A woman is brought to the emergency department with chest pain. Her clinicians do not have to search far for the source. Mrs. R, 63 years old and visibly obese, was transported by paramedics to the emergency department (ED) with chest pain, weakness, and a near-syncopal episode. One month earlier, she had suffered a similar…
Aloe vera has been hailed as beneficial for everything from minor burns to irritable bowel syndrome.
Score another plus for statins. New research now shows that they may protect against kidney cancer. Investigators retrospectively examined data from 483,733 veterans (mean age 61 years), of whom 1,446 (0.3%) had a primary diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma. Prior to the diagnosis, 164,441 (34%) of the veterans were taking statins. After adjusting for age,…
Weight loss achieved through gastric-band placement resulted in type 2 diabetes remission in most patients participating in a small study. These results prompted a cautious suggestion that the surgery be considered for more widespread use. A team in Australia evaluated 30 patients (mean BMI: 37.0) who underwent placement of a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band and…
For children with colds or the flu, supplementing medications with a saline solution lessens symptoms and speeds recovery, a new study shows. Saline therapy has been used for years, but “scientific evidence of its efficacy is rather poor,” say researchers at the Teaching Hospital in Brno, Czech Republic. So they studied 390 children (aged 6-10…
