Since 2010 the University of Massachusetts Department of Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation has been maintaining a national database (FORCE-TJR) of total joint replacement surgical and patient-reported outcomes of the surgery. Recently, a disturbing trend has been observed in the data from this study.
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As we reported last month, there is significant progress being made in the treatments of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of debilitating diseases that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
There is now another drug nearing FDA approval, which will add to the choices of therapies for COPD sufferers, and it should help with patient compliance, since it is a once-a-day single drug. Previously, COPD patients had to deal with multiple drugs and a more complicated schedule.
This morning the NY Times editorial board weighed in on the recent ballot initiative in Washington State, which would have required foods to carry labels if they contained any genetically modified ingredients.
It s better to walk than to not be active at all. Walking a predominant exercise among the elderly, holds more importance in the way it reduces stroke in older men in than you may think
A new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health provides some sobering statistics about the use of the vaccines that can prevent cancers caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). Although primarily developed to prevent HPV infection (and thus, cervical cancer) in women, its use has been expanded to boys, since the vaccine also protects against anal and oropharyngeal cancers (the tongue, tonsils,soft palate, and pharynx a part of the throat).
The FDA is planning to cleanse antibacterial cleansers of what they deem to be mislabeled ingredients: triclosan and triclocarban. The agency will require proof that the products so labeled are in fact antibacterial, and that they are not harmful. The makers have one year to show them the data.
Following-up on their op-ed in the NYTimes last week, Drs. Amy Fairchild and colleagues published a Perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine, calling for a valid, science-based approach to e-cigarettes, and noting the vast potential benefits from these devices.
Chest pain, the hallmark symptom of heart attacks, is commonly thought to manifest itself very differently in men and women. However,
Dr. Maki Inoue-Choi of the University of Minnesota and colleagues published a report in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention linking the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages to the incidence of the most common type of endometrial (uterine) cancer.
Over the 51 years since Rachel Carson s poetic attack on DDT in her Silent Spring novel, the chemical pesticide became the poster child for the nascent environmental movement s inchoate wrath. The victims:
Every now and then our government gets something right. This is one of those times.
What is unfortunate is that it should have never come to this in the first place. Because 20 years ago our government got it really wrong, for which we are now paying a steep price.
If spring evokes thoughts of tissues rather than love because of allergies, there may be some new treatments on the horizon.
A panel at the CDC found that as of 2011, the elimination of measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome had been sustained in the
In the no news is no news department, one of the most studied chemicals ever - Aspartame, NutraSweet - has gotten a clean bill of health from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It s about time. But will it matter?
There is definitely no shortage of alarmist news stories about the alleged increased risk of cancer from exposure to trace amounts of pesticides or chemicals from food, water and cosmetics, among other things that one may
This year, how about making a truly meaningful, life-altering New Year s resolution?
A the end of every year there is a tally of the number of new drugs that were approved by the FDA during that year. This was recently covered quite thoroughly in a Forbes.com op-ed by Bernard Munos entitled The FDA Approvals of 2012: A Watershed? Munos points out that the number of approvals in 2013 (27) was down sharply from the 37 new drugs that were approved in 2012. While this may be an important number for the pharmaceutical industry, in terms of public health these numbers don t mean all that much.
Concussions have garnered much attention in the sports world recently following news about early dementia and other neurological problems after repeated head injuries. Head trauma from sports ranging from professional boxing to high school football and skateboarding are seen as potentially leading to later deficits and the impact need not necessarily be intense nor lead to loss of consciousness to do serious damage.
One of the most dangerous food allergies in children is peanut allergy. For highly allergic individuals even a tiny amount of peanut, or contamination with peanut protein, can lead to a life-threatening reaction, known medically as anaphylaxis.
DO fear the radiologist! The NYTimes publishes an op-ed seeming to warn everyone to avoid deadly CT scans at (almost) all costs. Avoid those unnecessary ones, anyway. But who s to say which ones those are the FDA?
So now they re trying to pin the blame for Alzheimer s disease on DDT! Really? This is an excellent example of the wrong way to do a scientific study. It doesn t even pass the smell test.
The never-ending war on cancer will only be won when we win the war against death itself. While rates of heart disease, stroke and COPD have plummeted, the decline in cancer deaths is slower, giving the false impression that there is a cancer epidemic.
A new retrospective study shows a significant association between reduced rate of knee- and hip- replacement revision and treatment with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). A good candidate theory for prospective trial to confirm, or refute.
Informative, science-based essay on GMO food products by two experts delivers the goods on the facts of biotech agriculture, in an attempt to counter the myths fomented by agenda-driven anti-technology activists, the fearful and superstitious, and Big Organic.
Consuming alcohol in moderation has long been known to benefit the heart, bone and brain. However, according to a new study
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