Health and Medicine

Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) rely on mechanical ventilation to breathe, however routine suctioning to remove debris that may be blocking their airways can cause lung tissue to collapse. New research published in Critical Care explains how a new technique involving the re-inflation of lungs after suctioning can lead to a marked improvement in the condition of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a devastating inf

Using a tiny wireless sensor developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, doctors will know in minutes instead of hours if an organ is getting adequate blood flow after transplant or reconstructive surgery.

Conventional methods for assessing circulation involve invasive procedures or extensive laboratory testing. In some cases, by the time doctors realize there isn’t adequate blood flow to an organ or tissue, irreversible damage already has occurred.

“Our goal is to offer a te

The ophthalmology team of the University Clinic of the University of Navarre has published a new technique to detect diabetic retinopathy. This research has been published in the magazine Investigative Ophthamology and Visual Science. The research is based on the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). This test allows measuring the thickness of eye macula without touching the eye and without using contrast injection. The macula is the central part of the retina and is the responsible of the central vis

Subtle alterations of a hormonal stress response system called the HPA axis may play a role in chronic fatigue syndrome, according to a study in the November/December issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

A smoothly functioning hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis helps the body remain stable under physiological and psychological stress through the actions of three hormones. First, the brain portion called the hypothalamus secretes a hormone that stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete

Reducing the sulphur content of pollutants can have a substantial impact in reducing death from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, conclude authors of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET which describes the effect of a public-health initiative in Hong Kong.

A change in law to restrict sulphur emissions was introduced in Hong Kong in July 1990; all power plants and road vehicles had to use fuel oil with a sulphur content restricted to not more than 0·5% by weight. This intervent

Faced with a patient who is ‘tired all the time’ and reports ‘pain in my body every day’, many General Practitioners may struggle to identify fibromyalgia, a little-known but debilitating condition as the cause of their patient’s suffering.

Fibromyalgia is a widespread and yet little-recognised and little-understood pain and fatigue disorder that is thought to affect millions world-wide. Symptoms include persistent pain – the body interprets touch or movement as pain although there is no t