Newborns with respiratory distress potentially have rare genetic disease
Newborns with respiratory distress should be evaluated for primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare genetic disease that has features similar to cystic fibrosis, says Thomas Ferkol, M.D., from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He reports finding that about 80 percent of patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) have a history of newborn respiratory distress.
“The diagnosis of PCD requires a high index of suspicion, but PCD must be considered in any term newborn who develops respiratory distress or persistent hypoxemia (low oxygen in the blood), especially those who have reversed internal organs or an affected sibling,” says Ferkol, director of the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Learning to Prevent Medical Mistakes in Caring for Stroke Patients
Medical errors and adverse events can happen in patients with stroke, and hospital procedures need to be modified to reduce the likelihood of error and patients getting hurt, according to a study published in the February 20, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers analyzed provider-reported adverse events and errors within a voluntary and mandatory event reporting system in stroke patients admitted to Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, between July 2001 and December 2004. Adverse events are defined as an injury to a patient occurring during medical management, not necessarily because of an error. Medical errors are defined as incorrect actions or plans that may or may not cause harm to a patient.
Spearmint tea—A possible treatment for mild hirsutism
Women with hirsutism grow hair on their faces, breasts and stomachs. This can cause great distress. The hair grows because they have abnormally high levels of the ‘masculinising’ androgen hormones. Androgens travel around the body in the blood stream, and a key way of treating hirsutism is to reduce the level of these androgens.
Data just published in Phytotherapy Research shows that drinking two cups of spearmint tea a day for five days could reduce the level of androgens in women with hirsutism.
Foot Pain Ruining Your Golf Swing?
The barrier to a perfect golf swing could lie in your big toe. Or your heel. Or on the ball of your foot. Experts with the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) say these are the three areas of your feet most likely to cause pain that can ruin your golf swing.
Behind these pain-prone spots can lie stiff joints, stretched-out tissues and even nerve damage. But pain relief is possible and frequently does not require surgery.
The three most common painful foot conditions that can ruin your golf swing are heel pain, arthritis and pinched nerves.
Allergies Not Just for Children Anymore
What do all these people have in common - a 25-year-old man who sneezes every spring when the trees bloom, a 14-year-old girl who wheezes after petting a cat, a 3-year-old boy who gets a rash after drinking milk, and a 30-year-old woman who gets dizzy after she is stung by a wasp?
They all suffer from various forms of allergies.
