General Interest
Cancer treatment: sorting the good news from the hype
22 Aug, 2017 | 14:20h | UTCCancer treatment: sorting the good news from the hype – The Guardian (free)
“The newspapers love a cancer research story, but many are misleading or won’t affect patients for many years. But there is plenty of progress worth reporting”
Perspectives on Cognition-Enhancing Drugs
22 Aug, 2017 | 13:05h | UTCMedical News & Perspectives: Chess Study Revives Debate Over Cognition-Enhancing Drugs – JAMA (free)
Related: Growing use of smart drugs by students could be a recipe for disaster – The Conversation (free) AND Brain Hackers Seeking Peak Performance Use Risky Chemical Cocktails: “Smart drugs” are not clinically proven and could be dangerous – Scientific American (free) AND Universities must do more to tackle use of smart drugs, say experts – The Guardian (free) AND Tweaking brains with ‘smart drugs’ to get ahead in Silicon Valley – The Washington Post (free) AND Professors take same ‘smart drugs’ as students to keep up with workloads, claims academic – Independent (free)
Opinion: When surgery is just a stitch-up
22 Aug, 2017 | 13:03h | UTCWhen surgery is just a stitch-up – The Guardian (RT @Onisillos see Tweet)
Related article: Use of placebo controls in the evaluation of surgery: systematic review – The BMJ (free)
“With evidence mounting that many minor operations owe their success to the placebo effect, is it time to call a halt to some routine procedures?”
Study: energy drink consumption and subsequent drug use during young adulthood
21 Aug, 2017 | 01:40h | UTCTrajectories of energy drink consumption and subsequent drug use during young adulthood – Drug & Alcohol Dependence (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Study suggests energy drinks can lead to cocaine use – News.com.au (free text and video) AND Energy Drinks May Trigger Future Substance Use – Medscape (free registration required)
Study: association of obesity and metabolic health with coronary heart disease
21 Aug, 2017 | 01:46h | UTCSeparate and combined associations of obesity and metabolic health with coronary heart disease: a pan-European case-cohort analysis – European Heart Journal (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: ‘Fat but fit’ people may still be at risk of heart disease – NHS Choices (free) AND ‘Fat but fit’ still has higher risk of heart disease, study confirms – CNN (free) AND ‘Fat but Fit’ is Myth; New UK Study Finds BMI>25 Ups MI Risk – Medscape (free registration required) AND ‘Fat but fit’ still risk heart disease – BBC (free)
Study: Sleep Duration and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
21 Aug, 2017 | 01:38h | UTCSleep Duration and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes – Pediatrics (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Lack of sleep tied to higher risk of diabetes in kids – Reuters (free) AND Sleep in Children Linked to Later Risk of Type 2 Diabetes – AJMC (free) AND Insufficient sleep raises type 2 diabetes risk in children – Medical News Today (free) AND Sleep duration inversely related to childhood type 2 diabetes risk makers – 2 Minute Medicine (free)
Global burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma
17 Aug, 2017 | 21:39h | UTCInvited commentary: COPD and asthma: the emergency is clear, now is the time for action (free)
Saying Goodbye to Lectures in Medical School: Paradigm Shift or Passing Fad?
17 Aug, 2017 | 21:38h | UTCPerspective: Saying Goodbye to Lectures in Medical School: Paradigm Shift or Passing Fad? – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Related: Vermont Medical School Says Goodbye To Lectures – NPR (free)
The global burden of tuberculosis mortality in children
17 Aug, 2017 | 18:33h | UTCCommentaries: Tuberculosis in children: under-counted and under-treate – The Lancet Global Health (free) AND TB killed an estimated 239,000 children in 2015, nearly all of them untreated, study finds – Science Speaks Blog (free)
Too much medicine: Mapping the drivers of overdiagnosis to potential solutions
17 Aug, 2017 | 21:37h | UTCAnalysis – Too much medicine: Mapping the drivers of overdiagnosis to potential solutions – The BMJ (free)
Related: Overdiagnosis, ethics, and trolley problems: why factors other than outcomes matter – The BMJ (free) AND The overdiagnosis community targets solutions – The BMJ (free) AND Are expanding disease definitions unnecessarily labelling women with polycystic ovary syndrome? – The BMJ (free) AND When technology creates uncertainty: pulse oximetry and Overdiagnosis of hypoxaemia in bronchiolitis – The BMJ (free)
Too Many Drug Trials, Too Few Patients
17 Aug, 2017 | 17:37h | UTCA Cancer Conundrum: Too Many Drug Trials, Too Few Patients – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Bored reading science? Let’s change how scientists write
16 Aug, 2017 | 23:09h | UTCBored reading science? Let’s change how scientists write – The Conversation (free) (RT @Onisillos see Tweet)
“Science communicators, journalists, entrepreneurs, policymakers and interested members of the general public are all motivated to follow the latest scientific research. And yet, strangely enough, science papers are a communication tool but they are not that effective at communication”.
Antibiotic susceptibility testing in less than 30 min
16 Aug, 2017 | 20:53h | UTCCommentaries: New ultrafast method for determining antibiotic resistance – Uppsala University, via EurekAlert (free) AND Researchers develop a rapid test for antibiotic susceptibility – CIDRAP (free)
Sexual health concerns after cancer treatment in women
16 Aug, 2017 | 20:08h | UTCCommentary: Sexual Dysfunction in Women With Cancer: A Review of Available Interventions – Oncology Nurse Adviser (free)
Facing Surgery Without An Anesthesiologist On Hand
16 Aug, 2017 | 18:13h | UTCGlobal Health: Imagine: Facing Surgery Without An Anesthesiologist On Hand – NPR Goats and Soda (free)
Pig genome editing with goal of providing organs for transplant
16 Aug, 2017 | 18:04h | UTCInactivation of porcine endogenous retrovirus in pigs using CRISPR-Cas9 – Science (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Birth of CRISPR’d pigs advances hopes for turning swine into organ donos – STAT (free) AND Gene editing to remove viruses brings transplant organs from pigs a step closer – The Guardian (free) AND Gene Editing Spurs Hope for Transplanting Pig Organs Into Humans – New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Gene editing brings pig organ transplant closer – NHS Choices (free) AND Scientists edit pig genome with goal of human organ transplants – CNN (free text and video)
Epilepsy ‘Not a Rare Condition’
16 Aug, 2017 | 14:23h | UTCReport: National and State Estimates of the Numbers of Adults and Children with Active Epilepsy — United States, 2015 – CDC MMWR (free)
Commentaries: Epilepsy Isn’t As Rare As Many Might Think – And Cases Are Increasing – Forbes (free) AND Epilepsy ‘Not a Rare Condition’ – MedPage Today (free registration required)
Study: diet soda can really mess with your metabolism
16 Aug, 2017 | 14:15h | UTCStudy: diet soda can really mess with your metabolism – VOX (free)
Original article: Integration of Sweet Taste and Metabolism Determines Carbohydrate Reward – Current Biology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
See also a related meta-analysis showing little evidence of artificial sweeteners for weight loss in our July 18th issue (see #2)
“New research helps explain why artificial sweeteners are linked to obesity and metabolic disease”.
The Effects of Cannabis Among Adults With Chronic Pain
15 Aug, 2017 | 22:25h | UTCRelated article: Benefits and Harms of Plant-Based Cannabis for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review – Annals of Internal Medicine (free)
Commentaries: Evidence on cannabis for chronic pain and PTSD – American College of Physician’s, via EurekAlert (free) AND Evidence Lacking on Benefits of Cannabis for Treating Chronic Pain, PTSD – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Limited evidence available to determine effectiveness and safety of cannabis to treat chronic pain – 2 Minute Medicine (free) AND Little evidence that marijuana helps chronic pain, PTSD, studies find – CNN (free text and video)
Gene Editing Using CRISPR: Why the Excitement?
15 Aug, 2017 | 21:08h | UTCViewpoint: Gene Editing Using CRISPR: Why the Excitement? – JAMA (free)
Relationship of Alcohol Consumption to All-Cause, Cardiovascular, and Cancer-Related Mortality
15 Aug, 2017 | 22:44h | UTCRelationship of Alcohol Consumption to All-Cause, Cardiovascular, and Cancer-Related Mortality in U.S. Adults – Journal of The American College of Cardiology (link to abstract and infographic – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Consuming Alcohol in Moderation Can Lower Mortality Risks – American College of Cardiology, Latest in Cardiology (free) AND Alcohol Consumption and All-Cause, CV, and Cancer-Related Mortality – American College of Cardiology, Latest in Cardiology (free) AND Can drinking a little bit help you live longer? – Reuters (free)
Cholera count reaches 500 000 in Yemen
15 Aug, 2017 | 22:15h | UTCCholera count reaches 500 000 in Yemen – World Health Organization (free)
Commentaries: Yemen’s cholera outbreak passes 500,000 cases – CIDRAP (free) AND More Than 500,000 Infected With Cholera in Yemen – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
EBV DNA Screening for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
15 Aug, 2017 | 20:13h | UTCAnalysis of Plasma Epstein–Barr Virus DNA to Screen for Nasopharyngeal Cancer – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Quick Take Video Summary: EBV DNA Screening for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (free)
Commentaries: Can a ‘liquid biopsy’ detect cancer and save lives? – STAT (free) AND Liquid Biopsy Passes Test for Nasopharyngeal Cancer – MedPage Today (free registration required) AND Early Detection of Nasopharyngeal Cancer With EBV DNA – Medscape (free registration required) AND Plasma Epstein–Barr virus DNA useful for nasopharyngeal carcinoma screening – 2 Minute Medicine (free)
Longer sleep is associated with lower BMI and favorable metabolic profiles
15 Aug, 2017 | 19:45h | UTCCommentaries: Short sleep linked to body mass, waist size – Reuters (free) AND Insufficient sleep may be adding to your waistline – University of Leeds, via Science Daily (free)
Gene-edited embryos are exciting, but the truly urgent conversations concern genomic medicine
15 Aug, 2017 | 19:34h | UTCCommit to talks on patient data and public health – Nature News (free)
“unlike gene-edited infants, which are still years away, genomic medicine is with us now” (RT @NatureNews see Tweet)