By Jamie EskeReviewed by Nancy Hammond, MD Benefits Aerobic exercises Progressive strength training Yoga Tai chi Water sports Balance exercises Safety Summary Exercise has a range of benefits for people with multiple sclerosis. It can, for example, help improve strength and mobility and boost mental well-being. In previous years, doctors recommended that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) avoid...
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Epilepsy treatment can cost $5 a year. Millions don’t get it
Think of epilepsy as an electrical storm in the brain. This abnormal brain activity causes seizures, unusual behavior or sensations, or a loss of awareness. Most of the 50 million people who have it can live seizure-free if they take inexpensive, effective medicines. But 80% of people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries,...
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eMacula Augmented Reality for Vision Impaired: Interview with Steve Willey, CEO of Innovega
CONN HASTINGS EXCLUSIVE, OPHTHALMOLOGY Innovega Inc., a systems engineering and lens development company with offices in Washington and California, has created eMacula, a new generation of eyewear that combines smart contact lenses and stylish, lightweight glasses. The system will be tailored to the needs of vision impaired patients who will benefit from both lens-based vision correction and from magnification and digital enhancement...
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How does your brain take out the trash?
By Tim Newman Fact checked by Gianna D’Emilio In this Spotlight, we introduce the glymphatic system: the brain’s dedicated waste clearance system. Now implicated in various conditions, it is high time that we became acquainted. Many of us are relatively familiar with the lymphatic system; it performs a number of roles, one of which is...
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Which Drugs Interact With Lab Tests?
Gayle N. Scott, PharmD DISCLOSURES June 18, 2019 Lab tests play a key role in clinical decision-making. More than 4000 lab testsare available, and an estimated 70% of clinical decisions are based on their results. Correct interpretation is critical. The pharmacologic effects of drugs can change the results of lab tests; for example, levothyroxine increases thyroid levels, or lisinopril may increase potassium levels. But these changes do not involve...
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Patients with feared superbug shed large amounts of it from their skin, study says
By HELEN BRANSWELL @HelenBranswell New research on a frightening new superbug confirms what scientists have both suspected and feared: Some hospitalized patients who carry the fungus shed large amounts of it from their skin, contaminating the environment in which they are being treated and leaving enough of it to infect others later on. The bug, called Candida auris, is highly resistant to many existing antifungal drugs. It’s also...
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Oral steroids put patients with inflammatory disease at high risk of infection
JOULE INC. Oral steroid use in patients with the inflammatory diseases polymyalgia rheumatica and/or giant cell arteritis significantly increased the risk of infection, and the risk increased with higher doses, found a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). In a large study of almost 40 000 adult patients with polymyalgia rheumatica or giant cell arteritis in England, researchers found higher absolute risks of infectionwhen patients were taking oral steroids than when they were not...
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Virtual rehab: How ‘gamification’ can help stroke recovery
by University of East Anglia Researchers at the University of East Anglia are pioneering virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation for stroke survivors, using low cost video game technology. They have worked with industry collaborator Evolv to create a new gaming platform to improve the lives of stroke patients suffering from complex neurological syndromes caused by their stroke. The new technology,...
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For women’s sake, let’s screen for depression as part of the new heart health checks
by Adrienne O’neil, The Conversation The latest government statistics, released last week, show that from 2001-2016, the rate of cardiac events (heart attacks or unstable angina) fell by more than half among Australian women. That’s largely because of greater education about risk factors for heart disease (smoking rates continue to fall), and medical advances in prevention...
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Are you sure it’s burning mouth syndrome?
by Case Western Reserve University Not all burning mouths are the result of a medical condition known as “burning mouth syndrome” (BMS) and physicians and researchers need better standards for an appropriate diagnosis, according to new research at the School of Dental Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. BMS is a painful, complex condition associated with a chronic or recurring burning,...