Definition Suicide is defined as the intentional taking of one's own life. Prior to the late nineteenth century,suicide was legally defined as a criminal act in most Western countries. In the social climate of the early 2000s, however, suicidal behavior is most commonly regarded and responded to as a psychiatric emergency. Description Suicide is considered a major public health problem around the world as well as...

Definition A biopsy is a diagnostic procedure in which tissue or cells are removed from a part of the body and specially prepared for examination under a microscope. When the tissue involved is part of the smallintestine, the procedure is called a small-intestine (or small-bowel) biopsy. Purpose The small-bowel biopsy is used to diagnose and confirm disease of...

Definition Tennis elbow is an inflammation of several structures of the elbow. These include muscles, tendons, bursa, periosteum, and epicondyle (bony projections on the outside and inside of the elbow, where muscles of the forearm attach to the bone of the upper arm). This condition is also called epicondylitis, lateral epicondylitis, medial epicondylitis, or golfer's elbow, where pain is...

Introduction Western society is facing a sharp increase in the number of older adults. In the United States of America, the number of inhabitants aged over 60 is projected to rise from 49 850 000 in 2005 (17% of the population) to 107 741 000 (27%) by 2050, and in the Netherlands from 3 146 000 (19% of the population) to 5 291 000 (31%) (United Nations 2006). This development will be accompanied by an increase...

In New York during the early 1930s and one of the first women to graduate from its medical school, Apgar knew that her goal of becoming a surgeon would not be achieved easily in a male-dominated profession. Reluctantly, she switched her medical specialty to anesthesiology, she embraced her new field with typical intelligence and energy. At this time, anesthesiology was a relatively new field, having been left...

Authors: Balthazar M Nyombi (corresponding author) [1,2,3]; Carol Holm-Hansen [2,4]; Knut I Kristiansen [3]; Gunnar Bjune [2]; Fredrik Müller [3] Background Tanzania is one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) most affected by the HIV pandemic. It was estimated that by the end of 2005 approximately 6.5% of adults throughout the country were living with the virus. The epidemic is characterized...

Experimental treatment saves 16-month-old boy who nearly drowned in tub Matt and Sara Staker and their son Bronson, now 18 months, appear on TODAY. After being found facedown in a bath, Bronson was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. Read more on today.msnbc

Article from: Canadian Medical Association. Journal Article date: September 9, 2008 Author:Brotherton, Julia M L; Gold, Mike S; Kemp, Andrew S; McIntyre, Peter B; Burgess, Margaret A; Campbell-Lloyd, Sue ABSTRACT Background: In 2007, Australia implemented the National human papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program, which provides quadrivalent HPV vaccine free to all women aged 12-26 years. Following notification...

What are anabolic steroids? Anabolic steroids are man-made (synthetic) drugs that are similar to the male hormone testosterone. Anabolic means to "build up." These drugs increase the body's ability to make proteins and build them into muscle tissue. They are also called anabolic-androgenic steroids. Androgenic means that the features of the male body are enhanced. Anabolic steroids are not legal...

Fresh data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are presented in the report 'Association between DPP6 polymorphism and the risk of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Chinese patients.' "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive degenerative disease characterized by the loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord, brainstem, and cerebral cortex, which results in muscle weakness, atrophy....

Patti Benisek found reason for optimism in her yearlong battle against a rare, heart-weakening disease. But the damage had apparently already been done. Benisek, 48, of Palatine, died Sunday at Benisek ManorCare Health Care in Rolling Meadows, where she was undergoing physical therapy to regain strength after an intensive six-week chemotherapy program and a bone marrow transplant last November. "The treatment...

Paul Niehans was born and raised in Switzerland. His father, a doctor, was dismayed when he entered the seminary, but Niehans quickly grew dissatisfied with religious life and took up medicine after all. He first studied at Bern, then completed an internship in Zurich. Niehans enlisted in the Swiss Army in 1912. When war erupted in the Balkans, Niehans set up a hospital in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The war provided...

Expert-guided lectures on accurate diagnosis and evidence-based treatment strategies for the busy clinician. Source: UCIrvine School of Medicine [more

The 2009 Menopause Council convened to discuss the current research in menopause management. A video, newsletter and 2 cases will cover issues in patient management. Source: Duke School of Medicine and Medcases [more

Preterm birth complicated by chorioamnionitis may modestly increase a child's risk of later asthma, researchers found. Children born preterm after a pregnancy complicated by the bacterial infection of placenta and amniotic fluid (chorioamnionitis) were… full story    

Men have a slightly, but statistically significant, increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease in the year after learning they have prostate cancer, researchers found. The risk was greatest in the first month after diagnosis (standardized… full story   http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/ProstateCancer/tb/18268  

Rachel Fuller Brown was born on November 23, 1898 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Brown was the oldest of two children born to Annie (Fuller) and George Hamilton Brown. In 1912, her father left their family in Missouri and her mother moved the family back to Springfield. Brown double majored in history and chemistry at Mount Holyoke, receiving her A.B. degree in 1920. She also earned her M.A. degree from...

After leveling off for several years, resistance to HIV drugs is likely to rise again, if the conclusions of a new mathematical model turn out to be accurate. The model suggests that about 60% of the resistant HIV strains now circulating in San… full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/HIVAIDS/HIVAIDS/tb/17962

WASHINGTON — The FDA is warning consumers about two brands of baby food recalled because of leaking and swollen packaging that may indicate bacterial contamination. Nurture recalled plastic pouches of its 3.5 oz HAPPYBABY Stage 1 and Stage 2 and 4.22… full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/ProductAlert/DevicesandVaccines/tb/17956

  America's obesity epidemic leveled off over the past decade, although historical disparities remained unchanged, an analysis of government data suggested. Separate analyses of adults and of children and adolescents in the Jan. 13 issue of JAMA revealed… full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Obesity/tb/17949

  Two days after a powerful earthquake shattered Haiti's capital city, relief workers are finding it tough to provide needed medical care, coordination for the efforts is lacking, and time is running out for those trapped in the rubble. "The window they… full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/EmergencyMedicine/EmergencyMedicine/tb/17974

Different patterns of left ventricular hypertrophy and ventricular remodeling exist among Hispanic subgroups and in comparison with non-Hispanic whites and blacks, a study found. After adjustment for hypertension and other variables, Hispanic subgroups… full story http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Atherosclerosis/tb/17952

By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: January 13, 2010 Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston. CORONADO, Calif. — Green tea may reduce the risk of developing lung cancer, particularly for smokers, according to a case-control study. At least a cup a day was associated with a 5.16-fold lower lung...

Published: January 13, 2010 Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner MIAMI BEACH — When Scott Magley, MD, of Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, Pa., arrived at the scene in December 2008, the 23-month old toddler was literally a block of ice. After...

Published: January 12, 2010 Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner African-Americans with type 1 diabetes and diets high in calories and sodium appear to be at higher risk for vision-robbing, diabetes-related eye disease than those with healthier diets, a new study found. Diabetic...

Published: January 12, 2010 Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Vitamin D alone won't reduce fracture risk, but scarfing it down with calcium will, researchers say. Taking the nutrients together decreased overall fracture risk by 8%, and hip fracture risk by 16%, Bo Abrahamsen, MD, PhD, of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark,...

Published: January 12, 2010 Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner An elevated resting heart rate is associated with increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, but maintaining a high level of physical activity may offset the danger, at least in women, researchers...

Researcher Finally Admits Abortion Raises Breast Cancer Risk In Study That Fingers Oral Contraceptives As A Probable Cause Of Breast Cancer. Less than two months since the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force issued new guidelines recommending against routine mammograms for women in their forties, a second breast cancer scandal involving a U.S. government panel of experts has come to light which has implications...

Feeling guilty that you didn't breastfeed your children enough or at all? Relax. New research shows that breast milk is not as important for either the mother or the child's health. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have found that the association between breastfeeding and healthy children is not as strong as has previously been believed. It is true that breastfed...

US researchers investigating the disparity between blacks and whites in heart and stroke-related deaths have suggested that vitamin D deficiency may be partly responsible. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute funded study was led by Dr Kevin Fiscella of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), New York, and is to appear in the January-February 2010 issue of the journal Annals of Family Medicine,...

Research published ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reports that only one per cent of primary schoolchildren's packed lunches meet the nutritional standards set for school meals in England. Research shows that crisps, sweets, and sugary drinks are preferred to vegetables, fruit, and milk based products. Typically, about half of UK schoolchildren eat a packed lunch...

Researchers in Australia found that prolonged television viewing was linked to an increased risk of death, even in people who exercised regularly, and recommended more be done to encourage people to spend fewer hours sitting still in front of the TV. The study, which appeared online on 11 January in the journal Circulation, is the work of lead author Dr David Dunstan, a researcher at the Baker IDI Heart...