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Popular Articles

HIV Testing Can Save Thousands Of Lives, CDC Official Says
"Although HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious threat to the nation"s health, HIV testing is a powerful weapon against the disease," Kevin Fenton, director of CDC"s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, writes in a CNN.com opinion piece. Fenton writes that every 9 1/2 minutes someone in the U.S. becomes infected with HIV. "That"s 56,000 people every year," Fenton writes, adding, "But there"s something we can all do to help protect ourselves and our partners from this disease - get tested for HIV." He continues, "By increasing the number of people who know their HIV status, we can decrease the number of new HIV infections, and help save thousands of lives" (Fenton, CNN.com, 6/26).

"Nature" And "Nurture" Variables Early Predictors Of AMD
Like many diseases, causes for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be categorized as either "nature" or "nurture". Researchers think these factors, when used in the proper model, can be strong predictors of the disease.
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Can A Society With Smokers Be Profitable?
The latest rise in the indirect taxation on tobacco and alcohol took place in June. The most popular brand of cigarettes went up in price from 3.10 euros to 3.30 euros per packet. Are these taxes a form of dissuasion or a way of compensating the rest of society for the harm generated by those who smoke? A study by the Polytechnic University of Cartagena has looked into the most significant questions concerning the tobacco economy.
Oncology

After Myocardial Infarction Fatigue Is Common

Half of all patients who undergo myocardial infarction are experiencing onerous fatigue four months after the infarction. The patients who are most fatigued are those who perceive the infarction as a sign of chronic illness, those who experience the illness as difficult to control, and those who believe that the illness has a large impact on their life. These are the conclusions of a thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy. Just over 200 persons completed a questionnaire one week after they had experienced an infarction and again four months later. Many of the patients were also interviewed. Around half of the patients stated that they felt onerous fatigue four months after the infarction. One third of the patients exhibited expressed fatigue, while one fifth also exhibited symptoms of depression. "Many people experienced the fatigue as new, and different. It was not related to physical effort or a lack of rest; it occurred unpredictably and could not be attributed to any definite cause", says nurse Pia Alsç©n, author of the thesis. Improvements in treatment during the acute phase of a myocardial infarction have lead to significantly more patients surviving, and to shorter periods of hospitalisation. However, medical treatment is not sufficient on its own to ensure a good long-term prognosis. Patients must also change their lifestyle, and many of them do not manage to carry out the changes that are needed. Further, some patients do not participate in the rehabilitation programmes that are available. "The patients" perception of their illness can be crucial in determining whether they benefit from this part of the treatment or not. A better understanding of the patients" perceptions of their illness can enable us to adapt the information individually for each patient, and encourage more patients to enter the follow-up programmes", says Pia Alsç©n. More patients perceived their illness to be chronic four months after the infarction. "The perception that the condition was a chronic one depended on the extent to which the patients reflected over what had happened. Those who were unwilling to examine causes and correlations perceived the infarction as an isolated event", says Pia Alsç©n. A further factor that influenced the patients" perceptions of their illness was whether they felt that they could influence the illness themselves, or whether they placed their trust in medication and other external factors. The patients" belief that they could take control of their situation through such measures as changes in lifestyle decreased after four months. Myocardial Infarction: Approximately 30,000 persons each year receive hospital treatment for myocardial infarction in Sweden. It is the single most common cause of death in the country. Myocardial infarction is nearly always a result of hardening of the coronary arteries, and is often triggered by a blood clot in such an artery. Elin Lindstrç¶m Claessen University of Gothenburg


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