Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Is Zetia a Safe Medicine For Lowering Cholesterol

Monday, April 28th, 2008

                                        There has been considerable press recently on the cholesterol lowering medicine Zetia, also known as Ezetimibe, since the release of a recent study known as the ENHANCE study.  This study compared the cholesterol medication simvastatin, also known as Zocor, to the combination of Zocor and Zetia used together.  It looked ...

Got an Emergency? Be Ready to Wait.

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

A recent study published in the journal Health Affairs reported what anyone who has recently gone to an emergency room already knows; waiting times to be seen are increasing. The average wait time has increased by 36 percent or 30 minutes per patient. Fully one quarter of patients ...

Where you Live can Affect your Chances of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

A recent study published in the journal, Epidemiology, suggests that people who live in certain neighbourhoods have an increased chance of developing insulin resistance and subsequent type 2 Diabetes. People who lived in neighbourhoods "more conducive" to exercise and healthy diet had less insulin resistance. These ...

Doctors often Write Patients Placebo Presciptions

Friday, January 4th, 2008

A recent study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that almost 50% of internists polled in Chicago have prescribed their patients placebos during their career. Placebos are pill containing no actual medicine, just an inert substance like Dextrose ("sugar pills"). Many of those MD's ...

A Promising Start to a New, Wearable, Artificial Kidney

Monday, December 17th, 2007

A newly developled articial kidney (which performs haemodialysis) which can be worn by patients with end stage kidney disease shows promise according to a recent study published in the journal, Lancet.  The device, developed by a physician in California, was tested in 8 patients in the UK for a brief ...

Drinking Milk in Pregnancy may Increase the Birth Weight

Friday, December 7th, 2007

A recent study from Denmark looked at the effect of the consumption of cow's milk on the foetus during pregnancy.  The investigators collected data on diet from women in mid-gestation and then follow up post partum data via interviews. In those women who drank >6 glasses per day, there was a strong association ...

Top Three Drugs that Lead to a Visit to the ER

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007

A large study recently published looked at Emergency Department vists for older adults caused by reactions or toxicity to certain medications.  Between 2004 and 2005, a total of 177,504 visits to the ER were caused by adverse reactions to drugs in patients over 65.  The top three offenders were Warfarin ...

Finally Some Good News About Obesity…. (Sort of)

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

With all the concern about obesity in this country, it is good to hear that a recent study conducted by the CDC showed that although obesity rates remain high, there has been no real increase in adults in the last few years.  The levels are currently 34% of adults aged ...

Embryonic stem cells made without embryos

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

                                      In a recent breakthrough, researchers have transformed ordinary human skin cells into batches of cells that behave like embryonic stem cells.  These unique types of cells have the special ability to be directed to become  more specialized cell lines, such as forming new brain, nerve or heart tissue.  The significance ...

Avastin Shows Promise For Brain Cancer

Sunday, November 18th, 2007

   U.S. biotechnology company Genentech Inc  said on Sunday its blockbuster cancer drug, Avastin, showed encouraging results for patients with the most aggressive form of brain cancer. In a Phase II trial, the drug, administered alone or with chemotherapy, demonstrated an encouraging six-month survival rate for patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the ...