Public Health

Infertility is becoming a public health issue in Europe. Declining birth rates over the past 50 years mean that Europe is only producing 1.6 children per woman – hardly satisfactory to compete on the global stage against increasing populations of fit and able youth from the emerging economies of India and China. And the problem is getting worse: couples reporting infertility in centers across Europe is increasing by 8-9% annually. Although the UK pioneered assisted reproductive technology (ART) such as IVF and artificial insemination in 1978, success rates are still as modest as they were 35…

Therapeutic hypothermia has been successfully used to improve survival chances and reduce the risk of brain injury in adults after cardiac arrest and in newborn infants suffering from lack of oxygen but a large-scale study on the impact of body cooling in infants or children who have had cardiac arrest had not been done. A new, randomized clinical study finds little neurological benefit to using therapeutic hypothermia to lower a child's core temperature after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.  The study is the first to compare the use of therapeutic hypothermia to active normothermia…

Sometimes I write stuff here not because I know things, but rather, because I would like to know more, and I think the audience of this blog may help me find the material I need to become more knowledgeable on some topic. Having a blog is a privilege, in the sense that the one-to-many communication it establishes between the writer and the readers allows the owner to sometimes have access to the (all together vast) knowledge of his or her readers. Thanks to you, dear reader, to your comments, reactions, and suggestions expressed in the comments thread, I learn more on topics I do not have an…

When educating medical students or residents, there is always a need to balance quality results and optimal patient care with the educational mission - and when it comes to cardiac surgery residents, it works just fine. A new study found no differences in patient outcomes or graft patency between the residents and attending surgeons when it came to coronary artery bypass grafting.  The analysis of prospective data from a study of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) found no differences in short-term or one-year patient outcomes and patency of grafts between properly-supervised…

The big concern about the latest Vitamin D fad is the potential for toxicity.  Some people have low vitamin D levels and we have been told to avoid the sun so vitamin D supplement use has climbed in recent years and some articles and even books are claiming that Vitamin D is the cause and cure for many things, making potential harm even greater.  But Vitamin D is important because it has been shown to boost bone health, that's why some foods are fortified with it.  In light of the increased use of vitamin D supplements, Mayo Clinic researchers set out to learn more about the…

Coffee has been enjoying a health resurgence. It was once considered a bad thing because of caffeine but now it is lauded for its antioxidants.  A new paper details how free radicals and antioxidants behave during every stage of the coffee brewing process, from intact bean to coffee brew. The researchers observed the behavior of free radicals - unstable molecules that seek electrons for stability and are known to cause cellular and DNA damage in the human body - in the coffee brewing process and discovered that under certain conditions coffee can act as an antioxidant, a compound…

Top image: Chandler Collins, CC BY-SAAlcoholic drinks should all carry calorie counts according to a leading UK public health doctor writing in the BMJ today, because of their contribution to obesity. Fiona Sim, Chair of the UK Royal Society for Public Health, writes that while adults who drink may be getting as much as 10% of their daily calories from alcohol, most people are unaware drinking contributes to their energy intake. Although her data are from local surveys, Sims is absolutely right in highlighting the silent role of alcohol on weight gain. The lack of information about the…

Scientists have discovered a way to prevent the development of multiple sclerosis in mice. Using a drug that blocks the production of a certain type of immune cell linked to inflammation and autoimmunity, the researchers successfully protected against the onset of MS in an animal model of the disease.  In the immune system, two kinds of T cells strike a delicate balance--T helper cells (Th17) activate the immune system, protecting against infections and cancers, while regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress the system, keeping it in check. A disparity between these cell types, where there…

Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes have difficulty regulating their glucose - blood sugar - levels, particularly after meals but a new study has found that Type 2 diabetics can eat more protein at breakfast to help reduce glucose spikes at both breakfast and lunch. Researchers monitored Type 2 diabetics' levels of glucose, insulin and several gut hormones -- which help regulate the insulin response -- after breakfast and lunch. The participants ate either high-protein or high-carbohydrate breakfasts, and the lunch included a standard amount of protein and carbohydrates. The researchers found…

Weight loss is never easy but obesity is the big risk factor Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, so clearly people who have it aren't likely to just diet and for that reason gastric band surgery has become more popular. Yet it may not be necessary. A small pilot programl led by Joslin Diabetes Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers found that an intensive group-based medical diabetes and weight management program achieved similar improvements in controlling blood sugar levels after one year.  As reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology&Metabolism, the SLIMM-T2D (…