One expert questions the acceptability of the current level of acetaminophen-related injury and death, while another suggests that acetaminophen overdoses are misunderstood
Acetaminophen overdose causes more than 450 deaths due to acute liver failure each year in the United States and this number appears to be on the rise. In 2001, the U.S. Acute Liver Failure (ALF) Study found acetaminophen responsible for 39 percent of cases. In 2003, the number had risen to 49 percent.
W
To aid orthodontists in use of new orthoscrew
The newly Food and Drug Administration-approved orthoscrew–so tiny it is dwarfed by a fingertip–is difficult to place between the narrow spaces of teeth roots and bone.
Young Jin Jeon, a visiting assistant professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and an orthodontist from Pusan National University in Korea, developed a new grid device during his yearlong residency at Case that will help orthodonti
Thousands of neurosurgeons from around the globe will convene in Boston, Massachusetts, from August 23 to 28, 2009. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the city of Boston have been selected by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies to host the XIV International Congress in 2009.
The AANS and the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau already have initiated coordination of this remarkable meeting that will attract more than 5,400 attendees. Bookings
One of the most perplexing things about children’s health is that parents and children do not agree about it. The importance of obtaining children’s perspectives of their own health is the subject of a major debate among pediatricians and child health researchers. An analysis conducted by Anne Riley, PhD, associate professor with the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, concluded that children, even those as young as age six, can adequat
Recent advances in brain imaging may allow very early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and improved assessment of treatment effectiveness
Imaging techniques such as PET and MRI are near to becoming useful in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease earlier and distinguishing it from other types of dementia, according to research reported today at the 9th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ICAD), presented by the Alzheimer’s As
A review article by Yale researchers reaffirms that the vast majority of people with cardiovascular disease can travel safely on airlines, provided they follow basic guidelines such as carrying an ample supply of medication or waiting two weeks to travel after having a cardiac procedure.
Published in the July 20 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the article reviewed previous studies on air travel and cardiovascular disease. “We pulled together work that has been done on the topic, syn
A new genetic model for a motor disorder that confines an estimated 10,000 people in the United States to walkers and wheelchairs indicates that instability in the microscopic scaffolding within a key set of nerve cells is the cause of this devastating disability.
The study, which is published in the July 13 issue of the journal Current Biology, provides a provocative new insight into the molecular basis of the disease called hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and suggests a new way to tre
For many shoppers the word “organic” is synonymous with “safe.” But food safety experts cannot concede that organic is safer than conventional food, as their research shows it is not. Dialogue on the confusion between fact and myth highlighted the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo being held here through Friday.
Surveys show that about 60 percent of consumers stress that it’s important to clarify that the organic label is a production claim, not a food safety claim
Despite the efforts of food retailers and food-processing plant managers to maintain a clean, safe environment, strains of the deadly pathogen Listeria monocytogenes can persist for up to a year or longer, according to Cornell University food scientists in the latest issue of Journal of Food Protection (July 2004).
“This is disturbing because this points the finger at retail stores and some processors as a continuing source of food contamination,” says Brian D. Sauders, a Cornell doctoral c
Highly innovative new drugs that can prevent scarring in the eye after glaucoma surgery have been discovered by a London-based team of scientists, who report today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.* By targeting more than one aspect of the scarring process at the same time, the team has been able to use the drugs safely and successfully in animal models of glaucoma surgery. The group includes scientists and clinicians from Imperial College London at Hammersmith Hospital, the Institute of Ophthal
May be due more to depression and poor physical performance than physiological side effects
Fatigue – a common problem in patients who are recovering from leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other haematological cancers – is associated with depression and reduced physical performance and not, as previously suggested, with anaemia, a flagging immune system or other physiological conditions. That is the conclusion of a German research team, reported (Monday 19 July), in Annals of Oncol
More analyses needed to assess clinical implications of new data
People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) taking the drug donepezil were at reduced risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) for the first 18 months of a 3-year study when compared with their counterparts on placebo, according to a presentation of preliminary data from a recently completed clinical trial supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The reduc
Highly innovative new drugs that can prevent scarring in the eye after glaucoma surgery have been discovered by a London-based team of scientists, who report today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.* By targeting more than one aspect of the scarring process at the same time, the team has been able to use the drugs safely and successfully in animal models of glaucoma surgery. The group includes scientists and clinicians from Imperial College London at Hammersmith Hospital, the Institute of Ophthalm
Difficulties in performing more challenging cognitive tasks, such as managing one’s finances and medications, preparing meals and traveling independently, could be early warning signs that indicate the presence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to Emory University researchers. Other more basic and well-rehearsed daily tasks, such as bathing, grooming, and dressing, can also decline in patients with MCI, but to a lesser extent. The findings will be presented at the 9th International C
In recent years, doctors have become more willing to treat prostate cancer more aggressively with radiation therapy, and as a result, more patients are being cured of their cancer, according to a new study published in the July 15, 2004, issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
A 1999 Patterns of Care survey reviewing the records of more than 550 patients from 58 inst
School children can be screened for asthma and respiratory allergies using a simple questionnaire. A study validating the student questionnaire – and an alternative questionnaire for parents – is reported in the July issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
Children ages 7 to 13 answered nine questions at school about their breathing and allergy symptoms. The answers were then compared to the results of double-blinded clinical examinations of those students. The investigators fo
Feedback
