[Correspondence] Type 2 diabetes
In the summary of their Seminar,1 Sudesna Chatterjee and colleagues state that the incidence of type 2 diabetes “continues to rise globally”. There is no evidence to support this claim and most recent literature suggests that, in developed countries, incidence peaked sometime in the last decade and then levelled off or slightly decreased.2–5 (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: A Rosemary Tate Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Type 2 diabetes
We read with great interest the Seminar (Feb 9, 2017, p 2239)1 on type 2 diabetes by Sudesna Chatterjee and colleagues. However, we were surprised by the articles selected and believe that detailed selection criteria with the level of evidence of reported studies would have been useful to the reader. According to the research method described, we would expect other papers to be cited, including meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials that could have balanced the authors' outlook.2 –6 For example, intensive glycaemic control probably has some beneficial effect on diabetic complications, such as non-fatal myocardial ...
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Remy Boussageon, Matthieu Roustit, Francois Gueyffier, Benoit V Tudrej, Michaela B Rehman Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] In support of UNRWA appeal for health and dignity of Palestinian refugees
Our research into the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)'s delivery of health services to Palestinian refugees during the Syria crisis1 puts us in a unique position to anticipate the challenges of the organisation's current funding crisis.2 We have conducted over 90 interviews with health workers and managers, a series of systems modelling sessions, and rigorous analysis of UNRWA health data from 2007 –16, and conclude the following. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Alastair Ager, Mohamad Alameddine, Sophie Witter, Fouad M Fouad, Karin Diaconu, Zeina Jamal, Graham Lough Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Artificial intelligence in health care: enabling informed care
We read with interest the Lancet Editorial on artificial intelligence (AI) in health care (Dec 23, 2017, p 2739).1 Deep learning as a form of AI risks being overhyped. Deep neural networks contain multiple layers of nodes connected by adjustable weights. Learning occurs by adjusting these weights until the desired input-to-output function is achieved.2 With many millions of weights, huge amounts of data are required for learning, a process facilitated by recent increases in computational power. However, the learning algorithm, known as the error back-propagation algorithm, was invented in the 1980s and has been used to tra...
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Lionel Tarassenko, Peter Watkinson Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Did Cro-Magnon 1 have neurofibromatosis type 1?
The Cro-Magnon 1 skeleton corresponds to a 28 000 BCE Homo sapiens male individual that was discovered in 1868 in a rock shelter in Les Eyzies, France.1 Since its discovery, various diagnoses have been proposed with regards to a round polycyclic osteolytic lesion on the right frontal bone, measuring 37 mm x 27 mm (appendix): post-mortem alteration due to the soil,2 rickets,3 actinomycosis,4 and Langerhans cell histiocytosis.5 (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Philippe Charlier, Nadia Benmoussa, Philippe Froesch, Isabelle Huynh-Charlier, Antoine Balzeau Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Liver disease mortality trends: a response to the editor
We read the Offline Comment by Richard Horton (Jan 13, p 106)1 that summarised the evidence and current policy debate in England around minimum unit pricing for alcohol with interest. Unfortunately, the Comment contained an important error, which has already been repeated in UK parliamentary hearings and that we would like to correct to avoid it being repeated elsewhere. This error is the statement that “liver disease is on a trajectory to become the biggest cause of death in England and Wales”. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Colin Angus, Petra Meier, John Holmes Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Quantification of the effect of terrorism on the HIV response in Nigeria
The insurgency by the Boko Haram terrorist group in northeast Nigeria has had devastating effects on the region including thousands of deaths, internal displacement, destruction of private and public properties, and considerable economic ruin. The violent conflict perpetuated by the group also has public health implications and has affected the spread and management of HIV, which remains a huge public health issue in Nigeria. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Babayemi O Olakunde, Daniel A Adeyinka, Sabastine S Wakdok, Tolulope T Oladele, Chamberline E Ozigbu Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Obituary] Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister
Neurologist and athletic record-breaker. He was born in Harrow, UK, on March 23, 1929, and died in Oxford, UK, on March 3, 2018, aged 88 years. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Geoff Watts Tags: Obituary Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Newmanopolis
Comedian Robert Newman first came to prominence in the UK during the 1990s and readers of a certain age will remember how classrooms across the UK once abounded with his catchphrases. Newman subsequently largely rejected fame and reinvented himself as iconoclastic stand-up tackling complex subjects with wit and erudition. Whilst one of his early sketches —“History Today”—mocks scholars by having two elderly professors tirelessly trading playground insults, Newman has now graduated to challenging academics directly. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Stephen Ginn Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] The girl who died in the fire
A warm light suffuses an empty stage surrounded by nine pianos. A young woman walks to the front and she is caught by a panic attack. Thus the new production of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke, directed by Rebecca Frecknall at London's Almeida Theatre, begins. Written in 1948, just after the success of A Streetcar Named Desire, the play, in its deceptive simplicity, touches some of the key themes of Williams' early works: the marginalisation of women in the southern states of the USA, the dichotomy between spirituality and carnality, and the lability of mental health. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Marco De Ambrogi Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Bridging magic and medicine
12-year-old Tommy lay listlessly in his hospital bed. I noticed, however, that his eyes were becoming a bit brighter since I had bounded into the room a moment earlier with my satchel of magic paraphernalia and made three red foam balls disappear into thin air. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: David J Elkin, Harrison D Pravder Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Moments on the margins
Once upon a time it must have seemed exciting to be photographed, as if you were going to become part of history. Now that everyone with a smartphone can post selfies all day, what does it really mean to make images of someone else? Photographers who are trying to capture marginalised or misunderstood cultures are in an increasingly difficult position if they are not from the same background or culture as their subjects. They risk being accused of objectification in the name of art at best, and exploitation at worst. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tania Glyde Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Rethinking cures in Jesse Ball's A Cure for Suicide
In January, 2018, UK Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a ministerial lead on loneliness “to address the loneliness endured by the elderly, by carers, by those who have lost loved ones—people who have no one to talk to or share their thoughts and experiences with”. Social psychologist Jean Twenge offers a different perspective on modern loneliness for a generation that has grown u p staring at digital screens. This generation, she argues, is “on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades [and] much of this deterioration can be traced to their phones”. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Daniel Marchalik, Ann Jurecic Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Jan Egeland: humanitarian who gives a voice to the displaced
“The major challenge of our time is to fight social injustice, and to promote human rights and humanitarian principles through action and not just words”, says Jan Egeland. “We must stand up for our values, even in extraordinary times.” As Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council ( NRC) and Special Adviser to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, he speaks forcefully about the crises in Syria, Yemen, Nigeria, and elsewhere, “where millions of civilians are displaced and attacked, and there is no protection at all”. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: John Zarocostas Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[World Report] What does the GDPR mean for the medical community?
The General Data Protection Regulation will start in May across the European Union, but doubts are being cast on how prepared researchers and clinicians are. Becky McCall reports. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 30, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Becky McCall Tags: World Report Source Type: research
