The awful accident suffered by Natasha Richardson has raised the issue of making helmets mandatory when on the ski hill.
The reason that this is an issue is because according to CNN, “a blow to the head that at first seems minor and does not result in immediate pain or other symptoms can in fact turn out to be a life-threatening brain injury.”
As in the case of Richardson. The 45 year-old actress was talking and joking after she fell Monday during a beginner ski lesson, according to officials at the Canadian resort where she was staying. But soon after she returned to her room she complained of head pain and was taken to a nearby hospital. There doesn’t seem to be much hope now.
Patients are often unaware they’ve fractured their skull. In these cases, the fracture generally occurs just above the ear, in the temporal bone. “There is an artery that runs above the skull and can get torn and begin to bleed above the lining of the brain.” Graffagnino says.
Read more from CNN.com
A test has showed that having copper fittings, such as door handles and light switches, in a hospital may kill superbugs and other germs. The theory is that the germs are “suffocated” by the metal. During the test, the copper fittings had up to 95 per cent fewer bugs on their surfaces than traditional metal fixtures. Read more…
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — As 3D images illuminate the viewfinder, a joystick delicately maneuvers a pair of robotic arms. It may sound like a video game, but Dr. Nikhil Shah is actually performing cancer surgery.
In this case, the surgeon is removing a man’s prostate gland. Robotic surgery is a growing trend in treating prostate cancer. The number of cases have increased sevenfold in the past four years, from 10,000 in 2004 to a projected 70,000 in 2008, according to Intuitive Surgical Inc., the creators of the robotic device. The advantages of robotics — fewer side effects and quicker recovery times in many patients — have led to increased use for other surgeries, including hysterectomy, kidney cancer and some heart procedures. Read more…
According to Danielle Dellorto
Read more here. Watch a video here, below:
Take a baby boom, add six decades, and what have you got? A booming market for home healthcare companies, which provide a low-cost, long-term alternative to hospitals at a time when medical costs are rising.
As if to illustrate the point, Amedisys surprised Wall Street Wednesday with better-than-expected earnings and an increase in its guidance for the rest of the year. The company, which bought rival TLC Healthcare Services in late March for $395.0 million, said it was looking forward to growing on its own and through further acquisitions. Read more
WASHINGTON, March 17 /PRNewswire/ — New research released at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, D.C., this week, holds promise of a new interventional imaging capability using advanced robotics provided by Siemens Healthcare (www.siemens.com/healthcare), to improve the value of chemoembolization in treating cancer.
The research, presented by Dr. John Angle, Associate Professor of Radiology, Chief, Division of Angiography, University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, at the “Advanced Imaging Symposium,” reveals clinical results from his case study using the Siemens Artis zeego®, a multi-axis C-arm that employs robotic technology to enable large-volume syngo® DynaCT acquisition for liver chemoembolization.
The Artis zeego is part of the new Artis zee® family of interventional imaging systems introduced by Siemens. Siemens is showcasing the Artis zee family at the SIR meeting in Booth #833. Additionally, Dr. Michael J. Wallace from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Dr. Ralf Hofmann from the University of Munich in Germany presented case studies using Artis zee solutions at the symposium.
According to Angle, the combination of the Artis zeego and large-volume syngo® DynaCT enables the physician to see the whole abdomen or the entire liver for chemoembolization and biopsies, and provides reliable post-TACE assessment of lipidol uptake.
“The Artis zeego’s support for expanded syngo DynaCT anatomical coverage enables the entire liver to be imaged without moving the patient,” said Angle. “We have found the system to be reliable, stable and very easy to use. We plan on expanding the scope of cases for which we use the Artis zeego.”
The Artis zeego, which recently received FDA 510(k) clearance, offers breakthrough versatility, enhanced image quality and streamlined workflow across an array of clinical environments, from body and neurointerventional radiology suites to operating rooms and hybrid rooms. Additionally, Frost & Sullivan recently selected the Artis zeego as winner of the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award at their Excellence in Medical Technologies Awards banquet.
The first two facilities in North America to receive the Artis zeego for research are St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston and the University of Virginia Health System.
The versatility of the Artis zee family is exemplified by the revolutionary new Artis zeego to extend imaging capabilities through virtually unrestricted C-arm positioning. The ability to support two non-concentric rotations supports advanced cross-sectional imaging, which is not achievable with traditional C-arm systems. The Artis zeego makes it possible for the position of the isocenter to be adjusted according to the procedural needs or the height of the physician, which is particularly beneficial to a physician during lengthy procedures while wearing a heavy lead-shielded apron. The adjustable isocenter also enables off-center rotational angiography for all areas of the body and supports advanced 3D imaging techniques, including cross-sectional imaging through Siemens’ first-to-market syngo DynaCT.
Imaging Excellence Distinguishes Artis zee Family
The entire Artis zee family of systems features an enhanced imaging chain — spanning image acquisition to image processing and documentation — that delivers sharply detailed images required for interventional procedures, enhances clarity in 2D imaging, and enables an array of 3D imaging applications to help enhance clinical decision-making.
“With the increasing number of minimally invasive procedures, demand for high-end imaging systems in the operating room continues to surge,” said Claus Grill, Vice President, Angiography, Cardiac, and X-ray Systems, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. “To meet these burgeoning needs, Siemens developed the Artis zee family, a line that provides exceptional image quality and enhancements to assist clinicians with a variety of interventional procedures — including the ability to better see stents which are getting smaller and smaller.”
New and enhanced 3D imaging applications included with the Artis zee systems include:
— syngo iPilot, which enables faster, more precise catheter navigation
through 3D roadmapping that superimposes 3D reconstructions onto live
2D fluoroscopy images, 2D roadmaps or digital subtraction angiography
(DSA). The application provides real time updates of C-arm and table
movements, as well as zoom and source-to-image distance (SID) changes.
— syngo iGuide, which is designed to bring needle procedures back into
the interventional suite, enabling enhanced comfort for the physician
and frees up the computed tomography (CT) scanner from this lengthy
procedure. With the superb fluoroscopy image quality of the Artis zee
systems, these procedures can be executed faster and with greater
confidence.
The Artis zee systems are designed to streamline workflows and create efficiencies to help keep pace with increased interventional volume. Intuitive, menu-driven workflows streamline such procedures as obtaining soft tissue results for both frequent and infrequent users. The configurations of the Artis zee family also enable all system movements to be easily controlled with one ergonomic tableside device.
Virtually Unrestricted Freedom of Movement
Leveraging advanced robotic technologies, the Artis zeego supports additional degrees of freedom beyond those of traditional C-arm technology. Specifically, the rotation center of the positioner can be placed anywhere in a sphere around the patient. The Artis zeego enables physicians to perform complex scanning movements such as tilted table scans in the peripherals. This type of scanning has not been possible with traditional C-arm design.
The Artis zee systems are available in floor-mounted, ceiling-mounted, multipurpose, biplane, and biplane twin configurations, as well as the multi-axis Artis zeego.
About Siemens Healthcare
Siemens Healthcare is one of the world’s largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is a renowned medical solutions provider with core competence and innovative strength in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as well as in knowledge engineering, including information technology and system integration. With its laboratory diagnostics acquisitions, Siemens Healthcare is the first fully integrated diagnostics company, bringing together imaging and lab diagnostics, therapy, and healthcare information technology solutions, supplemented by consulting and support services. Siemens Healthcare delivers solutions across the entire continuum of care — from prevention and early detection, to diagnosis, therapy and care. The company employs more than 49,000 people worldwide and operates in 130 countries. In the fiscal year 2007 (Sept. 30), Siemens Healthcare reported sales of euro 9.85 billion, orders of euro 10.27 billion, and group profit of euro 1.32 billion. Further information can be found by visiting http://www.siemens.com/healthcare
OAKLAND, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire/ — Findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the largest weight loss maintenance study to date reinforce Kaiser Permanente’s approach to obesity prevention. The combination of both personal contact and web-based support are identified as the key to successful, long-term weight management. Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., was the coordinating center for the Weight Loss Maintenance Trial of 1,032 overweight and obese adults and provided five of the study co-authors.
“The big discovery of this study is that losing weight and keeping it off is possible if you have ongoing, long-term support,” said study second author Victor J. Stevens, Ph.D. a senior researcher at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research. “Everyone in this country — men, women, and children of every racial group — is getting heavier because our society promotes eating too much and not getting enough exercise. We all need a personal health coach, and hopefully health care systems can provide that. That’s why Kaiser Permanente does research: to find successful programs that fit into routine medical care, and that’s what this study shows.”
The study, presented at the American Heart Association’s Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism Council Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., found that brief personal counseling and web-based intervention strategies offer the best hope in keeping weight off over three years. Of the study’s participants, 287 were from Kaiser Permanente’s Northwest region.
“The takeaway message of this study for people wanting to keep weight off long-term is: adopt a healthy diet; focus on lifestyle changes you can sustain; reduce calorie intake; keep notes daily on how much you eat and exercise; set specific, realistic goals you can meet; seek encouragement from family, friends and co-workers to support your healthy choices; and remind yourself again and again of your original motivation and the health benefits of weight loss,” said lead author Laura P. Svetkey, MD, a professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. “People need to remember that even a few pounds of weight loss can have a big impact on health.”
The model used in the study mirrors some of the techniques and resources offered to Kaiser Permanente members.
“We know that frequent follow-up is best, so we try to make that as easy as possible with a weight maintenance newsletter with tips, tools and techniques from clinical findings, research and patient sharing, online programs to keep people connected electronically and help them key an eye on portion size,” said Trina Histon, Ph.D., director of Kaiser Permanente’s Weight Management Initiative. The initiative provides Kaiser Permanente clinicians with weight loss tools for their patients. “We make it easy to get encouragement through the email your doctor tool and our online Balance Program at kp.org . We have to meet people where they are on the journey of weight loss and maintenance because people need different things at different times.”
Kaiser Permanente also helps promote obesity prevention in the community by supporting 30 farmers markets at Kaiser Permanente medical centers in six states, a Healthy Picks Vending Machine Initiative and TV Turnoff Week, as well as a Healthy Eating Active Living program in 27 communities across the US that makes it easier for people to choose healthy foods and get more active.
“Kaiser Permanente recognizes that good health requires more than exceptional health care at the doctor’s office or hospital. Health research like this benefits not only our members but the community at large — that’s why we extend our care by sharing our research to improve the health and well-being of our members and our communities,” said Raymond J. Baxter, Ph.D., senior vice president, Community Benefit.
Given that two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, these study findings are especially relevant.
“When your weight goes up, so does your blood pressure, risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease, and wear and tear on your joints, back, hips and knees. Weight gain isn’t an aesthetics issue — it’s a health issue,” said co-author Stevens, a member of Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute’s Weight Management Initiative (http://www.kpcmi.org/weight-management/index.html).
New York (PRWEB) February 7, 2008 — Johns Hopkins Health Alerts has just released a new free special report on memory loss and aging to help answer two common concerns as we live longer than ever before:
* Does memory loss signal the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, or another form of dementia?.
* How can you protect your memory well into your later years?
Forgetfulness is one of the most common complaints of middle age and beyond. You’re in the middle of a conversation about a book when you realize that you can’t remember the title or the author’s name. You start to introduce your best friend to an acquaintance and suddenly can’t remember either name. You find yourself standing in front of the refrigerator wondering exactly why you opened the door.
The difference between normal memory loss that increases with age–known clinically as age-associated memory impairment–and serious dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease is that the former is frustrating, but NOT disabling.
In “The Johns Hopkins Guide to Memory Loss and Aging,” The Johns Hopkins Memory Bulletin editors explain the complex science behind human memory, and how age-related memory loss occurs, in clear, plain English.
The good news is that most memory loss has nothing to do with Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly all of us take more time to learn and recall information as we age. This occurs because as we get older, the transmission of nerve impulses across cell membranes (synapses) in the brain inevitably slows down.
The decline in our memory progresses slowly, almost imperceptibly, over several decades–until by midlife most of us have found ourselves staring blankly into that refrigerator.
But there are other causes of memory loss or cognitive impairment, which MIGHT be a sign of something more serious. In some cases, it could be related to Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Memory loss could also be related to the medications a person takes, or even to depression.
As the editors state in “The Johns Hopkins Guide to Memory Loss and Aging,” depression is common in the over-50 population, especially in a person suffering from poor physical health, but is frequently under-diagnosed. Depression is often due to a serious chemical imbalance in the brain, and so can mimic symptoms of dementia. Untreated depression can lead to other serious health concerns.
“The Johns Hopkins Guide to Memory Loss and Aging” outlines the most common symptoms of depression, and how to distinguish it from memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease, or dementia.
The final section of “The Johns Hopkins Guide to Memory Loss and Aging”–”Eight Ways to Protect Your Memory”–distills what we currently know about protecting our memories, with a view towards preventing stroke, Alzheimer’s, and other memory-robbing conditions.
To download your free copy of “The Johns Hopkins Guide to Memory Loss and Aging,” please visit:
Johns Hopkins Guide to Memory Loss and Aging
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Memory Loss
Table of Contents
*Introduction: Age-Related Memory Loss
* Is It Alzheimer’s Disease?
*Not So Total Recall As We Age
*Training Your Memory?
*The Results Of Memory Training
*New “Memory Habits”
*Is It Age-Related Memory Loss, or Depression?
*Depression Is Often UnderDiagnosed Over Age 50
*What Is Depression?
*The Signs And Symptoms Of Depression
*Events That Can Trigger Depression
*Treatment Options for Depression
*How to Recognize Depression
*Maintaining Your Mental Health
*Eight Ways to Protect Your Memory
*Conclusion
ABOUT JOHNS HOPKINS HEALTH ALERTS
Johns Hopkins Health Alerts is a free public service of Johns Hopkins Medicine that provides information and products for healthy living after 50. We launched our highly-acclaimed monthly print newsletter, The Johns Hopkins Medical Letter: Health After 50 in 1988.
About The Johns Hopkins Memory Bulletin
Medical Editor: Peter V. Rabins, M.D.
Peter V. Rabins, M.D., M.P.H., the medical editor of The Johns Hopkins Memory Bulletin, is Co-Director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, as well as a professor of psychiatry with joint appointments in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) January 7, 2008 — It was once a rarity in this country to find women in medical schools seeking to become physicians, and it was even more unusual to find women who actually practiced medicine after their medical-school training. Now the landscape appears to have changed dramatically. More than 50 percent of college students are female, as are almost 50 percent of the students entering medical school. While such changes have allowed the medical field to progress and become more inclusive in regards to gender, ethnicity, and culture, there are still inequities. Medical schools and workplaces are only now beginning to look at what is needed to address these inequities and bring about systematic changes to support the changing demographics of the doctors of the future.
In the last few generations, medical trainees and practicing physicians learned early in training to expect that anything is possible to achieve; one only had to dream of a goal. We learned that if we attacked our goals with tenacity, good intentions, and a dedicated effort, we’d get our rewards. In many ways, this was true for women who dreamed of a career in medicine, women who just a few generations ago did not have the right to vote and did not have a full career trajectory in medicine. But the same grit and determination that helped us break all kinds of barriers in medical research, surgery, clinical practice, and leadership is not necessarily what it takes now to maintain a well-rounded lifestyle, one that brings satisfaction and fulfillment. Many of the women in medicine in the first few generations have looked back on their amazing firsts and powerful careers and have wondered whether they could have done it differently. We want to have it all. We want great careers, family connections, leisure time, and beautiful and intelligent offspring who will change the world and live out our legacies. We want these things, and we want them now. Although patience and delayed gratification are synonymous with training to become a physician, many of us hold a sense of entitlement and the assumption that all of our hard work in medicine will lead to a fulfilling life soon after training ends.
Looking back on my college and medical school training, I would have loved for someone to utter the word balance to me. Balance is an important concept to seriously consider for our lives as physicians. We frequently hear the phrase work/life balance in training and even in the workplace now, but our first reaction when we hear them is to say, “Yeah, yeah, I’ve got it all under control. No one is going to take advantage of my time, my personal life is in check, and everything is on track. Maybe a massage wouldn’t hurt every now and then, but work/life balance is really for the other guy’s benefit, not mine.” The question is how in the world can we expect a well-balanced life when we just spent the last seven to 10 years of our post adolescent years focused on achievement in medical training? Each area of life requires focus and a good deal of energy and effort for success. Spending hour upon hour poring over books and getting ready to come across as brilliant on rounds the next day will do nothing for your relationship with your family and friends, just as spending the weekend bonding with your family won’t help you pass a qualifying exam the following Monday.
So, take a good look at your work and life choices, analyze and set your goals for the present and the future, and develop a strong mentor network to flesh out contradictions. This formula will help you achieve the full and rewarding life you expect to have at the end of all the hard work and training it takes to get to the beginning a medical career. During this very dynamic time in medicine, you and your generation have the opportunity to redefine what it means to live a successful life as a physician. Making wise choices now will preserve the profession we’ve all come to love as well as preserve the work/life balance that we all need, regardless of who we are. (Read this article in its entirety at www.plptoday.com)
DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 28 /PRNewswire/ — Contrary to previous studies, married patients with lung cancer do not have longer survival, according to analysis of an extensive Mayo Clinic database in the December issue of “The Oncologist.”
However, the results suggest some other potentially important differences among patient subgroups — including the possibility that married patients receive a more aggressive approach to lung cancer treatment, write Dr. Aminah Jatoi and colleagues.
The researchers analyzed data on nearly 5,900 patients from a Mayo Clinic database of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer. The database included information on a wide range of factors, including cancer stage, cancer treatment, and other factors affecting prognosis.
The study also included information on marital status: 76 percent of the patients were married (average age, 65 years), four percent single, seven percent divorced, and twelve percent widowed (average age, 73 years). The researchers analyzed the data to see if there was any relationship between the patients’ marital status at the time their cancer was diagnosed and their survival outcomes.
Initial analysis found no significant differences in survival among the different marital status groups. This remained true after adjustment for important prognostic factors, including age, tumor stage, and smoking. The results were in contrast to previous studies suggesting that married patients with lung cancer tended to have longer survival.
However, exploratory analyses found some significant differences in lung cancer treatment by marital status. Widowed and divorced patients received less aggressive treatment for cancer, which in some cases seemed to lead to shorter survival times. Survival was also shorter for patients in certain subgroups — for example, widowed patients with stage IA lung cancer (the least advanced stage).
Some aspects of quality of life also differed among marital groups. Divorced patients had greater financial concerns than patients in the other groups, while married and widowed patients had greater spirituality and better social support.
Smaller, less well-controlled studies have reported longer survival for married patients with lung cancer. The extensive Mayo Clinic NSCLC database provided an opportunity to re-evaluate the relationship between marriage and lung cancer survival.
The findings show no differences in survival based on marital status. “Nonetheless, marital status at times appeared to have influenced whether or not a patient received certain types of cancer therapy,” the researchers write.
The subgroup analyses also suggest other differences in lung cancer treatment and quality of life that are worthy of further exploration, Dr. Jatoi and coauthors believe. They conclude, “Thus, health care providers should continue to remain sensitive to the importance of human bonds as they care for patients with NSCLC.”
The new article, entitled “Does Marital Status Impact Survival and Quality of Life in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer? Observations from the Mayo Clinic Lung Cancer Cohort,” is available online at http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org and in print in the December issue of “The Oncologist.”
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