Keith I. Marton

A Pollypill for Everything (Cardiovascular)

Vascular disease kills more people than any other disorder, especially in developed countries. Because several medications lower risk for manifestations of vascular disease, British investigators examined the potential of a combination pill to prevent vascular deaths. The researchers synthesized information from a large number of trials to identify which combination of …

Nicotine Patches: Not So Effective in the Long Run

Smokers who attempt to quit are plagued by relapse. Nicotine patches are helpful during the quitting process, but the long-term success rate after

Serum TSH Isn't a Good Indicator of Hypothyroidism Severity

Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is the most sensitive measure of the presence of hypothyroidism, and many people assume that the TSH level is

It's Not Easy to Prevent Falls in Demented People

Older people with cognitive impairment are at higher risk for falls and injury than are other elders. There is no single reason for this increased

What's the Best Treatment for Neck Pain?

Many treatment options are available for neck pain, but there is little agreement on the preferred method. Thus, Dutch investigators performed this comprehensive evaluation. Forty-two general practitioners recruited 182 patients who had experienced neck pain for at least 2 weeks. The participants were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 treatment groups: manual therapy, which consisted of …

Undiagnosed Angina Is Surprisingly Common

Do large numbers of people have undiagnosed angina? If so, how do they fare? To answer these questions, researchers prospectively followed 10,308

Anticholinergic Drugs Help Overactive Bladder -- Somewhat

About one sixth of adults report symptoms of overactive bladder, which can include urgency, urge incontinence, frequency, and nocturia. The 2 main recommended treatments are bladder retraining and anticholinergic drugs. In particular, use of anticholinergics is increasing. Investigators from New Zealand and Australia conducted …

Psychiatric Illness in Gulf War Syndrome

To elucidate the etiology of Gulf War syndrome, British investigators examined the association between unexplained physical disability and psychiatric

Exercise Helps Prevent Falls in Elders

There are numerous ways to prevent falls, but little is known about the different contributions of each preventive strategy. In this study, 1090

Using Probiotics to Prevent Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

Probiotics are live microbes that are ingested to improve microbial balance in the gut and to inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria. In this