New test better detects elephantiasis worm infection

Tweet

A new diagnostic test for a worm infection that can lead to severe enlargement and deformities of the legs and genitals is far more sensitive than the currently used test, according to results of a field study in Liberia, in West Africa, where the infection is endemic.

The new test found evidence of the infection – lymphatic filariasis – in many more people that the standard test had missed.

Bed sharing with parents increases risk of cot death fivefold

Tweet

Bed sharing with parents is linked to a fivefold increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), even when the parents are non-smokers and the mother has not been drinking alcohol and does not use illegal drugs, according to a large analysis published online in BMJ Open.

While the rate of SIDS has fallen sharply following advice to parents to place babies to sleep on their back (supine), SIDS remains the major cause of infant death in the postneonatal period (28 days through to the first birthday) in developed countries.

The incidence of eating disorders is increasing in the UK

Tweet

More people are being diagnosed with eating disorders every year and the most common type is not either of the two most well known—bulimia or anorexia—but eating disorders not otherwise specified (eating disorders that don't quite reach the threshold to be defined as anorexia or bulimia), shows a study published online in BMJ Open.

Mediterranean diet seems to boost ageing brain power

Tweet

A Mediterranean diet with added extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts seems to improve the brain power of older people better than advising them to follow a low-fat diet, indicates research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

The authors from the University of Navarra in Spain base their findings on 522 men and women aged between 55 and 80 without cardiovascular disease but at high vascular risk because of underlying disease/conditions.

Study shows that women who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of both obesity and gestational diabetes in their daughters

Tweet

Women who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of both obesity and gestational diabetes, in their daughters, concludes research published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. The study is by Dr Kristina Mattsson, Lund University, Sweden, and colleagues including Dr Matthew Longnecker from the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences at the U.S.National Institutes of Health, North Carolina, USA.

Chair of DSM-IV Task Force: Think Twice Before Using the DSM-5

Tweet

The Chair of the DSM-IV Task Force charges that the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) lacks sufficient scientific support, defies clinical common sense, and was prepared without adequate consideration of risk-benefit ratios and the economic cost of expanding the reach of psychiatry.

May/June 2013 Annals of Family Medicine tip sheet

Tweet

Older prostate cancer patients should think twice before undergoing treatment

Tweet

Older prostate cancer patients with other underlying health conditions should think twice before committing to surgery or radiation therapy for their cancer, according to a multicenter study led by researchers in the UCLA Department of Urology.

May research highlights from American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Tweet

1. New Rapid Diagnostic Test for Worm Infection Provides Substantial Improvement Over Current Standard, According to New African Field Study; Provides Compass to Guide Public Health Efforts to Halt Debilitating Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis)

2. Two Studies on Efforts to Eliminate Onchocerciasis (River Blindness) in Africa:
   Read more

AHRQ-funded journal supplement offers lessons on primary care practice transformation

Tweet