Dementia is not a single disease. Dementia is a family of diseases that cause progressive memory loss, usually in older patients. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. Dementia is progressive, and while some treatments exist, their efficacy is only modest. In addition to memory loss, patients frequently suffer personality and behavior changes.
Dementia is common, affecting 3.4 million Americans as of 2002, and this number is sure to increase as our population ages.
The ...
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Only 4% of American Physicians Have Electronic Health Records
This week, a large national survey of physicians' use of electronic health records (EHRs) was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The results generated a lot of attention in the general media.
The good news is that physicians with EHRs are largely very satisfied with them and believe that EHRs improve patient care. The bad news is that nationally only 4% of doctors use EHRs. The largest barrier cited as preventing physicians from adopting EHRs is the expense.
In any o...
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What We Don’t Know About Diabetes – Part 2
In February I wrote about the results of the ACCORD trial, a study designed to test whether strict glucose control in patients with diabetes helps prevent strokes and heart attacks and prolongs life. The startling results were that the patients with diabetes who were randomized to have their glucose lowered to normal levels died sooner than those with more lax sugar control.
This week the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of another study, the ADVANCE trial, which ...
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Flip-Flop Hubbub
As summer approaches, researchers at Auburn University have performed a study demonstrating the dangers of that ubiquitous summer accessory, the flip-flop. They recruited volunteers and recorded their gait in both sneakers and flip-flops. In flip-flops the subjects took shorter steps and didn't raise their toes as far as they did in sneakers.
This makes sense, if you think about it. When we wear flip-flops we curl our toes down to keep the sandals from flying off our feet. This keeps us fro...
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