Medical Condition News

RSS

New diet guidance for those suffering dysphagia

Research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is leading to potentially lifesaving changes for patients suffering from dysphagia, or swallowing difficulty.

24 Oct 2007

Charcot foot becoming more common

Charcot foot is a sudden softening of the foot's bones caused by severe neuropathy, or nerve damage, a common diabetic foot complication. It can trigger an avalanche of problems, including joint loss, fractures, collapse of the arch, massive deformity, ulcers, amputation, and even death. As the disorder progresses, the bottom of the foot can become convex, bulging like the hull of a ship.

24 Oct 2007

Harvard health looks at schizophrenia and heart disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and it's about twice as deadly for people with schizophrenia.

24 Oct 2007

Educating local physicians key to care of children with cleft deformities in Zimbabwe

A surgical team that traveled to Zimbabwe successfully treated 39 children with cleft lip or palate, and an ongoing relationship with physicians there will help meet the needs of local patients, according to an article that will appear in the November/December 2007 print issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

22 Oct 2007

Scale back on weight obsession, urges obesity expert

"We need to change how we look at obesity, stop obsessing on weight and BMI and, above all, redefine the proper clinical use of weight loss drugs," says noted obesity expert Dr. Jean-Pierre Després, delivering the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Lecture at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2007.

22 Oct 2007

Smoking, alcohol, being underweight and poor diet all risk factors for osteoporosis

If you smoke, drink more than two units of alcohol a day, are underweight, don't exercise or eat well, you could be setting yourself up for osteoporosis later in life, according to a new report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF).

22 Oct 2007

Little evidence to support therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma; it affects significant numbers of people, in particular military personnel and veterans, who have seen active duty in war zones.

22 Oct 2007

Services for patients with Borderline Personality Disorder need to be improved say psychiatric nurses

Eighty per cent of psychiatric nurses believe that people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) receive inadequate care, despite the fact that one in fifty adults suffer from the condition, according to the October issue of the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.

19 Oct 2007

Mayo Clinic clarifies diagnosis for primary central nervous system vasculitis (PCNSV)

Mayo Clinic has clarified the methods of diagnosis and optimal management of a rare and little-understood blood vessel disease of the brain and spinal cord that often leads to stroke or death.

19 Oct 2007

New treatment a cure for Bell's Palsy

Scottish experts have discovered that Bell's Palsy, a syndrome which causes the muscles on one side of the face to become paralysed, can now be cured by a new steroid treatment.

19 Oct 2007

Review of PTSD treatments

Many people, including significant proportions of active duty military personnel and veterans, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often in conjunction with other injuries or illnesses.

19 Oct 2007

New therapy for chronic spasticity and rigidity

Research led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine has identified a target with potential as an effective new therapy for chronic spasticity and rigidity, a painful condition that often results from spinal cord injury.

17 Oct 2007

Myositis featured on Discovery Channel

LaShan Davis, featured this week on The Discovery Channel's “Mystery Diagnosis” spent three 10-hour days filming the segment and reliving the terrifying time she spent waiting for her “mystery disease” to be diagnosed.

17 Oct 2007

Mental disorders are disorders of the brain

Depression, anxiety disorders such as panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorders, alcohol and drug dependence, dementia and Parkinson's disease are just a few examples of "disorders of the brain".

17 Oct 2007

Nighttime acid reflux and sleep

According to results of a survey presented at the 72nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, nighttime acid reflux, along with some of the less typical manifestations or symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is associated with significant sleep impairment.

16 Oct 2007

Night-time acid reflux can impact sleep

16 Oct 2007

Dermatology's role in advancing the science of wound care

Cosmetic, medical and surgical dermatologists all play a role in the treatment and management of wounds, according to an editorial in the October issue of Archives of Dermatology, a theme issue on wound healing.

16 Oct 2007

Cause and clinical outcome of portal vein thrombosis

Among the 118 patients with portal vein thrombosis, noncirrhotic and nontumoral extrahepatic portal vein obstruction are young and present with well tolerated bleed.

15 Oct 2007

COPD more common place in China that originally thought

In China, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in people over the age of 40 is much more prevalent than previously thought, according to researchers in Guangdong.

15 Oct 2007

New insight into glutaric acidemia type I

Glutaric acidemia type I (GA-I) is an inherited disorder similar to Huntington disease. Individuals with GA-I are unable to breakdown completely the amino acids lysine and tryptophan and the intermediates of lysine and tryptophan breakdown accumulate in the brain.

12 Oct 2007