Medic

Check if your “Favourite medical web-site” is indulging in Quackey

Frauds has become an ever-growing menace on the Internet. Now a millennium project by like minded people have listed 500 health related web-sites that are such havens of quackery! This information should serve as a guideline for surfers to be weary of tall claims made out by such sites. The information can be accessed on http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/categories.htm Statutary...

Nobel Prize for Medicine shared by Three scientists

Arvid Carlsson, Paul Greengard and Eric Kandel won the Nobel Prize in medicine for their discoveries concerning "signal transduction in the nervous system." The three Nobel laureates will share the 9 million kronor ($915,000) prize for their pioneering discoveries "concerning one type of signal transduction between nerve cells, referred to as slow synaptic transmission," according to the award ci...

What happens when Medications go wrong?

Have you ever wondered how the dosages of drugs are determined? How drugs are being tested? On whom are these tested and who tests them? What happens if the dosages are unwittingly missed? Or worse still if harmful drugs are tested on unwitting patients what happens? Who answers these questions? In a shocking revelation, a study in the U.S.A. has revealed that in many instances about a thi...

Prince Charles lends support to Alternative Medicine

In an open show of support to Alternative Medicine, Britain's Prince Charles has urged the government to allocate 10 million pounds ($14.21 million) to fund a five-year research program into the effects of alternative medicine. The world is now sitting up and taking notice of holistic medicine and Prince Charles’s support to fund research in this field has come as a shot in the arm for these crus...

Teens turning to Internet for medical queries

The desire to access news immediately, the urge for confidentiality and embarrassment in asking questions on sexual problems drive many teens to health portals in their quest for answers to their health queries. Earlier it was the agony aunt column in magazines now it is the medical portals, which clarify the doubts and dispel the fears of the teens.More than 75% of teens surveyed, in a study i...

Alternative medicine more popular among HIV positive patients

Despite significant improvements in anti AIDS therapy, complimentary and alternative medicine seem to be more attractive to the AIDS positive patients, according to a new study. Among 191 HIV-positive outpatients surveyed about their use of complementary and alternative therapies, 67% said they had used alternative therapies at some point to control their HIV infection and 40% reported current us...

Complementary and Alternative medicine

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have looked at the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in over 2000 people. They find that the use of 20 therapies - from acupuncture to yoga - has increased in popularity since the 1960s. A new survey reveals that complementary and alternative medicine has always been popular, although the type of therapies used has changed over the years. /...

Medicis Pharmaceutical company enters pediatric market

Medicis is the leading independent pharmaceutical company in the United States focusing primarily on the treatment of dermatological conditions. Based in Wilmington, Mass., Ascent is a pharmaceutical company primarily dedicated to the specialty of pediatrics. Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation and Ascent Pediatrics, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement un...

Medications to Prevent Relapse to Cocaine Use

Treatment of cocaine addiction has always been hampered by high rates of relapse, even after prolonged drug abstinence. Research teams from the Drug Abuse Program of the VU Medical Center in the Netherlands and the intramural laboratories of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have identified a process in the brain that may lead to a new generation of medications to prevent relapse to coc...

Pharmacies in for a dose of bitter medicine

In a long-delayed move, the Foods and Drugs Department is beginning to bare its fangs at chemists and druggists operating without qualified pharmacists, an offence under the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. According to official sources, not only does this common practice jeopardise the health of the masses -- it allows untrained people to deal with high-risk drugs -- it also end...

Magnetic resonance angiography in clinical medicine

Cardiovascular, eurovascular and other vascular diseases are the leading causes of death. Imaging of blood vessels thus important in depiction of stenotic, occlusive, aneurismal, inflammatory or vascular malformations.Conventional x-ray angiography and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) are used to depict vascular lesions with high accuracy via intravascular administration of contrast (dye) ma...

More Elderly Take Inappropriate and Harmful Medications

More than one in five elderly Americans living on their own takes a medication that could put them at risk for injuries and illness. According to the report, more than 21% of elderly Americans--representing nearly 7 million// individuals--had received at least one of these 33 potentially inappropriate medications in 1996. Nearly 3% used a medication that elderly people should always av...

Medications for depression

According to a new study there is increased usage of antidepressants rather going to psychotherapy among most foreigners. Researchers in the US have compared how people's treatment for depression changed from 1985 to 1999. // The rate of outpatient treatment for depression increased from 1 per 100 persons to 2.5 per 100 over this time.The proportion of those receiving drug treatment for...

Robots craft medical history

A new invenvtion in the medical history. A team of surgeons in France, assisted in removing the gall bladder of a 68-year old woman using a remote controlled robot. This is termed as the world's// first long-distance operation in the medical history. The operation took place at the European Institute for TeleSurgery in Strasbourg. According to Jacques Marceausx it is a phenomenal step a...

NBE to conduct test for medical students from abroad

National Board of Examinations has decided to conduct tests for any Indian doctor having graduated abroad avid of starting a practice in the country, to ensure a higher standards amongst doctors, the government has made it compulsory from //the 15th of next month official sources said today. The new regulations, which were published in the Indian Gazzette yesterday, specify that...

Healthy Medicine Or Harmful Intoxicant?

Is it a healthy, naturally occurring substance with many health benefits or a deadly intoxicant with no legitimate medical use? GHB -- gamma hydroxy butyric acid -- hailed as a wonder drug for the first 30 years// of its career, has been blamed as an illegal killer for the past 12 years. Many blame GHB for thousands of deaths and emergency room visits, while others claim its unrivaled uses as a p...

Medications linked to xerostomia and caries

Medications to control asthma, may predispose to dry mouth syndrome ( xerostomia) and caries. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina decided to examine whether there was a connection between// the two most common causes of absenteeism among school children asthma and caries. In 655 patients between ages 1 and 15, they found that the numbers of decayed, missing and...

Approaching through Telemedicine benefits patients

According to researchers, a new study shows that getting primary care physicians and their patients together with specialists through videoconferencing technology is an excellent way to extend the communication between doctors and patients.// Doctors from the Royal University College Medical School in London tested the "virtual outreach" method in a group of more than 2,000 patients se...

Medication recuperates fat distribution in diabetes

According to a new study, treatment with medications can reduce abdominal fat in people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers at the University of Texas have been looking into the effect that the drug Pioglitazone has on people with type 2 diabetes.// They studied 10 people with the condition, who took the drug for 16 weeks. After this time body weight had, on the whole, increased. But mea...

Outcome of common medications

Despite the fact that doctors know the power of a common heart medication in reducing the risk of heart attacks and heart failure, many patients do not take the medications. Research shows the use of beta-blocker medication after a heart attack// can reduce the risk of early death by 20 percent. However, many patients fear side effects such as depression, fatigue and sexual dysfunction and, there...

Medicines Used In Antiplatelet Therapy Can Reduce Heart Attacks And Strokes

Research shows that using antiplatelet medication called clopidogrel before coronary angioplasty surgery often reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular problems like heart attacks, or strokes.// The research paper was published in the latest issue of JAMA. Dual antiplatelet therapy following percutaneous coronary intervention using a combination of drugs such as ticlopidine or clo...

Bird Flu Threat Prompts Stockpiling Of Food And Medicine In America

It has been urged by the Federal Government to stockpile medicines and food owing to the possibility of potential bird flu pandemic in America.// A pandemic is said to occur when a new strain of the influenza virus gets transmitted from one person to the other, thereby causing serious human illness. Warning has already been issued regarding the mutation of the H5N1 virus into a more p...

Medical Journals should create awareness on Child survival

Lancet has urged the medical journals and news media to increase the awareness about child mortality rates and increase international funds// to increase child survival. The Lancet reports that the goals of the two millennium projects are achievable, Millennium Development Goal – 4 (MDG) asks for a reduction in mortality rates in children below the age of 5 and MDG-5 wants a reduction in maternal...

Wake Up Call: U.N Takes Stock to Curb Fake Medicines Racket

The Counterfeit Medicines Racket is growing at alarming proportions. The United Nations has risen to the occasion, driving a // world wide initiative , by way of a task force team that would strive to put an end to the sale of counterfeit drugs. A three day meeting is underway in Rome, starting today, February 16th, where all the key players - Pharamaceutical companies, Regulatory bodies and gro...

Bush Urged To Press India To Eliminate Medical Tariffs

Several experts in US have suggested that the President George W. Bush should press India to get rid of with tariffs on medicines// and medical products so that it can become affordable even to the poorest there. Jim Driscoll, an AIDS activist and advisor to President Bush on HIV-AIDS, and Roger Bate of the conservative American Enterprise Institute have urged countries such as India,...

Spreading knowledge to doctors about herbal medicine

Recently an internet-based learning exercise has helped a group of doctors increase their knowledge of herbal remedies and food supplements. Many people take herbs and other dietary supplements, but find their doctors are lacking in knowledge// about these complementary medicines. A group called the Longwood Herbal Task Force, drawn from health professionals of the Harvard Medical School and othe...

Errors in medication

According to a new study it was observed that nearly one out of every five medication doses delivered in hospitals and nursing homes may be in error. The problem occurs regardless of whether the facility has been accredited// by the nation's leading health care accrediting organization or not. The Institute of Medicine released a report titled, "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Heath...

Air pollution combined with greater medical needs

Cities with the worst pollution in the US have more hospital admissions for respiratory conditions. There's increasing proof for a tie between environmental pollution and public health. Now doctors at the University of California report upon the effect// of air pollution on Medicare costs in a large group of the population. They looked at medical records and pollution measures in 185...

Indian Nationals with Foreign Medical Degrees can now practice in India

A new policy by the Government of India will now enable Indians who have acquired medical degrees from abroad, to practice in India, through a screening test that will be conducted by the National Board of Examinations (An Autonomous Body of The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare). The purpose of the registration is only to qualify for registration with the Medical Council// of India or any St...

Children! Protecting them from medical mistakes

The rate for potential medical problems, according to earlier studies, is three times higher for children than for adults. The rates for babies in hospitals are even higher. However, a new effort by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) may help prevent medical errors in children.// The effort, an educational campaign is aime...

More information sought by patients on medical errors

Medical mistakes is one of the ills plaguing the field of medicine and patients are now demanding that they be given full information when a medical error happens. However, doctors are often reluctant to give full disclosure, not because they do not care. In fact, doctors confessed to being haunted for many years by their mistakes. In the Washington University School of Medicine, researchers cond...

Curbing medication errors with new rules

The FDA has proposed two new rules that would help improve patient safety by reducing medication errors. Medication errors alone are believed to be responsible for as many as 7,000 deaths. These errors have been attributed to problems of medications with similar names, poor handwriting by doctors on prescriptions, or too many new drugs for doctors to remember as they go from patient to patient. A...

Medicines on the move

The American Pharmaceutical Association has given out a list of instructions for those travelling on business or pleasure trips to help continue safe use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines. 1. Be informed: A schedule of the drugs that you are taking at the moment should be kept handy. This is all the more necessary when you take different medicines at different times of the...

SARS necessitates medical masks

The N95 mask is in demand once again. In the past this mask has been well tested whenever there has been need to protect our lungs from airborne infection. During all the previous instances around the world for example the world trade center tragedy and during the anthrax danger this mask was used. SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome, the new viral disease N95 is the safest mask to...

A surge in Lifestyle Medicine

From experience one knows that one cannot resort to drugs alone for the cure of diabetes and obesity. These both conditions are rising at an alarmingly high proportion. A Connecticut doctor is working to combine standard drugs with lifestyle therapies. Some people who despite doing workouts gain weight. Doctors usually make a complete study of the patient’s nutritional profile and psychologic...

Medicaid cuts leave patients in a lurch

In the U.S. the state governments are finding themselves in a tight corner with finances being scarce. This has led to the state government to seek for further Medicaid cuts. The physician across the country feel that these cuts would result in dire consequences for patient care. To add to the woes the Texas House of Representatives has cut off $3 billion from the Medicaid program, and this als...

Pharmacist’s Role in Medication Error

Researchers report positive findings in a new study that looked at the role of the pharmacist in helping doctors prevent medical errors involving medications. The investigation done finds having a pharmacist participate in medical rounds with doctors resulted in the identification and prevention of nearly 5,000 medication errors over more than four years.// The study w...

Meditation Works Medically

In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers say mindful meditation can have a positive impact on health. The study, led by doctors at the University of //Wisconsin, determined the practice of mindfulness meditation impacts the left side of the brain and has a healthy effect. The researchers recruited 25 people in a work environment with healthy employees. During an eight-week...

The Downside of Asthma Medication

Could a common class of drugs used for acute asthma attacks be causing the very thing it aims to treat?// Perhaps, find researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital who studied the use of bronchodilators known as beta-agonists in asthmatics. Beta-agonists are the primary treatment used to relieve acute asthma attacks. The drugs come in ma...

Reducing Medication Errors

Around the world, deaths from medical errors are common, people who are hospitalized face the largest risk for medical mistakes.// Studies show in adults, adverse drug events occur in five of every 100 medication orders. A new study led by researchers at Ottawa, shows computerized systems for ordering medications can reduce the number of errors. This is in place of hand-writing the order...