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A Practitioner's Must Read
Early autism signs can detected by routine prenatal ultrasound – Israeli study
A routine prenatal ultrasound in the second trimester can identify early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a study by Ben-Gurion University of the...
A summation of what is known about Omicron’s BA.2 variant
Omicron BA.2 is inherently substantially more transmissible than BA, and possesses immune-evasive properties but does not increase its transmissibility from vaccinated individuals with breakthrough...
Pulse oximeters deliver unreliable readings across ethnic groups
A non-invasive test with a pulse oximeter provided false readings of nearly 7% higher in a group of mixed race patients with COVID-19, compared...
Seeing the same GP consistently has major health benefits for dementia sufferers
Dementia patients who see the same GP every time are 35% less likely to develop delirium, almost 60% less likely to experience incontinence, 10%...
Sudden Cardiac Death and sex: Rare but not just an old man thing
A review of almost 7,000 comprehensive autopsies over 26 years in England showed that sex rarely triggered Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) and more women...
American Diabetes Association updates its Standards of Medical Care for 2022
The American Diabetes Association updated its Standards of Medical Care supplement in December, to provide clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and other interested individuals with the...
Anxiety drugs/antidepressants linked to doubled risk of post-op delirium
People admitted hip or knee surgery and taking a range of drugs commonly prescribed for anxiety, insomnia and depression, were twice as likely to...
Almost a fifth of hypertensives unknowingly take BP-raising meds — NHANES survey
Almost a fifth of hypertensive patients may unknowingly be taking medications that raise blood pressure (BP), according to data from the US National Health...
Atherosclerosis in more than 40% of Swedish adults with no known heart disease – SCAPIS
More than 40% of adults ages 50 to 64 years in Sweden without known heart disease were found to have some degree of atherosclerosis,...
COVID-related stress levels higher in paramedics than doctors — COVISTRESS survey
Worldwide in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals demonstrated very high stress levels, with the risk more acute for paramedical staff...
21-year study finds evidence for evening hypertensives in diabetics
People with diabetes showed worse long-term survival if they had irregular night-time blood pressure (BP) patterns, according to a cohort study from Italy, published...
Paracetamol: Precautions necessary during pregnancy — Consensus Statement
Paracetamol (acetaminophen) should be used only when medically indicated during pregnancy and at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time, according to...
Daily steps in middle age significantly affect all-cause mortality — CARDIA study
Walking at least 7,000 steps a day reduced middle-aged people's risk of premature death from all causes by 50% to 70%, compared with those...
Parkinson’s: 7 strategies used to deal with walking difficulties assessed
A Dutch study assesses the efficacy of a variety of compensation strategies that have been developed by people with Parkinson’s to overcome walking difficulties.
Various...
Twice-yearly inclisiran injections as alternative to daily statins in NHS plan
Inclisiran, administered through twice-yearly injections, saw cholesterol levels fall by half in an Imperial College London study. Under a British NHS plan, the gene-silencing...
Daily cocktail of four drugs reduces stroke risk and heart attack in half
A daily cocktail of aspirin, statins and blood pressure pills slashes a personʼs risk of a stroke in half, a study has found.
According to...
Low-dose aspirin linked to lower dementia risk when started early — Large cohort study
Low dose acetylsalicylic acid (LDASA) may have some protective benefit against cognitive decline, but only if started well before symptoms begin, according to a...
Gargling: An under-explored strategy to control COVID transmission
An under-explored strategy to better control transmission of SARS-CoV-2, especially in children to young to be vaccinated, may involve the use of a dilute...
Simple dietary changes may have significant effect on psoriasis
A Western diet rich in sugar and fat leads to an imbalance in the gut's microbial culture and may contribute to inflammatory skin diseases...
Long COVID: More than a quarter of patients still symptomatic after six months — Swiss study
In a study of adults from the Zurich general population who were infected with COVID-19 in 2020, more than a quarter report not having...
South African childhood asthma guidelines 2021
Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood. The prevalence is rising and the mortality and morbidity from asthma in South Africa are...
‘Potential new standard’ in high-risk kidney cancer — KEYNOTE-564 trial
Single-agent immune checkpoint inhibition after surgery reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death in patients with high-risk clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC),...
AI outperforms humans in creating cancer treatments — but doctors balk
The impact of deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) for radiation cancer therapy in a real-world clinical setting has been tested by Canadian researchers in a...
Final SPRINT study confirms benefits of aggressive BP management
Final results from the landmark SPRINT study confirm that aggressive blood pressure (BP) management, targeting a systolic blood pressure (SBP) below 120 mm Hg,...
Sleep meds make no difference to insomnia over the long term
Long term use of prescription meds for insomnia doesn't seem to improve disturbed sleep in middle-aged women, found a study conducted over 21 years,...
Baby Aspirin on par with full-dose for cardiovascular disease
A large landmark study found that low-dose and regular-strength aspirin is equally safe and effective for preventing additional heart problems in people who already...
Vagus nerve stimulation: A potential new treatment for ischaemic stroke
Vagus nerve stimulation in patients who had moderate-to-severe loss of arm function after suffering from ischaemic stroke at least 9 months before enrolment, resulted...
Clinical guide to diagnosing, in children, bruising caused by abuse
Bruising caused by physical abuse is the most common injury to be overlooked or misdiagnosed as non-abusive before an abuse-related fatality or near-fatality in...
AGA: New clinical practice guidelines on IGBs for weight loss
With obesity affecting 40% of the US population, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released new recommendations on the therapeutic role of intragastric balloons...
Bariatric surgery significantly cuts cancer risk in severely obese NAFLD patients
Bariatric surgery can significantly reduce the risk of cancer – and especially obesity-related cancers – by as much as half in certain individuals, according...
Common Alzheimer's treatment linked to slower cognitive decline — 5-year Karolinska study
Cholinesterase inhibitors are a group of drugs recommended for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but their effects on cognition have been debated and few...
Royal College Ireland: Surgery best for acute uncomplicated appendicitis
A Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland study conducted in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin has found that surgery, rather than antibiotics-only, should remain as the...
Omega-3 based medicine plus statins may lower stroke risk another 36%
Taking the triglyceride-lowering prescription medicine icosapent ethyl cut the risk of stroke by an additional 36% in people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease...
Statins found to have no effect on muscle pain in placebo trial
A study has found no overall effect of statins on the frequency or severity of muscle symptoms compared with placebo in people who had...
A two-week 'window of opportunity' for best recovery after stroke
The capacity of the human brain to recover and rewire itself peaks around two weeks after a stroke and diminishes over time, found a...
Pre-diagnosis aspirin use may lower colorectal cancer mortality — American Cancer Society
A study finds that long-term aspirin use before a diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) may be associated with lower CRC-specific mortality, found an American...
Colchicine improves outcomes in COVID-19 patients — Small Brazilian trial
Colchicine appeared to be safe and effective in treating moderate to severe COVID-19 infections in hospitalised patients, according to a randomised, double-blind clinical trial...
Metabolic surgery versus conventional therapy for type 2 diabetes — 10-year trial
A 10-year UK-Italian randomised clinical trial, published in The Lancet, showed that metabolic surgery is more effective than medications and lifestyle interventions in the...
Earlier-age daily aspirin linked to lower incidence of colorectal cancer in aged
There is substantial evidence that a daily aspirin can reduce risk of colorectal cancer in adults up to age 70. An a large data...
Low and very-low carb diets for type 2 diabetes remission – Systematic review
Patients with type 2 diabetes who follow a strict low carbohydrate diet (LCD) for six months may temporarily experience greater rates of remission compared...