Paris, France: Aspirin taken for five days before a heart operation can halve the numbers of patients developing post-operative acute kidney failure, according to research presented at the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Paris on Sunday. Professor Jianzhong Sun (MD, PhD), professor and attending anaesthesiologist at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, USA), told the […]
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Researchers develop quick, simple test to identify patients who will not respond to the painkiller tramadol
Paris, France: French researchers have found a way to identify quickly the 5-10% of patients in whom the commonly used painkiller, tramadol, does not work effectively. A simple blood test can produce a result within a few hours, enabling doctors to switch a non-responding patient on to another painkiller, such as morphine, which will be […]
Sleepy medical staff run increased risks of accidents driving home after a night shift
The drowsiness experienced by medical staff who have been on night duty can make their driving dangerous, French researchers have found. The first study to use simulated driving tests on medical staff returning home after a night shift showed that, under the monotonous driving conditions similar to those experienced on autoroutes (motorways or highways), it […]
Important monitoring of heart performance is omitted in two-thirds of high-risk surgical operations
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Only 35% of anaesthesiologists are carrying out a simple procedure during high-risk surgery that can make a significant impact on how well patients recover from their operations, according to new research presented today (Sunday 12 June) at the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Amsterdam. A survey of 463 randomly selected European and US […]
Hypnosis/local anaesthesia combination during surgery helps patients and reduces hospital stays
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Using a combination of hypnosis and local anaesthesia (LA) for certain types of surgery can aid the healing process and reduce drug use and time spent in hospital, anaesthesiologists have found. The combination could also help avoid cancer recurrence and metastases, according to new research to be presented today (Sunday) at the […]
3-D movie shows, for the first time, what happens in the brain as it loses consciousness
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: For the first time researchers have been able to watch what happens to the brain as it loses consciousness. Using sophisticated imaging equipment they have constructed a 3-D movie of the brain as it changes while an anaesthetic drug takes effect. Brian Pollard, Professor of Anaesthesia at The University of Manchester (UK), […]
Important message for journalists about reorganisation of our media databases
We are re-organising our media databases for 2011 to ensure that: a) they only include journalists who want to be on them, b) that you are receiving information on the areas you are interested in, and c) everyone who is on our databases has agreed to abide by our embargoes. We have emailed all our […]
Watching violent TV or video games desensitises teenagers and may promote more aggressive behaviour
Watching violent films, TV programmes or video games desensitises teenagers, blunts their emotional responses to aggression and potentially promotes aggressive attitudes and behaviour, according to new research published online today in the Oxford Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (Tuesday 19 October). Although previous research has suggested that people can become more aggressive and desensitised […]
Study shows that widespread parental misuse of medicines puts children at risk
Lisbon, Portugal: Many children are being put at risk by parents over-use of widely-available over the counter (OTC) medicines for fever, coughs and colds, says a study from Australia to be presented to the annual conference of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) today (Monday 30 August). The researchers, led by Dr. Rebekah Moles from the […]
Alcohol reduces the severity of rheumatoid arthritis
Drinking alcohol may reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis according to new research published today. It is the first time that this effect has been shown in humans. The study also finds that alcohol consumption reduces the risk of developing the disease, confirming the results of previous studies. The study which is published online today […]