quality of life of people with end-stage cancer.

The Sunday Age believes the Hope Clinic, on the eighth floor at 167 Collins Street, loosely features in a disguised and fictionalised form in author Helen Garner's recent book The Spare Room.

Tags: preying, on, the, dying, is, fine, in, this, country

Bone Marrow Alternative: Stem Cells From Umbilical Cord May Be Used To Treat Hepatic Diseases

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:47:20 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Good news

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (July 5, 2008) — Scientists from the University of Granada (Spain), in collaboration with the University of León, have confirmed that stem cells from human umbilical cord blood can be an appropriate therapy for the treatment of hepatic diseases such as hepatitis, and are therefore an effective alternative to bone marrow.

According to a scientific paper to be published in the journal Cell Transplantation, human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCBCs) are useful for hepatic regenerative medicine, as they are capable of nesting in the liver after carrying out a xenotransplant from human to rat.

The scientists explain that the cell transplant carried out in rats caused an improvement both in the histological damage and in the hepatic function, as proved by the enzymatic activities of alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, gama-glutamyl-transpherase and lactate dehydrogenase, as well as the concentrations of total and direct bilirubin.

Tags: medical

Cold sore virus secret revealed

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:19:18 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Many a person would love this to end their viral experience

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The secret of how the cold sore virus manages to persist for a lifetime in the human body may have been cracked by US scientists.

The herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) can lie dormant in facial nerves, emerging periodically to cause sores.

A Duke University Medical Center team may have uncovered how it can reactivate itself from a dormant state.

The finding, published in the journal Nature, could eventually lead to new treatments.

When fighting a virus, the immune system relies heavily on the protein chemicals produced by the virus which it uses to help mark it for destruction.

Herpes viruses manage to evade the immune system by shutting down production of these proteins completely, and remaining in this state for long periods before starting to replicate again.

Wake-up call

This is why patients, once infected, have occasional flare-ups of cold sores or genital herpes, and can never get rid of the infection completely.

Tags: medical

Statins have unexpected effect on pool of powerful brain cells

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:29:40 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Debate about taking cholesterol lowering medication containing statins

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia.

Neuroscientists found that statins, one of the most widely prescribed classes of medication ever used, have an unexpected effect on brain cells. Researchers looked at the effects of statins on glial progenitor cells, which help the brain stay healthy by serving as a crucial reservoir of cells that the brain can customize depending on its needs. The team found that the compounds spur the cells, which are very similar to stem cells, to shed their flexibility and become one particular type of cell.

Tags: medical

Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Balanced Nutrition Saves Lives

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:01:00 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Give the body nutrition so it can heal itself.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (July 4, 2008) — Clinician-scientists from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are suggesting an immediate and important change to guidelines used in the care of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The researchers say that following TBI, patients should be given nutritional supplementation through a gastric feeding tube as soon as possible, which they say can improve their chances of survival by as much as four-fold.

The study's findings are published in this month's issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery. This is the largest study to ever look at the issue of nutrition and survival following TBI. The research team followed survival outcome and nutritional care in 797 patients from 2000–2006.

Tags: medical

Keeping German Doctors On A Budget Lowers Costs

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:18:22 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: The doctors are not happy though. $US123kpa is not a lot for that line of work.

Clip Source: www.npr.org

Listen Now [8 min 25 sec] add to playlist

All Things Considered, July 2, 2008 · Germany, by many measures, has one of the world's most successful health care systems — providing good care for everybody for much less than many other countries spend.

Nearly every German has ready access to doctors, cheap drugs, high-tech medicine, dental care, nursing homes and home care. All this — and Germany spends about half what the United States does per person.

"The system is really good," says Dr. Christoph Leibl, a general practitioner in the little middle-class town of Willich, near Dusseldorf in western Germany. "As far as the medical treatment and stuff is concerned, in my opinion it's very good."

One way it accomplishes this is by putting doctors on a budget.

How Doctors Get Paid

Tags: medicine, is, a, right, for, all

Long Trip: Magic Mushrooms' Transcendent Effect Lingers

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:58:26 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: A very interesting article. Beginning to understand why the shrrooms are used.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

People who took magic mushrooms were still feeling the love more than a year later, and one might say they were on cloud nine about it, scientists report in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

"Most of the volunteers looked back on their experience up to 14 months later and rated it as the most, or one of the five most, personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their lives," comparing it with the birth of a child or the death of a parent, says neuroscientist Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who lead the research. "It's one thing to have a dramatic experience you say is impressive. It's another thing to say you consider it as meaningful 14 months later. There's something about the saliency of these experiences that's stunning."

Tags: medical

Cancer 'Cure' In Mice To Be Tested In Humans

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:33:26 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Could be bloody marvellous.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (June 30, 2008) — Scientists at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center are about to embark on a human trial to test whether a new cancer treatment will be as effective at eradicating cancer in humans as it has proven to be in mice.

The treatment will involve transfusing specific white blood cells, called granulocytes, from select donors, into patients with advanced forms of cancer. A similar treatment using white blood cells from cancer-resistant mice has previously been highly successful, curing 100 percent of lab mice afflicted with advanced malignancies.

Zheng Cui, Ph.D., lead researcher and associate professor of pathology, will be announcing the study June 28 at the Understanding Aging conference in Los Angeles.

The study, given the go-ahead by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will involve treating human cancer patients with white blood cells from healthy young people whose immune systems produce cells with high levels of cancer-fighting activity.

Tags: medical, people, do, great, things

First pharmaceutical drug to improve survival amongst patients with advanced hepatocarcinoma

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:32:22 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: More at the source, paragraphs too big to clip. I love reading this one. May come in handy with my excuse for a liver.

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

International research involving the University Hospital of the University of Navarra, together with other hospitals in Spain, has shown that Sorafenib, an orally administered pharmaceutical medicine, results in patients with primary hepatocarcinomas (liver tumours) to live 40% more on average compared to those not taking the drug. The study, led by the Barcelona Hospital Clinic, will be shortly published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Tags: medical

Seniors with type 2 diabetes may experience memory declines immediately after eating unhealthy meal

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:15:51 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: A good tip for those who have reached the age of wisdom.

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

Can be offset by taking antioxidant vitamins with meal, but healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables is best defense

Toronto, CANADA – Adults with type 2 diabetes who eat unhealthy, high-fat meals may experience memory declines immediately afterward, but this can be offset by taking antioxidant vitamins with the meal, according to new research from Baycrest.

There is already growing evidence linking diabetes to cognitive complications in humans. Adults with type 2 diabetes are especially vulnerable to acute meal-induced memory deficits after eating unhealthy foods.

This latest study, led by Baycrest and published in the July issue of Nutrition Research, suggests that taking high doses of antioxidant vitamins C and E with the meal may help minimize those memory slumps.

Tags: medical

Portable device effective in zapping away migraine pain

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:13:59 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Not far away. Will be popular for the right reasons. Pleased with the results, considering 50% have nothing that gives relief. Ouch

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A novel electronic device designed to "zap" away migraine pain before it starts has proven to be the next form of relief for those suffering from the debilitating disease, according to a study conducted at The Ohio State University Medical Center.

Results of the study, to be presented Friday (6/27) at the annual American Headache Society meeting in Boston, found that the experimental device is safe and effective in eliminating headaches when administered during the onset of the migraine.

The noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS) device interrupts the aura phase of the migraine, often described as electrical storms in the brain, before they lead to headaches. Migraine sufferers often describe "seeing" showers of shooting stars, zigzagging lines and flashing lights, and experiencing loss of vision, weakness, tingling or confusion, followed by intense throbbing head pain, nausea and vomiting.

Tags: medical

Liver Drug May Help Exhausted Spacewalkers

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:13:12 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Explains the fitness needs of an astronaut.

Clip Source: www.space.com

Future astronauts might better endure exhausting spacewalks with the help of a handy liver drug.

The drug captures free radical molecules produced during heavy exercise that could damage muscle tissue and cause fatigue for spacewalkers already facing the muscle-wasting effect of weightlessness.

"Astronauts report that six to eight hours of extra-vehicular activity is as exhausting as running a marathon," said Michael Reid, head physiologist at the University of Kentucky who leads an ongoing study. "The muscle groups most affected are the hands and arms."

NASA tries to limit the duration of its spacewalks to about 6 1/2 hours on average because astronauts become tired working in their bulky spacesuits. Future astronauts may have more flexible spacesuits to work with, but researchers still look to counteract the muscle fatigue in the shoulders, arms, wrists and hands.

Tags: medical