National Audit Shows Dying Patients Receive High Quality Care

The second National Care of the Dying Audit of Hospitals (NCDAH) published today, shows that patients on the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP) are receiving high quality care in the last hours and days of life. The audit covers the use of the LCP in 155 hospitals, looking at the records of almost 4000 patients.

Discovery Of New Links Between Epilepsy And Brain Lipids

In mice that are missing a protein found only in the brain, neural signals "go crazy," leaving the animals with epileptic seizures from a young age, researchers have found. The report in the September 18th Cell, a Cell Press publication, details what it is that happens when the protein encoded by plasticity related gene-1 (PRG-1) gets lost, revealing an important fine-tuning mechanism for brain function.

Dangerous Radioactive Sources Removed From Lebanon By IAEA

An IAEA mission to get powerful radioactive sources out of Lebanon was completed 30 August 2009, after a plane carrying the high-activity cargo safely touched down in Russia, where the sources are now securely and safely stored. They comprised 36 Cobalt-60 sources, with a combined activity of 3.500 curies. A single source is powerful enough to kill a person within minutes, if directly exposed. Mr. Robin Heard, an IAEA radioactive source specialist, oversaw the mission.

New Data Show Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain Maintained Pain Reduction On Duloxetine

New data show patients with chronic low back pain on duloxetine hydrochloride (Cymbalta®) maintained reductions in pain for 41 weeks.[i] In patients who initially responded to duloxetine, this maintenance of pain reduction was accompanied by further reduction in pain that was statistically significant as measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain rating.

New TAU Study Uses Breakthrough "Brain Profiling" To Detect Combat Soldiers At Risk Of Suicide

According to a recent Washington Post study, approximately 20% of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are psychologically damaged. Among them are a substantial number with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the high rate of suicide among PTSD sufferers has become unacceptable to Army commanders and the soldiers' families.

By Age 6 Parts Of Brain Involved In Social Cognition May Be In Place

Social cognition - the ability to think about the minds and mental states of others - is essential for human beings. In the last decade, a group of regions has been discovered in the human brain that are specifically used for social cognition. A new study in the July/August 2009 issue of the journal Child Development investigates these brain regions for the first time in human children. The study has implications for children with autism.

Cancer Safety Fears Of Most Common Heartburn Treatment Rejected By Major Clinical Study

Fears about the cancer causing effects of the second most prescribed group of drugs in the Western world have been put to rest, following the largest ever study into their use. 'Proton pump inhibitors' (PPI) are the most commonly used treatment for chronic acid reflux, or 'heartburn', a painful burning sensation in the chest, neck and throat which is experienced by almost a third of people in developed countries.