Fish oil fed intravenously to patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), improves gas exchange, reduces inflammatory chemicals and cuts down hospital stay.
A randomised controlled trial, which examined the effects of including fish oil in the normal nutrient solution for sepsis patients, found a significant series of benefits. (Sepsis is the presence of pus-forming bacteria or toxins in the blood or tissues).
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Patients may have to be prescribed higher doses of antibiotics because of rising rates of obesity, say doctors.
The standard “one-size fits all” dose may not clear infection in larger adults and increases the risk that resistance will develop, they argue.
More work is needed to guide GPs on how and when to alter doses, an editorial in The Lancet to accompany the study by doctors from Greece and the US says.
GPs said it was an interesting theory but may end up being expensive. Read the rest of this entry »
Post-menopausal women who suffer from HIV have a higher risk of bone fractures, a new study suggests.
Although nutritional supplements such as vitamin D and calcium can help increase the strength of bones, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism indicates that therapies used to make HIV patients live longer can be detrimental to bone mineral density.
Previous studies have indicated that HIV patients have a higher prevalence of low bone density due to metabolic complications brought on by treatment.
Coloured lights could be used to find treatments for brain disorders such as epilepsy, a study has suggested.
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology team discovered a way to shut down brain activity using flashes of yellow and blue lasers.
They hope to adjust this to switch off neurons that generate an electrical impulse abnormally, causing seizures.
This could help experts understand how the brain works and, ultimately, offer treatment targets, Nature reports. Read the rest of this entry »
If you needed another reason to cut the cigarette habit: Smokers, especially younger smokers, are more likely to report low back pain than people who have never smoked, according to a new analysis.
After examining existing research, Finnish researchers concluded smoking is “modestly” associated with the risk of low back pain and the effects may be “at least partly reversible.” Their findings are published in the January issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
New study done by researchers in the US had compared the effects on hip, knee and ankle joints of running barefoot versus running in modern running shoes.
They concluded that running in shoes exerted more stress on these joints compared to running barefoot or even walking in high-heeled shoes.
The study was the work of lead author Dr D Casey Kerrigan, of JKM Technologies LLC, in Charlottesville, Virginia and colleagues from the University of Colorado and the University of Virginia, and was published in the December 2009 issue of PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation. Read the rest of this entry »
