CHRONIC PAIN
• Multicenter study examines safety of medical cannabis in treatment of chronic pain: A Canadian research team has completed a national
multicenter study looking at the safety of medical cannabis use among patients
suffering from chronic pain. They found that patients with chronic pain who
used cannabis daily for one year, when carefully monitored, did not have an
increase in serious adverse events compared to pain patients who did not use
cannabis. The Journal of Pain
• Pain is in the brain: Chronic
pain results from disease or trauma to the nervous system. Damaged nerve fibres
with heightened responses to normal stimuli send incorrect messages to pain
centres in the brain. This phenomenon, called "peripheral and central
sensitization" is one of the key mechanisms involved in the condition
which touches people with diabetes, cancer, and those suffering from multiple
sclerosis, among others. Journal of Neuroscience
• Spinal Cord Implant for Chronic Pain: Doctors in Australia have
carried out a pioneering procedure to treat chronic pain, fitting a permanent
spinal cord implant which can record signals from the nervous system and adjust
the strength of impulses sent to affected areas. Joe Grewal, the first human to
be fitted with a permanent implant, said he has suffered chronic back pain for
more than 30 years and now “feels amazing”. The Telegraph
• Early PT Not a Cure All for Low Back Pain: More than 200 people with
recent-onset low back pain were randomly assigned to physical therapy or no
treatment for the first month after their pain began. Physical therapy included
back manipulation and exercise. Early physical therapy produced a modest
improvement in the study participants' ability to function after three months,
compared with no physical therapy. However, after a year, no significant
difference in function was found between the two groups. JAMA
COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
• Tai Chi Might Help People with Long-Term Health Conditions:
The slow, fluid movements of tai chi -- an ancient Chinese exercise --
appear to help older adults with chronic conditions improve their physical
function, a new review suggests. Specifically, those with breast cancer, heart
failure, osteoarthritis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, which
includes emphysema) saw improvements in strength, balance and posture without
worsening pain or being out of breath, researchers said. British Journal of
Sports Medicine
• Marijuana Extract Ill Suited for Preventing Nausea After Surgery: The active chemical in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), doesn't prevent nausea or vomiting in patients emerging from surgery,
new research indicates. Anesthesia & Analgesia
FDA
ACTION
• Warns of Risk for Dosing Errors with
Intravenous Ceftazidime/Avibactam
• Will improve process used by food processors to
submit information to FDA on Acidified an low acid canned food.
• Aristada approved for schizophrenia
• Expanded approval for the Optune device to
include newly diagnosed aggressive brain cancer.
• Approved Keytruda for lung cancer treatment
PREVENTION
• Flu Vaccine May Also Protect Against Pneumonia: Getting a flu shot may protect
you not only from flu, but also from pneumonia, the leading cause of
flu-related hospitalizations and deaths, a new study suggests. Most children
and adults hospitalized for flu-related pneumonia haven't had a flu shot, the
researchers said. JAMA
• Move
More to Prevent Heart Failure: When it comes to preventing heart
failure, the more exercise, the better. How much more? A new study suggests
maybe as much as two to four times the U.S. minimum recommended levels of 150
minutes of moderate physical activity a week. A meta analysis, which included
more than 370,000 people found that who did two to four times more exercise
than the U.S. minimum activity recommendations lowered their risk of heart
failure by 20 percent and 35 percent, respectively. Circulation
• Low Nicotine Cigarettes May Help Smokers Quit: Smokers are more likely to cut back or quit if they
switch to cigarettes made from tobacco containing very low levels of nicotine,
new research shows. The best results came with cigarettes containing 0.4
milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco. NEJM
• Bike Helmets Protect Against Severe Brain Injury: A study of 6,200 people who
suffered a traumatic brain injury in a cycling crash, just over one-quarter were
wearing helmets. Compared to those without a helmet, patients with a helmet
were 58 percent less likely to have severe brain injury. They were also 59
percent less likely to die, 61 percent less likely to require surgery to remove
part of the skull to expose the brain, and 26 percent less likely to have
facial fractures, the study found. American College of Surgeon
• Even a Short Stroll is helpful: If you have to sit almost all day while
you work, take a short walk whenever you can. Researchers report that even a
10-minute stroll can restore blood flow to legs affected by prolonged sitting.
Experimental Physiology
• Sitting for long periods not bad for health: New research has challenged
claims that sitting for long periods increases the risk of an early death even
if you are otherwise physically active. The study followed more than 5000
participants for 16 years (making it one of the longest follow-up studies in
this area of research) and found that sitting, either at home or at work, is
not associated with an increased
• For a better calorie Burn, Adjust Your Speed While Walking: The new research, from Ohio State
University, found that changing your pace could burn up to 20 percent more
calories than maintaining a steady stride. Biology Letters
• Vaccines Rarely Cause Life Threatening Allergic Reactions: Just 33 people had a serious,
potentially life-threatening allergic reaction -- also known as anaphylaxis --
out of 25 million vaccines given, according to research from the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. That's 1.3 people in every million who gets
a vaccine. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
• Anti-Smoking Drug Chantix More Help for Women than Men: The study, from Yale School of Medicine,
found that Chantix (varenicline) helped women more than men for the first year
of treatment. After a year, however, the anti-smoking medication worked equally
well for both men and women. Nicotine and Tobacco Research
SUPPLEMENTATION/VITAMINS/NUTRITION
• Higher Protein Diet May Help Some with Type 2 Diabetes: People
with type 2 diabetes may benefit from a higher-protein diet, but it likely
depends on whether or not they have a particular gene related to vitamin D
metabolism, new research suggests. Diabetologia
•
Metabolic Syndrome Leads one in three Americans to need more Vitamin E: New
research shows that the estimated one-third of Americans who have a cluster of
health problems that add up to metabolic syndrome don't absorb dietary vitamin
E as effectively as healthy people. The same study also had good news for the
whole population: Cow's milk with or without fat promotes absorption of the
natural form of vitamin E found in foods. Science Daily
• Vitamin D3 Supplementation Helps Women Build Muscle Even After Menopause: The
benefits of vitamin D supplementation for postmenopausal women have been widely
debated. But a new study now documents that vitamin D supplementation can
significantly increase muscle strength and reduce the loss of body muscle mass
in women as late as 12+ years after menopause. The North American Menopause
Society
• High Dietary Fiber Intake Linked to Health Promoting Short Chain Fatty Acids: Eating
a lot of fiber-rich foods, such as fruit, vegetables, and legumes--typical of a
Mediterranean diet--is linked to a rise in health promoting short chain fatty
acids, And you don't have to be a vegetarian or a vegan to reap the benefits,
the research findings suggest. Gut
• Unsaturated fats, high-quality carbs lowers risk of heart disease: While
eliminating saturated fats can improve heart health, a new study shows that it
makes a difference which foods are used in their place. A study shows that
replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats and high-quality carbohydrates
has the most impact on reducing the risk of heart disease. When saturated fats
were replaced with highly processed foods, there was no benefit. Journal of the
American College of Cardiology
• Carrots Do Help Aging Eyes: Leafy greens,
brightly colored veggies such as orange peppers also may stave off macular
degeneration. JAMA
Ophthalmology
• Vitamin D, Calcium May Not Prevent Colon Cancer After all: Neither
calcium nor vitamin D, taken alone or together after precancerous colon polyps
were removed, significantly reduced the risk of new polyps developing, researchers
report. NEJM
• Daily Glass of Wine May Boost Type 2 Diabetics’ Heart Health: Relaxing
with a glass of wine at the end of the day may help improve heart health and
blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes, new research suggests. Red
wine was better at improving cholesterol, while both red and white wine helped
blood sugar control in those who metabolize alcohol slowly. Annals of Internal
Medicine
TREATMENT
• Daily Sotagliflozin Improves Glycaemic Control in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes: Daily oral sotagliflozin improves
glycaemic control in intensively treated patients with type 1 diabetes,
compared with placebo, according to a study presented here on September 17 at the
51st Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes
(EASD).
• Taking Blood
Pressure Medication at Bedtime Lowers Diabetes Risk: Two articles
published in Diabetologia show that taking blood pressure medications at
bedtime, rather than in the morning, reduces blood pressure (BP) whilst asleep
and also reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by half.
• Finafloxacin More Effective Than Ciprofloxacin for Complicated UTIs: Results from a
double-blind phase 2 study showed that finafloxacin was a more effective and
safe option than ciprofloxacin for the treatment of complicated urinary tract
infections (UTIs) and acute pyelonephritis. 2015
Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC)
• CPAP Therapy Reduces Symptoms of Depression in Adults With Sleep Apnoea: Depressive symptoms are extremely common in people
who have obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), and these symptoms improve
significantly when OSA is treated with continuous positive airway pressure
therapy (CPAP). Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
• Combination Drug Reduces Agitation
for Patients With Probable Alzheimer Disease: In a preliminary
10-week randomised trial, patients with probable Alzheimer disease who received
the combination medication dextromethorphan-quinidine demonstrated less
occurrences and severity of agitation, compared with patients who received
placebo. JAMA
• Endocrine
Society Publishes New Guideline on Menopause Treatment: The Endocrine Society issued a Clinical Practice
Guideline (CPG) on identifying women who are candidates for treatment of
menopausal symptoms and selecting the best treatment options for each
individual. The CPG was published online and will appear in the November 2015
print issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism(JCEM).
Experts have formed a consensus that the benefits of menopausal hormone therapy
exceed the risks for most healthy women seeking relief of menopausal symptoms.
• Some
Blood Pressure Drugs May be Risky for Certain Surgery Patients: Some
people on blood pressure drugs called beta blockers may face heightened risks
of heart complications during non-cardiac surgeries, a new, large study
suggests. JAMA Internal Medicine
•
Higher Volume Rehab Centers Better of Hip Fx Recovery: Seniors
who break a hip receive the best care in skilled nursing facilities with the
most experience handling such fractures (25 cases or more a year), a new study
suggests. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
• Tennis Elbow usually heals without therapy: Most people with tennis elbow
recover without physical therapy and steroid injections, according to a study
by researchers in Norway. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
•
Placebo Effect Might Help Predict Response to Depression Treatment: -
People with depression who show improvement when taking fake drugs get the
greatest benefit from real medications, a new study finds. JAMA Psychiatry
• No Proof that 85% of depression treatment apps accredited by NHS Actually work: But the
seal of approval from one of the world's leading healthcare systems may falsely
reassure patients, many of whom are increasingly opting to fund their own
treatment in the face of overstretched mental health services and the
associated lengthy waits, they warn. Evidence Based Mental Health
Other
• Young Cancer Survivors Often Develop New Malignancies: Teen
and young adult cancer survivors are at increased risk for other cancers later
in life, a new study reveals. Researchers analyzed U.S. National Cancer
Institute data on people who survived cancers before age 40. They had the most
common types of cancers in that age group: leukemia, lymphoma, testicular,
ovarian, thyroid, breast, soft tissue and bone cancers. Those who received
radiation treatment appear at higher risk. Cancer
• Drugged
Driving on Rise in US: In the report, 38 percent of drivers
killed in accidents who were then tested had drugs in their systems, while
about 42 percent of those tested for alcohol had positive results. And the
number of drunk driving deaths has been sliced in half since 1980, government
statistics shows. Over one-third of the drugs identified in the tests were
marijuana in some form, followed by amphetamines, at almost 10 percent, the
researchers found.
• New
Antibiotic-Resistant ‘Superbug’ an Emerging Threat: A
relatively new antibiotic-resistant bacteria called CRE is making inroads in
some major American cities, U.S. health officials report. Surveillance of seven
U.S. metropolitan areas found higher-than-expected levels of CRE in Atlanta,
Baltimore and New York City, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
• Depression
Adds to Burden of Alzheimer’s Caregivers: Depression increases the mental
strain on people caring for loved ones recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's
disease, a new study finds. The highest levels of mental stress occurred in
caregivers who had depression when their loved one was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology
• Americans Spend More on
Health Care, But Fare Worse: When
compared to 12 other industrialized nations, Americans shelled out the most
cash on health care services, but they fared worst in terms of life expectancy,
according to the Commonwealth Fund findings. By some measures, the United
States did fare relatively well. For example, the nation's cancer death rate
was near the bottom of a list that includes Australia, Canada, Denmark, France,
Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and
the United Kingdom.
• Tribal Study Finds Shot Sleep Not Just Curse of Modern Living: Researchers
tracked the sleep habits of three traditional hunter-gatherer groups in
Bolivia, Namibia and Tanzania, and found their sleep timing and duration to be
similar to those of more "modern" people-just under 6.5 hours of
sleep per night. The finding "has
important implications for the idea that we need to take sleeping pills because
sleep has been reduced from its 'natural level' by the widespread use of
electricity, TV, the Internet and so on." Current Biology
No comments:
Post a Comment