Diagnosis is the act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation of patient history, examination, and review of laboratory data.
Sorbitol intake should be considered in patients with bowel problems, chronic diarrhoea, and weight loss. – Severe weight loss was detected in patients due to chronic diarrhea after eating chewing gum and sweets because of excess sorbitol intake, a widely used sweetener in “sugar-free” products. Sorbitol has laxative properties and is poorly absorbed by the small intestine.
At the age of 18, most young women are embarking on adulthood without a care in the world?health included. But experts at UC say that shouldn?t always be the case. – University of Cincinnati UC experts urge women to watch for warning signs associated with heart disease, a condition that is becoming more common, especially among women.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared for marketing a test – xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel, manufactured by Luminex Molecular Diagnostics, that simultaneously detects and identifies 12 specific respiratory viruses. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new diagnostic test that detects 12 respiratory viruses, including strains of flu that have triggered epidemics.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first rapid blood test for the drug-resistant staph bacterium known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it has cleared for marketing the first rapid blood test for the drug-resistant staph bacterium known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which can cause potentially deadly infections.
A simple mouth rinse may provide a new way to screen for head and neck cancers in people at high risk for these diseases. – A morning gargle could someday be more than a breath freshener ? it could spot head and neck cancer, say scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Their new study of a mouth rinse that captures genetic signatures common to the disease holds promise for screening those at high risk, including heavy smokers and alcohol drinkers.
Restless legs syndrome increases risk of stroke and heart diseases in patients because of increased blood pressure and heart rate due to periodic legs movements. – People with restless legs syndrome (RLS) are twice as likely to have a stroke or heart disease compared to people without RLS, and the risk is greatest in those with the most frequent and severe symptoms.
A new screening strategy could make it easier to diagnose and treat Chagas disease caused by a single cell parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, according to a US study. – A new targeted screening strategy could make the diagnosis and treatment of Chagas disease more feasible in low-resource settings, concludes a new study, publishing on December 26, 2007, in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
People with a severe form of the skin disease psoriasis are likely to die at a younger age than their healthy peers, according to a study at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia. – Patients with severe psoriasis appear to have an increased risk of death compared with patients without the skin condition, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The number of suspected cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in western Uganda has almost doubled in the past 10 days, and four health-care workers are now among the fatalities, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported.
– The number of suspected cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the Bundibugyo District of western Uganda has now risen to 93, including 22 fatalities. Laboratory analysis has confirmed the presence of a new species of the virus in 9 of these cases.
A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine has suggested that the radiation dose from CT scans is a cause for concern, and CT scans should only be used judiciously and when medically necessary.
– A recent article by Drs. David Brenner and Eric Hall in the New England Journal of Medicine has suggested that the radiation dose from CT scans is a cause for concern, and may be responsible for a small percentage of cancer deaths in the United States. While the conclusions of the Brenner article have been portrayed by some as conclusive, in reality the scientific community remains divided in regards to the radiation dose effects of CT.
For more accurate staging of lung cancer, PET imaging founds to be a useful diagnostic tool. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death and early accurate diagnosis provides improved treatment for patients and the best chance for long term survival.
– Positron emission tomography (PET) is a useful diagnostic tool that supports the need for more accurate staging of lung cancer and improved treatment for patients, concludes an extensive systematic review published online in Journal of National Cancer Institute.
