April 25, 2008
C. difficile (Diarrhea) wreaks havoc on hospitals, report finds
The number of hospital patients with infections linked to Clostridium difficile, or CDAD, more than doubled from 2001 to 2005, according to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The number of cases during this period skyrocketed from 148,900 to 301,200. the report found. The death rate for infected patients was also significantly higher. From 1993 to 2001, the total number of hospital discharges with CDAD rose by 74%, from 85,700 to 148,900.
AHRQ tracked trends in the development of CDAD in hospitals from 1993 to 2005 through its Healthcare Cost & Utilization Project. C. Difficile-associated disease symptoms can range from mild diarrhea to sepsis.
Much of this problem is brought on the public by over prescribing and utilization of the Proton Pump Inhibitors (stomach acid reducer drugs). Long term therapy of these drugs in the geriatric patient can cause serious and fatal problems by not letting the stomach keep a normal acid pH which is necessary for absorption of many acid sensitive nutrients and other necessary drugs.
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April 22, 2008
Researchers: Depression doubles risk of Alzheimer's
Links between depression and Alzheimer's disease have been the subject of research for decades. But now Dutch researchers are making one of the boldest assertions to date: Depression might more than double the odds of developing Alzheimer's.
Nearly 500 people without dementia, ages 60 to 90, were studied. During an average six-year follow-up, 33 of the participants who had had at least one episode of depression developed Alzheimer's. In fact, they were 2.5 times more likely to develop the disease than individuals without depressive symptoms, said lead researcher Dr. Monique M.B. Breteler of the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam.
In addition, the risk of developing Alzheimer's was four times more likely for individuals who had experienced depression before the age of 60, investigators noted in Tuesday's edition of the journal Neurology. They acknowledge that more study is needed to determine what cause-and-effect may truly exist.
Their research may be especially noteworthy because investigators said they did not detect signs that individuals with depression and Alzheimer's suffered shrinkage of certain parts of the brain. Some researchers have theorized that shrinkage was an indicator of further problems.
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Blood test for dementia, Parkinson's to hit market soon
A blood test that diagnoses Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases with over 90% accuracy could be on the market as early as this summer, according to a report from the Society of Chemical Industry.
An Oklahoma-based company, Power3 Medical Products, has developed the test to measure the relative levels of 59 different protein biomarkers in the blood. NuroPro, as the test is called, can then distinguish between the different diseases. This would be the first diagnostic test for these types of disorders ever available, according to the company. Currently, diagnoses are made based on symptoms.
The test will first be available in Greece, and may not hit the U.S. market until the third or fourth quarter of this year, the company said. The test is currently undergoing clinical validation trials before being made available in either country. |