Tagcloud

abortion, accupuncture, ACE inhibitors, acne, ADHD, alcohol, allergies, Alzheimer's, anaemia, anaethesia, anorexia, antibiotics, antidepressants, antihistamine, anxiety, appetite control, arthritis, ASCOT, aspirin, asthma, atherosclerosis, autism, autoantibodies, back pain, beta carotene, beta-blockers, bipolar disorder, birth, bleeding, blindness, blood pressure, body dysmorphic disorder, body mass, breast cancer, breast feeding, bronchitis, Caesarean section, calcium, cancer, carcinogens, carcinoma, cardiac syncope, cardiolgy, cataracts, cervical cancer, chemotherapy, child psychiatry, children, cholesterol, clinical trial, clopidogrel, Clostridium difficile, cognitive behavioural therapy, colectomy, colic, colorectal cancer, complementary and alternative therapies, contraception, COPD, coronary care, coronary stents, Crohn's, cystic fibrosis, defibrillator, dementia, depression, dermatology, diabetes management, diet, disability, DNA, Down's syndrome, eating disorders, echinacea, ECT, eczema, elderly people, endoscopy, epilepsy, erectile dysfunction, euthanasia, exercise, fat, fertility, fitness, flu pandemic, fluoxetine, folic acid, food labelling, fracture, fragile X syndrome, general surgery, genetics, gerontology, GIK infusion therapy, GORD, gout, haemodialysis, hearing, heart attack, heart disease, heart failure, heart health, hepatitis, HIV, hospital care, HPV, HRT, hyperglycaemia, hypertension, hypoglycaemia, IBD, ICU, incontinence, infant, infant mortality, infection, inflammatory bowel disease, influenza, invasive candidiasis, IQ, Irish Heart Foundation, irritable bowel syndrome, keyhole surgery, kidney disease, laser, learning difficulties, leukaemia, liver disease, lumbar disk herniation, lung cancer, lung disease, lymph nodes, macular degeneration, macular oedema, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), malaria, malnutrition, Marfan syndrome, media, medical ethics, medical research, medication, meningitis, mental illness, metabolic syndrome, migraine, miscarriage, mortality rate, MRSA, multiple sclerosis (MS), NCHDs, nephrology, neurology, OAB, obesity, obstetrics, occupational health, ocular medicine, omega-3, opthalmology, oral cancer, organ transplantation, orthopaedics, osteoporosis, otolaryngology, ovarian cancer, paediatrics, pain management, pancreatic cancer, panic, Parkinson’s disease, patient safety, patient-physician communication, personality disorders, physiotherapy, plastic surgery, polio, practice, pre-eclampsia, pregnancy, preventative health care, probiotics, prostate cancer, psoriasis, psychiatric admission, psychiatry, psychotherapy, PTSD, public health, quality of life, radiology, radiotherapy, rectal cancer, reproductive health, research, resuscitation, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatology, rhinitis, salt, SARS, schizophrenia, screening, seizures, self harm, sexual abuse, sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, SGA, sinusitis, skin cancer, sleep disorders, smoking, smoking ban, spinal injury, sports medicine, statins, stress, stroke, substance abuse, suicide, supplement, surgery, syncope, technology, teenagers, testosterone, thoracic surgery, thrombosis, thyroid cancer, tonsillectomy, tonsillitis, Tourette's syndrome, toxicology, travel medicine, tuberculosis, tumour angiogenesis, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, ulcer, ulcerative colitis, urinary incontinence, vaccine, vitamins, weight, WHO, women's health, World Health Assembly

Clinical Times: September 2008

The memory of a snail

Laurence O'Dwyer | 30 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

In the second article of a new monthly series on general science in Irish Medical Times Laurence O'Dwyer writes about the memory process and how a small snail has helped scientists to understand the workings of the memory of more... Read more

Limiting surgical NCHDs' work hours is linked to fewer complications

Archives of Surgery | 29 September 2008 | Gastro-intestinal

Fewer patients undergoing gallbladder surgery at one major public teaching hospital sustained injuries to their bile ducts or other complications after trainee surgeons’ work hours were reduced, according to a new American report. In the study, doctors analysed the medical... Read more

No transplant failure for liver associated with age of donor

Archives of Surgery | 28 September 2008 | Infections & Immunology

Receiving a liver from a donor older than age 60 does not appear to be associated with transplant failure, death or recurrent disease in the next five years among transplant patients with the hepatitis C virus, according to a new... Read more

Otitis media with effusion – early recognition by GPs

Dr Sardar U. Khan | 26 September 2008 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Dr Sardar U. Khan writes on otitis media with effusion in children and how GPs can offer the best treatment options. General practitioners are required to diagnose a number of common ear pathologies on the regular basis. In particular, otitis... Read more

Changing with the seasons

Dr Stephen McWilliams | 24 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

According to John Keats, in his poem The Human Seasons, ‘Four seasons fill the measure of the year; There are four seasons in the mind of men.’ One of many literary figures to compare the phases of life to the... Read more

Optimising schizophrenia outcomes

24 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Issues surrounding remission in schizophrenia were the principal themes at the recent annual conference of the Association of Community Mental Health Nurses of Ireland (ACMHNI), which was held in Athlone. Since the early 1990s, the treatment of schizophrenia has changed... Read more

Merits and minuses of birth-control methods

Shirley McQuade | 24 September 2008 | Men's Health, Women's Health

The average age of a first-time mother in Ireland has gradually increased over time and is now thirty years old. At the same time, age of first intercourse is decreasing and is now 18.2 years. Families tend to have one... Read more

Women more likely to seek tattoo removal

Archives of Dermatology 2008 | 19 September 2008 | Women's Health

Individuals who visit dermatology clinics for tattoo removal are more likely to be women than men, and may be motivated by the social stigma associated with tattoos and negative comments by others, according to a new report. Researchers surveyed 196... Read more

Bilingual children more likely to stutter

Online First Archives of Disease in Childhood | 19 September 2008 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Children who are bilingual before the age of five are significantly more likely to stutter and to find it harder to lose their impediment than children who speak only one language before this age, new research has suggested. The researchers... Read more

Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing may have long-term benefits

Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery | 19 September 2008 | Skin

Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing appears to be an effective long-term treatment for facial wrinkles, according to a new study. In the study, doctors assessed 42 women and five men whose average age was 52 years and who underwent carbon dioxide... Read more

Research success at 2008 Congress

Dr Aisling Hogan | 19 September 2008 | Gastro-intestinal

Dr Aisling Hogan recently received the Young Investigator Award at the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Surgical Research, IMT reports. There was success for Ireland at the recent 2008 Congress of the European Society of Surgical Research in... Read more

Diagnosing psoriasis and treatment options

Dr Charles Dupont | 19 September 2008 | Skin

Psoriasis is a very common disease and has been known since Biblical times. In the Old Testament, Naaman had a scaly eruption which was labelled leprosy, but some dermatologists believe it might have been psoriasis. The leper complex attached to... Read more

Management of cow’s milk allergy in the GP setting

19 September 2008 | Nutrition

When stressed-out parents present yet again in the GP practice with an infant that is described as ‘inconsolable’, is allergy one of the first possibilities that comes to mind? Quite often, by the time a parent asks for help, they... Read more

Combination therapy is best for BPH

June Shannon | 19 September 2008 | Genito-urinary

Emerging data suggests that combination therapy is the future in the medical management of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), north Dublin GPs attending a recent clinical meeting on the condition were told. Mr Kiaran O’Malley, Consultant Urologist at the Mater Hospital... Read more

Stroke and TIA: a real surgical emergency?

Mr Noel O'Brien and Mr Greg Fulton | 19 September 2008 | Cardiovascular

Each year in Ireland, there are approximately 10,000 cerebro-vascular accidents (CVAs) or strokes, with 2,029 deaths from stroke in 2005. This accounts for seven per cent of all deaths in Ireland. The incidence of transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is more... Read more

Memory impairment associated with sound-processing disorder

Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery | 18 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Mild memory impairment may be associated with central auditory processing dysfunction, or difficulty hearing in complex situations with competing noise, such as hearing a single conversation amid several other conversations, according to a new report. According to the authors of... Read more

Diet Protects from chronic diseases

BMJ Online First | 17 September 2008 | Nutrition

Sticking to a full Mediterranean diet provides substantial protection against major chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, according to a new study. A ‘score’ based on adherence to the Mediterranean diet could be used as... Read more

Incontinence affects one quarter of women

JAMA | 17 September 2008 | Gastro-intestinal, Genito-urinary

Nearly one-quarter of women surveyed, and more than one-third of older women, report at least one pelvic-floor disorder, which includes urinary and faecal incontinence and the shifting of a pelvic organ, according to a new study. In the study, doctors... Read more

The art and science of rhinoplasty

Mr Andrew J Maguire | 17 September 2008 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Rhinoplasty (Greek: rhinos: nose and plastikos: to mould) is surgery to correct the shape of the nose in congenital disproportion and acquired deformity (trauma or surgery). The goal of rhinoplasty is a satisfied patient, with a functioning nose that appears... Read more

Surgery a 'last resort' in glaucoma

16 September 2008 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Derbhile Dromey reports on a study that shows that glaucoma filtration surgeries have dropped sharply since 1998. The use of surgery to treat glaucoma has declined sharply, despite the strong increase in glaucoma cases in recent years. This is the... Read more

Tackling alcoholism and drug addiction

Dr Conor Farren | 15 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Dr Conor Farren Consultant Psychiatrist at St Patrick's Hospital writes on the treatment of drug abuse and alcohol addiction and says that motivation can be significantly influenced by treatment interventions. Addiction treatment, for alcoholism and for drug abuse, has traditionally... Read more

Eating nuts and popcorn may protect men against diverticulitis

JAMA | 15 September 2008 | Nutrition

Contrary to a common belief that eating popcorn, nuts and corn may increase the risk for diverticular complications, a large prospective study of men has found that the consumption of these foods may actually reduce the risk of diverticulitis and... Read more

Anatomy of a physician — III

Mike Power | 14 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Mike Power, Research Psychologist, examines the social and personal qualities that lead people to choose a life in medicine and the factors that make doctors unique inour society. To hard-pressed hacks of all kinds at this fallow time of the... Read more

Retinopathy linked to increased heart disease death

Online First Heart | 14 September 2008 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Abnormalities of the retina are associated with an increased risk of death from heart disease, new research has found. Interestingly, the study found a higher than normal risk in patients without diabetes. The Australian researchers assessed the presence and severity... Read more

Spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of neuropathic pain

Dr Philip Hu | 13 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Dr Philip Hu, Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Medicine Specialist at AMNCH and Clinical Research Fellow at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on the use of spinal cord stimulation as an agent of pain relief. Chronic pain affects millions of... Read more

Findings challenge glucose control practice for critically-ill patients

13 September 2008 | Nutrition

An analysis of randomised trials indicates that for critically-ill surgical patients, tight glucose control is not associated with a significantly reduced risk of death in the hospital, but is associated with an increased risk of hypoglycaemia, calling into question the... Read more

'BEAUTIFUL' study presented in Munich

Natalya Anderson | 12 September 2008 | Cardiovascular

Natalya Anderson, UK correspondent of Irish Medical Times was in Munich for the recent cardiology conference and to examine the results of the 'BEAUTIFUL' study. Ivabradine may reduce fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction and coronary revascularisation by up to a... Read more

Low vitamin D levels in women contribute to pain

Online First Annals of Rheumatic Diseases | 12 September 2008 | Nutrition

Low vitamin D levels may contribute to chronic pain among women, according to new research. The findings are based on the blood analyses and pain scores of almost 7,000 45-year-old men and women from across England, Scotland, and Wales, all... Read more

Poor co-ordination in childhood is linked to obesity in later life

10 September 2008 | Nutrition

Poor physical control and co-ordination in childhood are linked to an increased risk of obesity in later life, suggests a study published on BMJ.com. The research contributes to a growing body of evidence on the link between poorer cognitive function... Read more

Gallbladder disease risk with HRT

10 September 2008 | Women's Health

Use of hormone replace-ment therapy (HRT) increases the risk of gallbladder disease and surgery, but the effects are less with HRT given in skin patches or gels compared with HRT given orally, according to a new study. Researchers at the... Read more

Silver tubes lessen pneumonia risk

10 September 2008 | Respiratory

Among intensive care unit patients who require mechanical ventilation, use of a silver-coated endotracheal tube resulted in reduced incidence of pneumonia associated with ventilators, according to a report in JAMA. Silver has displayed antimicrobial activity in the laboratory and has... Read more

Common infertility treatments unlikely to improve fertility

10 September 2008 | Women's Health

Long-established medical interventions to help couples with infertility problems do not seem to improve fertility, according to a new Scotland-based study. One in seven couples in the UK experiences infertility, and unexplained infertility affects a quarter of these couples. Common... Read more

Chewing gum associated with enhanced bowel recovery

10 September 2008 | Gastro-intestinal

Chewing gum is associated with enhanced recovery of intestinal function following surgery to remove all or part of the colon, according to an analysis of previously published studies in the August issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives... Read more

Russian people favour much tougher curbs on smoking

10 September 2008 | Respiratory

Most Russians favour much tougher curbs on smoking, and a substantial number want smoking in restaurants and on public transport to be banned, according to research published ahead of print in the journal Tobacco Control. Between 1990 and 2000, Russian... Read more

Sinus disease: is this the new frontier in respiratory medicine?

Dr Paul Carson | 09 September 2008 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Dr Paul Carson on allergic fungal rhino-sinusitis and the link between upper-airways pathology and lower-airway symptoms. There would appear to be more to the link between upper-airways pathology and lower-airway symptoms than previously acknowledged. Until recently, the main focus was... Read more

Osteoporosis in athletes

Prof Moira O'Brien | 09 September 2008 | Musculoskeletal

Prof Moira O'Brien describes the reasons for loss of bone mineral density (BMD) in athletes and outlines the best ways to treat the problem. Osteoporosis and/or osteopenia in athletes is associated with the age of onset of training; duration, intensity... Read more

Advances in pain control

Dr Connail McCrory | 08 September 2008 |

Dr Connail McCrory reports on the development of pain medicine and details the indications for some commonly performed procedures designed to alleviate pain Pain medicine, as a speciality, was born out of necessity and has expanded due to patient demand.... Read more

Medicine and doctors – what is the psychological identikit?

Mike Power | 08 September 2008 | Men's Health, Women's Health

Mike Power, Research Psychologist, on the public image of doctors as a cosseted elite, and the reality of most doctors' day-to-day experiences. ‘The role of the doctor is to amuse the patient while nature cures him’ – Voltaire.... Read more

Facing up to challenges ahead

03 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Experts in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia have put community services, early diagnosis, collaboration between tiers of care and the development of disease-modifying therapies at the top of their list of challenges. Many consultants who work with people living with dementia... Read more

Improving outcomes in schizophrenia

02 September 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Janssen-Cilag’s established series of Spring Psychiatry Meetings continued this year with another line-up of experts who addressed topics on the theme of schizophrenia treatment for improved patient outcomes. The first speaker was Dr Conor Farren, Director of Dual Diagnosis, St... Read more

New therapies can lead to better outcomes in leg ulcers ulcers

Mr Philip Coleridge Smith and Mr John Scurr | 01 September 2008 | Cardiovascular

Mr Philip Coleridge Smith and Mr John Scurr report on new ways of treating leg ulcers, which involve minimally invasive treatment methods. Leg ulcers remain a common problem in general practice and lead to considerable costs for healthcare providers. The... Read more