Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Swimming pool chlorine risk to pregnant women

Research by Dr Mark Nieuwenhuijsen published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine today (4 April) highlights an area of potential risk to pregnant women through exposure to the by-products of chlorination in swimming pools.
The following statement clarifies the potential risk:

Dr Nieuwenhuijsen, from the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at Imperial College, London says:

“There is no empirical evidence that chlorination by-products in swimming

Study supports triple combination therapy for HIV

New evidence in this week’s BMJ supports the use of up to three antiviral drugs (triple therapy) to treat people with HIV.

Researchers in Birmingham reviewed 54 trials involving over 20,000 patients with HIV infection who had not already received antiviral therapy.

Combinations of up to three drugs were consistently and significantly more effective, but there was inadequate evidence on the effectiveness of quadruple or higher combinations. There was also marked variation, mainly acc

Allergens and viruses act together to worsen asthma

Common allergens (such as dust mite and grass pollen) and viruses may act together to exacerbate asthma, concludes a study in this week’s BMJ.

Sixty patients (aged 17 to 50) admitted to hospital over a year with acute asthma were matched with two controls: patients with stable asthma and patients admitted to hospital with non-respiratory diseases (inpatient controls). Skin tests for dust mite, cat, dog, and grass allergens were performed on all patients.

A significantly higher propo

Hormone drug linked to increased prevalence of male genital disorder

Results of a Dutch study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlight how a male genital disorder could be more common among boys born to mothers who were prenatally exposed to a synthetic hormone withdrawn in the late 1970s.

The drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) was previously prescribed to prevent spontaneous abortion and preterm delivery. DES was withdrawn in the 1970s when it became clear that it was associated with vaginal cancer and fertility disorders in women who were exposed to the drug

Vitamin supplementation could slow arteriosclerosis in heart-transplant patients

A US randomised trial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggests that vitamin C and E supplementation could be of clinical benefit in delaying the onset of arteriosclerosis in the first year after heart transplantation.

Around 70% of patients develop arteriosclerosis within three years after heart transplantation, which is thought to be associated with oxidant stress. James Fang and colleagues from Brigham and Women`s Hospital, Boston, USA, proposed that treatment with antioxidant vitamins

Twist and ouch

Scientists make strides in the study of women’s sports injuries.

Straighter legs and knock-knees may be causing female athletes to tear knee ligaments more frequently than males. The finding could help coaches to shape women’s training to reduce such injuries.

When researchers at the University of North Carolina spotted that women land with their knees straighter and closer together than do men, they asked the athletes to spring on and off platforms that measure force in sev

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