Meta-Analysis on Lower-GI Endoscopy Offers Reassurance, But Not Resolution (FREE)
By Joe Elia
Evidence that screening with either sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy greatly reduces overall risks for colorectal cancer is "compelling and consistent," according to a BMJ meta-analysis. However, choosing between … (Source: Physician's First Watch current issue)
Source: Physician's First Watch current issue - April 14, 2014 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Gastric balloon pill launched in UK
Most of the UK media has got rather overexcited about the UK launch of Obalon, a gastric balloon in pill form that can be swallowed to help overweight people achieve rapid weight loss without invasive surgery.
The Obalon pills are designed to be inflated into balloons in the stomach, reducing the free volume of the stomach and therefore how much a person can eat before they feel full.
Intra-gastric balloons are not new, and are sometimes provided to extremely obese people through the NHS, although these often have to be surgically implanted.
Obalon has been approved in Europe for overweight and obese adults, but in the UK...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 22, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Obesity QA articles Source Type: news
The Behind the Headlines 2013's Top Five of Top Fives
As we move towards the end of the year, like all news sources, we fall back on that classic space filler – the list story. So without further ado, here is the official Behind the Headlines Top Five of Top Fives stories of 2013.
The top five "Good work team!" stories of the year
We can often get bogged down in pointing out dodgy sub-group analyses, spurious extrapolations of samples sizes containing just four men and a dog, and RCTs pointing out the benefits of chocolate on blood pressure that turned out to be funded by a chocolate-making conglomerate. So it's important not to lose sight of the fact that ther...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 31, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: QA articles Medical practice Source Type: news
“Long-Term Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality after Lower Endoscopy”,
Colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy have been shown to provide protection against colorectal cancer, but the magnitude and duration of protection, particularly against proximal colon cancer, remain undefined. A study of long-term colorectal cancer incidence and mortality after lower endoscopy reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Reiko Nishihara, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues found that both colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy for any indication... (Source: National Comprehensive Cancer Network)
Source: National Comprehensive Cancer Network - November 15, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
Tight belts are unlikely to give you throat cancer
Conclusion
This was a small, short-term, and highly technical study which measured certain changes in the junction of the oesophagus and stomach in volunteers, half of whom were obese.
It found that wearing a weight-lifter’s belt and a greater waist circumference was associated with changes in the lining of the oesophagus at the junction between the oesophagus and the stomach.
These changes are associated with an increased risk of cancer, but the researchers did not set out to find if belts or obesity caused cancer.
The researchers also found that volunteers wearing a waist belt had more signs of acid reflux in this ar...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 2, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Source Type: news
Dolly Parton: Suffering From GERD Faces Esophageal Cancer Scare
There have been reports that Dolly Parton has had surgery to treat her acid reflux disease because of a fear of developing esophageal cancer. It is reported that even though Dolly Parton has suffered from gastroesophageal reflux disease for several years, it was because she had a dramatic weight loss that the fear she had developed esophageal cancer crept in.
A source reported the laparoscopic surgery was performed on June 4th to implant a device called a LINX. This device consists of a series of titanium beads, each with a magnetic core, connected together with titanium wires to form a ring shape. It is implanted around ...
Source: About Heartburn / Acid Reflux - July 30, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
How Common Are Gastric Ulcers?
Discussion
The exact cause of gastric and upper intestinal inflammation and ulceration are not entirely understood. Imbalances between irritative factors and mucosal defenses underlie it. Gastric acid production is at adult levels by 3-4 years. Actual ulceration is associated with a lower acid secretion for gastric ulcerations but are increased in duodenal ulcerations in both adults and children. In adults changes to the mucus layer of the stomach and duodenum and bicarbonate secretion play a part in upper GI inflammation and ulcerations. Genetic studies have been linked to differences in both acid production, and mucosal ...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - July 1, 2013 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Donna M. D'Alessandro, M.D. Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
New alternative to surgery lets doctors remove suspicious polyps, keep colon intact
Millions of people each year have polyps successfully removed during colonoscopies. But when a suspicious polyp is bigger than a marble or in a hard-to-reach location, patients are referred for surgery to remove a portion of their colon — even if doctors aren't sure whether the polyp is cancerous or not.
Since only 15 percent of all polyps turn out to be malignant, many patients are unnecessarily subjected to the risks of this major surgery. Now there is an alternative.
A UCLA team of surgeons and gastroenterologists has been performing a new, minimally invasive procedure to remove large and hard-...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - June 17, 2013 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
SEDASYS Propofol Sedation System Gets FDA Nod
Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson company, announced that the FDA granted PMA approval for its SEDASYS device, the first computer-assisted personalized sedation (CAPS) system for use by clinicians in the endoscopy suites.In other words, the system aims to replace anesthesiologists and CRNAs with computerized technology to administer propofol and to monitor minimal-to-moderate sedation in patients undergoing upper and lower endoscopies. According to the company, only ASA class I and II patients are eligible to receive propofol via SEDASYS.Read More (Source: Medgadget Anesthesiology)
Source: Medgadget Anesthesiology - May 10, 2013 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Editors Tags: Anesthesiology GI Source Type: news
UCLA study shows promise, offers hope for brain hemorrhage patients
A new endoscopic surgical procedure has been shown to be safer and to result in better outcomes than the current standard medical treatment for patients who suffer strokes as a result of brain hemorrhages, UCLA neurosurgeons have announced.
The findings from their potentially groundbreaking, randomized, controlled phase 2 clinical trial, which was conducted at multiple medical centers, were presented last week at the International Stroke Conference in Honolulu.
"These exciting results offer a glimmer of hope for a condition that most doctors have traditionally considered hopeless," said principal investigator...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - February 11, 2013 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Simple Education Program Substantially Increases Detection Of Easy-To-Miss Precancerous Polyps
Most people know a colonoscopy requires some preparation by the patient. Now, a Mayo Clinic physician suggests an additional step to lower the risk of colorectal cancer: Ask for your doctor's success rate detecting easy-to-miss polyps called adenomas. The measure of success is called the adenoma detection rate, or ADR, and has been linked to a reduced risk of developing a new cancer after the colonoscopy. The current recommended national benchmark is at least 20 percent, which means that an endoscopist should be able to detect adenomas in at least 1 of 5 patients getting a colonoscopy... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - January 10, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Colorectal Cancer Source Type: news
Analysis bolsters expulsive therapy's cost-effectiveness
Patients who receive medical expulsive therapy as initial management for renal colic incur
significantly lower episode-related expenditures than those undergoing early endoscopic stone removal, but are
significantly more likely to have return visits to the emergency department, report researchers from the University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor. (Source: Modern Medicine)
Source: Modern Medicine - January 1, 2013 Category: Journals (General) Source Type: news
