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Clinical Times: October 2008

Treating cultural-bound syndromes

Dr Faraz Jabbar, Dr Brendan Kelly and Prof Patricia Casey | 31 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

In the third and final article in this series on cross-cultural psychiatry, Dr Faraz Jabbar, Dr Brendan Kelly and Prof Patricia Casey discuss issues such as diagnosis, assessment, treatment options, ethical issues and the benefits of awareness Medical care of... Read more

Relapse or remission? Improving outcomes in schizophrenia patients

31 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

The rewards of adherence to schizophrenia medication are considerable, as those who attended a recent psychiatry meeting in Cork were told. In schizophrenia, perhaps more than any other disease area, the consequences of not taking medication can be disastrous and... Read more

Colorectal cancer: achievements, challenges and opportunities

Dr Gavin Harewood | 31 October 2008 | Cancer

Dr Gavin Harewood on the major developments in colon cancer treatment in recent decades and how challenges might be met in the future. When the past fifty years of gastroenterology are reviewed, perhaps the greatest achievement of specialists in this... Read more

Facing up to the problem of pain

Mr David Chin-Shong | 30 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Mr David Chin-Shong, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon with the Hermitage Medical Clinic, writes about the challenges of diagnosing and treating facial pain. Facial pain is certainly a challenging diagnosis. It is also a relatively common presentation for both general medical... Read more

Apply now for the 2008 cancer bursary

30 October 2008 | Cancer

Entries are now being accepted for the 2008 Roche/Irish Medical Times lung cancer bursary, which is open to physicians and nurses working in the field of lung cancer. In recognition of Lung Cancer Awareness Month in November, Roche Products (Ireland)... Read more

Psychiatric problems in children

29 October 2008 |

Dr Yvonne Begley outlines a range of common mental health disorders that child and adolescent psychiatrists encounter and presents ideas about treatment. Child and adolescent mental health disorders affect an estimated one in ten of young people in Ireland at... Read more

High-dose vitamin B does not slow Alzheimer’s decline

JAMA | 28 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

High-dose vitamin B supplementation for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) does not slow the rate of cognitive decline, according to a new study. Evidence of homocysteine elevation in Alzheimer’s disease and the involvement of homocysteine in neuropathological... Read more

Reasons for sickness absence found to predict employee deaths

28 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Employees who take long spells of sick leave more than once in three years are at a higher risk of death than their colleagues who take no such absence, particularly if their absence is due to circulatory or psychiatric problems... Read more

Ranolazine safe and effective for treating chronic stable angina

The Lancet | 28 October 2008 | Cardiovascular

The drug ranolazine is a safe and effective treatment for chronic stable angina and adds to the treatment options for patients with this condition, according to leading United State doctors. Drs Stephen Nash and David Nash, of Syracuse Preventive Medicine,... Read more

Vaccine does not reduce hospitalisations

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine | 28 October 2008 | Respiratory

Use of the influenza vaccine is not associated with preventing hospitalisations or reducing physician visits for the flu in children aged five or younger during two recent seasons, perhaps because the strains of virus in the vaccine did not match... Read more

The growing problem of TDS in men

Dr Malcolm Carruthers | 28 October 2008 | Men's Health

Dr Malcolm Carruthers writes that testosterone deficiency is the most common endocrine disorder in the adult male, yet is the least commonly diagnosed and treated of these disorders. This millennium has seen rapidly growing awareness of the important role that... Read more

Mental disorders in specific cultures

Dr Faraz Jabbar, Dr Brendan Kelly and Prof Patricia Casey | 28 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

In the second of our series on cross-cultural psychiatry, Dr Faraz Jabbar, Dr Brendan Kelly and Prof Patricia Casey describe the various clinical disorders discussed in cultural-bound syndromes. Culture-bound syndromes are specific mental disorders which mainly occur within specific cultures.... Read more

Endo Club Nord evolves

28 October 2008 | Gastro-intestinal

The 16th Endo Club Nord congress next month gives endoscopy a symposium where experts come together to learn new techniques from colleagues and international lecturers. Each year, the Endo Club Nord congress, the International Endoscopy Forum, is open to medical... Read more

GPs and the internet – keeping up-to-date with your patients

28 October 2008 | Men's Health, Women's Health

It is hard to believe that the internet search engine Google is just ten years old this year, it feels like it has been around forever. For many who have come to depend on its seemingly infinite stream of information,... Read more

Keeping an eye on standards

Greg Baxter | 28 October 2008 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Optical Express, the leading provider of laser eye surgery in Europe, may not face the complexity of services doctors face every day in acute hospitals or GP surgeries, yet its priorities as a healthcare business have, according to the chief... Read more

The costs of bone loss and how to treat osteoporosis

28 October 2008 | Musculoskeletal

At a recent meeting in Dublin, GPs heard about the best ways to treat osteoporosis and learned about the huge cost of the condition — in terms of quality of life and of health service resources. A staggering 25,000 osteo-porotic... Read more

Questions answered on bones

Prof JB Walsh | 28 October 2008 | Musculoskeletal

In our new bi-monthly series, Irish Medical Times — in association with MSD Science Centre — has asked general practitioners to submit questions for consultants to answer. Here, Prof JB Walsh responds to GPs’ questions on bone disorders... Read more

The genesis of the Slievemore Clinic

22 October 2008 | Men's Health, Women's Health

Dr Conor O'Toole and Crean Salley Architects Director Declan Doyle on the perspectives involved in building a functioning clinic for a medical prctice. Established in the centre of Stillorgan in 1987 by Dr Paul Carson and Dr Conor O’Toole, the... Read more

Tracking growth of little mulberry

Laurence O'Dwyer | 22 October 2008 | Cancer

In the third article of Irish Medical Times' monthly series on general science, Laurence O'Dwyer writes that research in developmental biology is helping us to understand how and why certain cells develop into different parts of the body. Developmental biology... Read more

Diagnosing and treating headache types

Dr Muhammad Rizwan Uddin | 21 October 2008 | Musculoskeletal

Dr Muhammad Rizwan Uddin, Consultant in Internal Medicine, outlines the main types of headache and describes how best to diagnose and treat each different type. Headache characterises the most common neurological condition presenting to physicians and neurologists. Primary headache syndromes... Read more

Using a fan during sleep linked with lower risk of SIDS

Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine | 21 October 2008 | Men's Health, Women's Health

Use of a fan appears to be associated with a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in rooms with inadequate ventilation, according to a new report. The report followed a study in which doctors analysed information from interviews... Read more

Makers of junk food should be regulated, says law professor

BMJ Online First | 21 October 2008 | Nutrition

A leading professor of law has claimed that businesses selling junk food should be held accountable and made to improve public health through strict regulation. Stephen Sugarman, professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley, said businesses will... Read more

Paediatricians vary widely in the level of medical error disclosure

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine | 21 October 2008 | Men's Health, Women's Health

A survey of American paediatricians has found wide variation in whether and how they would disclose medical errors to patients and their families, and may be less likely to share information about errors that are less obvious to parents. Some... Read more

Simpler methods can detect leg clots

JAMA | 21 October 2008 | Cardiovascular

A comparison of two diagnostic methods used to detect deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities has found that a simpler method has rates of DVT detection equivalent to a more complex method. Two ultrasonography diagnostic methods often used... Read more

GPs must watch for problems in new mums

Natalya Anderson | 21 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

IMT UK correspondent Natalya Anderson reports from a recent conference on maternal mental health in London and found that GPs have a big role to play in spotting problems. Frequent appointments, continuity of care and referral for counselling are key... Read more

Cross-cultural psychiatry more important in Ireland

Dr Faraz Jabbar, Dr Brendan Kelly, Prof Patricia Casey | 16 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

In the first of a three-part series of cross-cultural psychiatry, Dr Faraz Jabbar, Dr Brendan Kelly and Prof Patricia Casey outline the general principles of this particular field of psychiatry and its increasing relevance. This article is the first of... Read more

ECT debate continues in the Seanad

Dr Michael Corry | 16 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

When the Seanad reconvenes this week, ECT will be debated as an issue of human rights. Dr Michael Corry says there is a lack of information available on the procedure. Since June 21, the abolition of ECT has become a... Read more

Too much or too little sleep increases stroke risk in postmenopausal women

Stroke | 12 October 2008 | Women's Health

Postmenopausal women who regularly sleep more than nine hours a night may have an increased risk of ischaemic stroke, researchers have reported. Compared to women sleeping seven hours, the risk of ischaemic stroke was 60 per cent to 70 per... Read more

Doctors miss their chance to empathise

Archives of Internal Medicine | 11 October 2008 | Cancer

A small study has found that doctors seldom respond empathetically to concerns raised by patients with lung cancer. In the study, doctors analysed 20 recorded and transcribed consultations between lung cancer patients and nine doctors. Each visit contained an average... Read more

Fishy diet in infancy cuts eczema risk

Online First Archives of Disease in Childhood | 10 October 2008 | Skin

An infant diet that includes fish before the age of nine months can curb the risk of developing eczema, new research from Sweden has found. Researchers quizzed the parents of six-month-old babies born in western Sweden in 2003 about their... Read more

Calorie restriction does not appear to induce bone loss

Archives of Internal Medicine | 09 October 2008 | Nutrition

Adults who follow a diet that is low in calories but nutritionally sound for six months appear to lose weight and fat without significant bone loss, according to a new report.In the study, doctors enrolled 46 healthy, overweight men and... Read more

Ask the consultant... about hyperlipidaemia and statins

08 October 2008 | Nutrition

In the first of a new bi-monthly series Irish Medical Times — in association with MSD Science Centre — has asked GPs to submit questions for consultants. In this first article, Prof John Feely responds to questions on hyperlipidaemia and... Read more

Current management of stress urinary incontinence

08 October 2008 | Genito-urinary

In the second part of our series on stress urinary incontinence in women, Mr Syed Jaffry examines the treatment options that are available to treat the condition. Stress urinary in-continence (SUI) is the most common type of incontinence in women,... Read more

Hypertension management report from ESC Congress

Gary Culliton | 07 October 2008 | Cardiovascular

During the Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Satellite Symposium, at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), which was supported by Merck Sharp & Dohme, Prof Richard Devereux of Weill Medical College, Cornell University, reviewed a large amount of data... Read more

Congress covers the latest in cardiology developments

07 October 2008 | Cardiovascular

Gary Culliton reports from the 2008 Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Munich, where delegates heard updates on lipids management and hypertension. During the Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Satellite Symposium, at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology... Read more

New criterion may improve identification of dementia risk

Archives of Neurology | 04 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

A different cut-off point on an existing mental function assessment may more effectively assess the risk of dementia in highly educated older adults, according to American researchers. The most commonly administered screening test of cognitive (thinking, learning and memory) function... Read more

Increasing GPs' opening hours could prevent recurrent strokes

BMJ Online First | 03 October 2008 | Mental Health & CNS

Increasing gP opening-hours would improve the opportunity for assessment and urgent referral to specialist care of patients with a transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Doctors in a UK study assessed the potential impact on stroke prevention of increasing opening hours to... Read more

Some medicines for COPD linked to heart attack and stroke

JAMA | 02 October 2008 | Respiratory

The use of inhaled anticholinergic agents by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with a significantly increased risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death, according to a new meta-analysis of randomised trials. In the analysis, doctors... Read more

Death after febrile seizures is very rare, even in high-risk children

The Lancet | 01 October 2008 | Infections & Immunology

The overall risk of death associated with febrile seizures remains extremely low, and parents should be reassured that death after febrile seizures is very rare, researchers have concluded. Those conclusions followed a study that analysed 1 ,675,643 children born in... Read more

Assessing and diagnosing stress urinary incontinence

Mr Syed Jaffrey | 01 October 2008 | Genito-urinary

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common disorder among women of all ages, which compromises their quality of life (QoL) and that of their families. The bothersome symptoms of SUI may adversely affect social relationships and activities, restrict physical pursuits,... Read more

Respecting the bodily integrity rights of children

Natalya Anderson | 01 October 2008 | Genito-urinary

Irish Medical Times's UK correspondent Natalya Anderson reports from a recent symposium which focussed on circumcision as a human rights issue A new campaign has been launched to encourage men and women to exercise their right to say no to... Read more