Surgeon’s choice of laser or blade for corneal flap plays role in visual outcome of procedure
New scientific data being presented at this year’s ASCRS meeting reveals the key to a better-than-20/20 outcome in LASIK surgery may depend on whether your doctor uses a blade or a laser to create the corneal flap in the first step of the procedure.
“It turns out that the flap that we make in LASIK is not an innocent bystander,” says Roger F. Steinert, M.D., 2005 ASCRS president,
Researchers from the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh have begun a new study into the effects of a mother’s diet in pregnancy upon unborn babies and their future health. The research team will seek answers to the links between diet and health by carrying out further studies in a group of almost 1,000 men and women born in Motherwell, Scotland, in the late 1960s.
This latest research will look at the effects of an Atkins-type’ high meat, low carbohydrate diet in late pregna
CeNeS Pharmaceuticals notes the recent publication of additional clinical data on its lead product morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) by an academic group at King’s College, London. The data, which was published in the international journal ‘Anesthesiology’ (1), provides further support for the potential of M6G as a treatment for post-operative pain, focusing on its potential for administration under patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). Part of this data has been presented previously at the 4th Inte
Launch of the new British Nutrition Foundation Task Force report
Despite improvements in death rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) around the world, CVD remains a leading cause of death and ill health in the UK, where death rates are amongst the highest in the world. Reducing death rates from this disease remains high on the Government’s agenda, yet attention to the classical risk factors may not provide all the answers.
CVD is a multi-factorial disease, which ar
Dangers of tobacco products transcend generations
A child whose grandmother smoked while pregnant may have double the risk of developing childhood asthma, according to new research. A study published in the April issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, suggests that the harmful effects of tobacco products can be passed through the generations, even if the damage is not visibly apparent in the second generation.
“This is th
Omega-3 fatty acids improve cardiac function faster than expected
Taking daily supplements of fish or soy oil may improve cardiac function and protect against heart attacks in the short-term. Study results published in the April issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, are the first to show that soy oil increases heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of cardiac autonomic function.
“Our findings contradict the current beli
Deep brain stimulation of two different areas of the brain appears to improve problems with uncontrolled movements (dyskinesia) in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), according to an article in the April issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Deep brain stimulation with electrical impulses delivered to structures deep within the brain is being intensively investigated for the management of advanced Parkinson disease, according to background informati
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven identified a novel human kidney protein called renalase that regulates both heart contraction and blood pressure; it is a strong candidate for easily administered treatment of advanced kidney and cardiovascular disease.
Over eight million people in the U.S. have kidney impairment and 500,000 have end-stage kidney disease (ESRD), for which treatment is often limited to dialysis. Elevate
Inhaled therapy addresses most common cause of death among lung-transplant recipients
Data presented for the first time today at the 25th Annual Meeting and Scientific Session of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) show that cyclosporine inhalation solution (CyIS) significantly improves long-term survival in lung-transplant patients compared to placebo. The data, which include 10-month follow-up statistics on patients originally enrolled in the pivo
Research in mice suggests that the liver may produce most of the body’s “good” cholesterol, an unexpected finding that might one day help scientists develop new treatments to raise levels of this heart-protecting molecule in humans.
In the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues will report on a project that used gene-targeting in mice to simulate a rare disease in people – Tangier disease
Nearly three out of every four adults over age 50 use some kind of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and herbal medicine, according to a new study.
While previous research has been limited, this appears to be a higher rate than occurs within the general population, said Gong-Soog Hong, co-author of the study and professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University.
This study found that 71 percent of older adults used some form of alternative medicine in 2000. A
Measuring protein level provides accurate assessment for patients with shortness of breath
A new blood test that measures a particular marker of cardiac distress can markedly improve the ability to diagnose or exclude congestive heart failure in patients with shortness of breath who come to hospital emergency departments. The report from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) finds that measuring levels of a protein called NT-proBNP was significantly better at identify
A future in which laboratory-grown organs and stimulated growth of muscle, bones and nerves could play a major role in treating medical conditions was revealed at a recent Tissue Engineering Symposium at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
The symposium, sponsored by Wake Forest Baptist and the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, was part of the society’s annual conference. Tissue engineering experts from Wake Forest Bapt
Modified Mediterranean diet and survival: EPIC-elderly prospective cohort study BMJ Online First
The Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans, finds a study published online by the BMJ today. The Mediterranean diet is characterised by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals; a moderate to high intake of fish; a low intake of saturated fats, but high intake of unsaturated fats, particularly olive oil; a low intake of dairy
Adolescents who get daily vigorous physical activity tend to be leaner and fitter than their less active peers, researchers have shown.
“The leanest and fittest kids are the ones who have the most vigorous activity for longer periods of time,” says Dr. Bernard Gutin, exercise physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia and lead author on the study published in the April American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “We could not show that the amount of minutes spent in moderate activi
Preliminary research suggests infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae may increase the risk of heart attack in young men, according to an article in the April 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
C. pneumoniae is a relative of the more familiar bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted disease known commonly as chlamydia. The pneumoniae species, though, leads instead to respiratory problems such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus infection and is not s
Feedback
