Saturday, May 25, 2002





Prevention is the best cure


As we've said all along here at the Internet Medical Journal, prevention is the best cure. Now, a study in the Lancet has come to the same conclusion regarding HIV infection in Africa- that prevention will save more lives than treating those who already have HIV. Comment: no kidding. It's really mind boggling that this study was published in such a prestigious journal. Their study basically said that preventing a lethal, incurable disease will save more lives than treating an incurable, lethal disease. [ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

05:32 GMT
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Oral Anti-Viral Medication Kills Smallpox


Cidofivir, when combined with lecithin, has been shown in animal studies to kill the smallpox virus. It can be taken orally in pill form. It has been tested on the cellular level and also in mice. [ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

03:56 GMT
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Genetic Engineering Makes Mosquitoes Unable to Transmit Malaria


A team of German and American researchers have genetically modified mosquitoes, making them unable to transmit malaria. Between 300 and 500 million people are infected with malaria each year, and one to three million people die each year from the disease. [ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

03:39 GMT
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Malpractice Lawsuits a Lottery?


A man was awarded a $250 000 USD award from a medical malpractice lawsuit. The case was due to problems the man received as a result of doctors leaving a surgical tool inside of his abdomen after surgery. Comment: this plaintiff in this case certainly deserved compensation. However, what is interesting is that the article headline states that he *won* $250 000. Are lawsuits simply lotteries that are won or lost? I would have liked to have seen that the man was awarded $250 000 *and* that the hospital surgical program was forced to make changes in their quality control procedures. [ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

03:12 GMT
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Friday, May 24, 2002





Medical News Goes Multimedia


You may now listen and view online the articles reviewed by Dr. Heston in a convenient multimedia presentation. [ Click Here to View ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

02:59 GMT
 © medjournal.com

Wednesday, May 22, 2002





18000 Die Prematurely Due to No Medical Insurance


A report from the US Institute of Medicine estimates that 18 000 uninsured American adults die prematurely due to their lack of proper medical care. [ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

22:59 GMT
 © medjournal.com

Mild Depression Associated With Longevity in Women


This study from Duke University looked at 2401 women and 1269 men 65 years of age and older. It found that women with mild depression were less likely to die over the three to four year followup period. The researchers speculate that mild depression may lead to adaptive behaviors.[ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

21:28 GMT
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Tuesday, May 21, 2002





Stress Inhibits Blood Vessel Relaxation


This study of 23 healthy individuals found that mental stress resulted in a 50% decrease in the ability of the blood vessel endothelium to increase blood flow. This decreased ability to expand could be the reason why stressful events have been associated with an increased risk of a heart attack. Comment: note the earlier pearl that found that exercise increases the ability of blood vessels to relax. Thus, at the level of the blood vessel, exercise is a good antidote to stress. [ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

03:43 GMT
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Monday, May 20, 2002





Great Britain to License Doctors


The UK plans to require doctors to submit evidence to their General Medical Council that they are getting the continuing medical education they need to stay up to date. Those doctors that are not maintaining proper continuing education will not be licensed. Comment: most US states- but not all- require that doctors get continuing medical education in order to be licensed to practice medicine. Although many older doctors who became board certified a long time ago no longer need to retake an exam to maintain their board certification status, almost all of the younger doctors do. For example, to maintain my status as a board-certified family physician, I need to retake and pass the board exam every 7 years. Furthermore, to maintain my status as a member in the American Academy of Family Physicians, I need to have at least 50 hours of continuing medical education a year. This is becoming standard practice for nearly all of the certification boards in the US. Individual states, however, vary considerably in the number of hours of continuing education required to be licensed. [ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

18:07 GMT
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Heat Treatment for Breast Cancer


A team from the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center has developed a heat treatment system to treat breast cancer. The treatment was tested on 21 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. The trial lasted 12 weeks. The heat treatment was combined with chemotherapy. Most of the women in the trial had been told their cancer was inoperable. The outcome of the trial was positive, with many patients no longer having evidence of any cancer and others being able to undergo lumpectomy rather than radical mastectomy. Comment: these findings were presented at a meeting-- and not yet publication quality. The statistics given in the news article don't add up correctly. For example the article states that 11% of the women hand no cancer found when the breast tissue was analyzed. This is equal to 2.31 patients (11% of 21 = 2.31). They also state that 17% of the patients were now suitable for lumpectomies as opposed to radical mastectomies. Well, 17% of 21 = 3.57. I wonder how 3.57 patients underwent lumpectomies. This highlights the problem with putting too much credence on research presented at meetings. I've been told that approximately 50% of the research papers presented at a meeting never make it to publication in a peer reviewed journal. Nevertheless, I believe that this is really exciting research! The hypotheses and science behind this work is very solid, and it comes from an excellent medical center - Duke. [ article ]
 posted by the
Internet Medical Journal 

17:58 GMT
 © medjournal.com