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Clinical Times: April 2009

Survey finds factors linked to early detection of melanoma

Archives of Dermatolgy | 29 April 2009 | Skin

Older men whose mela-noma is detected by a doctor are more likely to have thinner and therefore more treatable tumours at diagnosis, according to a new study. A second analysis of the same study data found that the detection of... Read more

Changes in donation requests could prevent relatives refusing

BMJ Online | 29 April 2009 | Mental Health & CNS

Timing and whether a transplant co-ordinator makes the request are key factors in whether relatives consent to organ donation, according to a new study. A recent audit of 341 deaths in intensive-care units in the UK revealed that 41 per... Read more

Low intake of vitamins A and C boosts asthma risk

Thorax | 29 April 2009 | Respiratory

A relatively low dietary intake of vitamins A and C boosts the risk of asthma, according to a new analysis of available evidence. Researchers looked at 40 studies, which had looked at the association between vitamin intake and asthma and... Read more

Radiation exposure linked to more aggressive thyroid cancer

Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery | 29 April 2009 | Cancer

Patients with thyroid cancer who have previously been exposed to radiation appear to have more aggressive disease and tend to have worse outcomes in the long term, according to a new report from Canada. The report followed a study in... Read more

A spotlight on sarcoidosis

Dr Seamas Donnelly | 29 April 2009 | Respiratory

Dr Seamas Donnelly writes about the diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis, with Ireland having one of the highest incidences of the disease in the world At the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Referral Centre at St Vincent’s University Hospital, patients with progressive... Read more

Making a comprehensive assessment of patients

Mike Power | 29 April 2009 | Mental Health & CNS

Mike Power, research psychologist, discusses how medicine can effectively mobilise a patient's ‘hope-factors’ to aid their recovery. Some years ago, my troublesome digestion took me into one of our general hospitals for some basic tests. This was a good opportunity... Read more

Surgery in Uganda that restores dignity to women

Dr Maura Lynch | 29 April 2009 | Women's Health

Dr Maura Lynch, a Sister of the Medical Missionaries of Mary, writes about her work in Uganda on the Obstetric Fistula Project. Fistula is the name given to a hole between the bladder and vagina, or rectum and vagina, or... Read more

Taking ACTION to identify those at risk for PVD and stroke

29 April 2009 | Cardiovascular

Initiatives to aid in the recognition, diagnosis and treatment of PVD, as identified by the Joint British Societies' Guidelines, have been optimised by ACTION, the Atherosclerosis Circulation Training and Information Network. Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is a highly prevalent, progressive... Read more

Aliskiren in the management of heart failure

Prof Ken McDonald | 29 April 2009 | Cardiovascular

Prof Ken McDonald writes about the pharmaco-therapeutic approach to treating heart failure, which has come a long way in recent years. Pharmacotherapy of heart failure has developed dramatically over the last 20 years, with major improvements in prognosis and reduction... Read more

Former prison inmates may be at risk of hypertension

Archives of Internal Medicine | 28 April 2009 | Cardiovascular

Young adults who have been incarcerated appear more likely to have high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy, according to a new report from the United States. The report followed a study in which doctors studied the association of prior... Read more

China faces worsening sex ratios over next two decades

BMJ Online | 28 April 2009 | Women's Health

Researchers in China have predicted that the country’s gender imbalance – caused by a million more males than females being born every year – will lead to very high and steadily worsening sex ratios in the reproductive age group over... Read more

Avotermin could give permanent improvement in scarring in men

The Lancet | 21 April 2009 | Skin

The drug avotermin could provide accelerated and permanent improvement in scarring following injuries in men, a new UK-led study has found. Two decades of research into the mechanisms of skin scarring has identified transforming-growth factor β3 (TGFβ3) as a potential... Read more

Review process for prostate cancer

Gary Culliton | 21 April 2009 | Cancer

Gary Culliton examines the lessons to be learned regarding the diagnosis of prostate cancer from the HSE's review of Dr E at University Hospital Galway. The practice of histopathology and cytopathology is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on... Read more

USS axilla found to be a useful adjunct

Drs K. U. Iwuji, Y. Gohary, A. Martin and S. Shah | 21 April 2009 | Cancer

The use of ultrasound scanning (USS) in the assessment of metastatic spread of breast cancer to the axilla is well established. It has been the practice in our centre since July 2006 to evaluate most patients with a suspicious breast... Read more

Exercise training may provide benefit for heart-failure patients

JAMA | 15 April 2009 | Cardiovascular

Aerobic exercise training appears safe for patients with heart failure and was associated with a modest reduction in the risk of death and hospitalisation, with some improvement in quality of life, according to the results of a new American study.... Read more

Using nicotine replacement therapy could help smokers quit gradually

BMJ Online | 15 April 2009 |

Smokers who do not want to quit right now, but are prepared to try to reduce their smoking, are twice as likely to stop smoking in the long term if they use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to help them cut... Read more

Control and treatment of bed bugs challenging

JAMA | 15 April 2009 | Infections & Immunology

A review of previously published articles indicates there is little evidence supporting an effective treatment of bites from bed bugs, that these insects do not appear to transmit disease, and control and eradication of bed bugs is challenging. Bed bugs... Read more

Gene therapy hope for RP

Emmanuelle Pinjon | 15 April 2009 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Emmanuelle Pinjon looks at pioneering research being done in TCD into finding a gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa. An injection at the back of the retina every few years may one day be enough to alleviate the symptoms of retinitis... Read more

Some sticking points in oesophageal cancer

Dr Heidi Furlong and Prof Thomas N. Walsh | 14 April 2009 | Cancer

Dr Heidi Furlong and Prof Thomas N. Walsh write about the importance of early diagnosis when it comes to oesophageal cancer and the challenges of treating it. The three most striking things about oesophageal cancer are the rapidly increasing incidence,... Read more

Drinking very hot tea can increase the risk of throat cancer

BMJ Online | 09 April 2009 | Cancer

Drinking very hot tea can increase the risk of throat cancer Drinking very hot tea – 70°C or more – can increase the risk of cancer of the oesophagus, a new study in the BMJ has found. The study was... Read more

Treadmill exercise improves walking endurance

JAMA | 09 April 2009 | Cardiovascular

Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which can include symptoms such as pain in the legs, who participated in supervised treadmill exercise, improved their walking endurance and quality of life, according to a new study. In the study, doctors investigated... Read more

Non-surgical and non-pharmaceutical treatments for reflux disease effective

Archives of Surgery | 09 April 2009 | Gastro-intestinal

Two non-surgical and non-pharmacological treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) both appear effective in reducing medication use and improving voice and swallowing symptoms, according to a new report. Surgical options have been available since the 1990s, and more recently, endoluminal... Read more

Many children with hearing loss also have eye disorders

Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery | 07 April 2009 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

About one-fifth of children with sensorineural hearing loss also have ocular disorders, according to a new report. An estimated one to three per 1,000 children have some degree of sensorineural hearing loss, which occurs because of damage to the nerves... Read more

A new treatment for degenerative aortic stenosis

Dr Ronan Margey and Prof Declan Sugrue | 07 April 2009 | Cardiovascular

Dr Ronan Margey and Prof Declan Sugrue on transcatheter percutaneous valve replacement — an exciting development in interventional cardiology Calcific or degenerative aortic valve disease is the most common valvular lesion encountered among elderly patients. In the Helsinki Ageing Study,... Read more

Bone metabolism and AED treatment

Dr Hassan Ahmad and Dr Syed A. Shah | 07 April 2009 | Musculoskeletal

Dr Hassan Ahmad and Dr Syed A. Shah present a case history of an elderly woman who was referred to hospital with a history of blackouts. She was found to be suffering from anti-epileptic drug-induced bone disease. We present this... Read more

Steroid tests ignore ethnic differences

British Journal of Sports Medicine | 06 April 2009 | Men's Health, Women's Health

Current testosterone doping tests should be scrapped for international sport, because they ignore vital ethnic differences in hormone activity, according to new research from Switzerland. Testosterone, and other hormones that boost testosterone levels, are among the most widely abused performance... Read more

Job strain linked to stroke in Japanese men

Archives of internal Medicine | 06 April 2009 | Mental Health & CNS

Japanese men in high-stress jobs appear to have an increased risk of stroke compared with those in less demanding positions, according to a new study. In the study, doctors investigated 6,553 Japanese workers (3,190 men and 3,363 women, age 65... Read more

Treatment options for scalp psoriasis

Dr Dmitri Wall and Prof Sarah Rogers | 06 April 2009 | Skin

Dr Dmitri Wall and Prof Sarah Rogers outline some of the treatment methods for dandruff-like psoriasis and plaque psoriasis of the scalp. Psoriasis may first present in the scalp and can be difficult both to diagnose and treat. To help... Read more

Increased exercise in middle age prolongs a person's life — study

BMJ Online | 03 April 2009 | Musculoskeletal

Increased physical activity in middle age prolongs life, though it may take five to ten years before an effect is seen, a new study has concluded. Researchers in Sweden examined how changes in physical activity levels after middle age influence... Read more