General Interest
Perspective: What the Tests Don’t Show
11 Oct, 2018 | 20:11h | UTCWhat the tests don’t show – The Washington Post (a few articles per month are free)
“Many doctors are surprisingly bad at reading test results and/or fail to grasp how false positives work. This is putting patients at risk” (via @pash22 see Tweet)
Perspective: Why Employers Should Stop Giving Away Snacks
11 Oct, 2018 | 20:10h | UTCWhy Employers Should Stop Giving Away Snacks – Pacific Standart (free)
Source: Global Health NOW Newsletter
CDC Report: Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2017
11 Oct, 2018 | 20:04h | UTCSexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2017 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (free)
Commentaries: Sexually transmitted infections are at an all-time high. Urgent action is needed – STAT (free)
Meta-Analysis: Association of Levels of Physical Activity With Risk of Parkinson Disease
11 Oct, 2018 | 20:02h | UTCCommentaries: Physical Activity and Parkinson Disease Risk: An Intriguing Link – JAMA Network Open (free) AND Physical Activity Could Reduce Risk of Parkinson disease, esp. in Men – MedicalResearch.com (free)
Perspective: Given Their Potential for Harm, It’s Time to Focus on the Safety of Supplements
5 Oct, 2018 | 02:41h | UTCGiven Their Potential for Harm, It’s Time to Focus on the Safety of Supplements – JAMA (free for a limited period) (via @NUNESDOC)
“About 23 000 visits to emergency departments each year can be attributed to adverse events from dietary supplements.”
Meta-Analysis: Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Musculoskeletal Health
5 Oct, 2018 | 02:44h | UTCEffects of vitamin D supplementation on musculoskeletal health: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and trial sequential analysis – The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Vitamin D supplementation in adults does not prevent fractures, falls or improve bone mineral density – The Lancet (free) AND Vitamin D supplements don’t help bone health, major study concludes – The Guardian (free) AND Millions of Americans take vitamin D. Most should just stop – VOX (free)
Related: Vitamin D, the Sunshine Supplement, Has Shadowy Money Behind It (free commentaries and NICE Guideline) AND Vitamin D Not Linked to Fracture Risk (free study and commentaries)
Perspective: When Conventional Wisdom Is Put on Trial
5 Oct, 2018 | 02:40h | UTCWhen Conventional Wisdom Is Put on Trial – UNDark (free) (via @EricTopol)
“The author of “Randomistas” shows how randomized trials have overturned many popular findings, from hormone therapy to the benefits of multivitamins.”
Perspective: New Tools in the Ebola Arsenal
5 Oct, 2018 | 02:37h | UTCNew Tools in the Ebola Arsenal – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Related: DRC Ebola cases rise as security concerns continue – CIDRAP (free) AND Officials fear Ebola epidemic may be spinning beyond their control, threatening regional spread – STAT (free) AND Ebola Likely to Spread From Congo to Uganda, W.H.O. Says – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Study: The Projected Timeframe Until Cervical Cancer Elimination in Australia
5 Oct, 2018 | 02:31h | UTCCommentaries: Modelling cervical cancer elimination – The Lancet Public Health (free) AND Australia on track to wipe out cervical cancer within 20 years – The Guardian (free) AND In Australia, Cervical Cancer Could Soon Be Eliminated – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Study: Teen Cannabis Use and Cognitive Development
5 Oct, 2018 | 02:23h | UTCA Population-Based Analysis of the Relationship Between Substance Use and Adolescent Cognitive Development – American Journal of Psychiatry (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Teen cannabis use is not without risk to cognitive development – Université de Montréal (free) AND Cannabis ‘more harmful than alcohol’ for teen brains – BBC (free)
Ten Principles for More Conservative, Care-Full Diagnosis
5 Oct, 2018 | 02:22h | UTCTen Principles for More Conservative, Care-Full Diagnosis – Annals of Internal Medicine (free) (via @EricTopol)
Sytematic Review: Antidepressant Withdrawal Effects
5 Oct, 2018 | 02:06h | UTCA systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects: Are guidelines evidence-based? – Addictive Behaviours (free PDF)
Commentaries: Antidepressant withdrawal ‘hits millions’ – BBC (free) AND Antidepressant withdrawal symptoms severe, says new report – The Guardian (free)
Related: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome (free review and NYT article)
Randomized Trial: Drinking More Water Prevents Recurrent Cystitis
5 Oct, 2018 | 01:48h | UTCEditorial: Drinking More Water for Prevention of Recurrent Cystitis (free)
Commentaries: Drinking more water reduces bladder infections in women – UT Southwestern Medical Center (free) AND Drinking more water linked to fewer bladder infections in women – UPI (free)
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2018
5 Oct, 2018 | 01:58h | UTCPress Release: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2018 – The Nobel Prize (free)
Commentaries: Cancer immunologists scoop medicine Nobel prize – Nature (free) AND Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to two cancer researchers for immune system breakthrough – STAT (free) AND 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to 2 Cancer Immunotherapy Researchers – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Perspective: Failing the Public Health — Rofecoxib, Merck, and the FDA
5 Oct, 2018 | 01:45h | UTCFailing the Public Health — Rofecoxib, Merck, and the FDA – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Over 80,000 Americans Died of Flu Last Winter, Highest Toll in Years
5 Oct, 2018 | 01:37h | UTCOver 80,000 Americans Died of Flu Last Winter, Highest Toll in Years – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Related: 80,000 people died of flu last winter in US – Associated Press (free)
Perspective: More Evidence That Nutrition Studies Don’t Always Add Up
5 Oct, 2018 | 01:30h | UTCMore Evidence That Nutrition Studies Don’t Always Add Up – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Randomized Trial: Total Diet Replacement Programme to Treat Obesity
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:14h | UTCCommentaries: Susan Jebb: Interventions to treat obesity work—so why am I not celebrating? – The BMJ Opinion (free) AND Expert reaction to study looking at total diet replacement programmes and obesity – Science Media Centre (free) AND Crash diets are highly effective – new evidence – The Conversation (free)
Study: Limiting Children’s Screen Time Linked to Better Cognition
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:13h | UTCAssociations between 24 hour movement behaviours and global cognition in US children: a cross-sectional observational study – The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Limiting children’s recreational screen time to less than 2 hours a day linked to better cognition – The Lancet (free) AND Limiting children’s screen time linked to better cognition, study says – CNN (free) AND Limiting children’s screen time linked to better cognition – BBC (free)
“Researchers said more work was now needed to better understand the effects of different types of screen use. However, they acknowledge that their observational study shows only an association between screen time and cognition and cannot prove a causal link.” (from BBC)
Video: Understanding How Machine Learning Works
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:12h | UTCUnderstanding How Machine Learning Works – JAMA (free)
Opinion: No More First Authors, no More Last Authors
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:09h | UTCNo more first authors, no more last authors – Nature (free)
“The controversial suggestion that we “blow up” authorship conventions to foster team, collaborative science” (via @EricTopol see Tweet)
Perspective: No One Knows Exactly What Would Happen If Mosquitoes Were to Disappear
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:08h | UTCNo One Knows Exactly What Would Happen If Mosquitoes Were to Disappear – The Atlantic (free)
Related: Mosquitoes Genetically Modified To Crash Species That Spreads Malaria – NPR (free) AND Scientists use gene drive to eradicate lab mosquitoes for the first time – STAT (free) AND Malaria mosquitoes wiped out in lab trials of gene drive technique – Reuters (free)
Study: Temporal Trends in Muscular Fitness of 10-year-olds 1998–2014
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:02h | UTCTemporal trends in muscular fitness of English 10-year-olds 1998–2014: An allometric approach – Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Fall in strength and fitness of 10-year-olds, study shows – BBC (free) AND Ten-Year-Olds Are Weaker Today Than They Were 16 Years Ago – HuffPost (free) AND British study reveals fall in muscle strength of 10-year-olds – The Guardian (free)
Study: Conventional Autopsy vs. Minimally Invasive Autopsy with Postmortem MRI, CT, and CT-guided Biopsy
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:00h | UTCConventional Autopsy versus Minimally Invasive Autopsy with Postmortem MRI, CT, and CT-guided Biopsy: Comparison of Diagnostic Performance – Radiology (free for a limited period) (via @EricTopol)
Commentary: Minimally invasive autopsy improves postmortem diagnoses – Radiology Society of North America (free)
Related Systematic Review: Non-invasive or minimally invasive autopsy compared to conventional autopsy of suspected natural deaths in adults – European Radiology (free)
Study: Association Between Physician Medical School Ranking and Patient Outcomes and Costs of Care
28 Sep, 2018 | 00:58h | UTC“Overall, little or no relation was found between the USNWR ranking of the medical school from which a physician graduated and subsequent patient mortality or readmission rates.”