The history of lithium treatment in psychiatry is not very long. Its medical potential was firstly described in 1948 by Australian psychiatrist John Cade, who had used it as a medication for patients with mania. Lithium’s real career began, when Danish psychiatrist, Mogens Schou had read Cade’s findings and had confirmed them in double blind placebo controlled study. What is more, in the cooperation with Paul Bastruup they discovered that lithium had a prophylactic properties against episodes of bipolar disease (1). Although the medical environment was very skeptical of the new drug at the beginning, lithium became very popular in psychiatric treatment. Read full text »

Despite many methods of spine evaluation and advanced classifications of it’s curvature the prognosis concerning the development of scoliosis was not fully accurate until now. The scientists under the direction of dr. Kenneth Ward have tested the way of diagnosis whether curves in children witch scoliosis may transform into severe deformity. Analysing, i.e. human DNA they claimed that they can eliminate the probability of severe curvature with 99% accuracy. Thesis describing their research was published in “Spine” in December 2010.  Read full text »

Breast feeding has been regarded so far to be the best method of nourishment of the infant. Not only does the breast milk contain appropriate proportions of proteins, carbohydrates, amino acids and minerals, but also many enzymes, hormones and growth factors. Therefore this unique composition of ingredients is not only the source of building material for developing organism – it plays an important role in stimulation of our immunological defense and functioning and maturation of different organs as well. One of the most common questions connected with this topic is how long the mother should breastfeed her child. Unfortunately, there is still no clear answer. World Health Organization claims that from the 6th month breastfeeding should be complemented with additional food and be continued up to two years of age or beyond (1), whereas American Academy of Pediatrics recommends to breastfeed the child for a year and for as long as is mutually desired by the mother and baby (2). By now some benefits of breastfeeding have been confirmed, such as a lower rate of infections among breast-fed children. There have been also suggestions that children nourished with human milk reach better behavioral development. Read full text »

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a common disorder which makes moving hand difficult and causes large discomfort. Until now one of the method of treatment included cutting the skin and decompression of median nerve whose tightness caused the symptoms of disorder. Scientists, however, have formulated a method which to large extend minimizes disturbing continuity of skin and other tissues. The method described by Stephen B. Gunther from Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital together with associates is to decompress the nerve percutaneously  together with the use of nerve conduction procedure. Read full text »

Nowadays, medicine is facing the problem of bacteria resistant to available antibiotics. Staphylococcusaures resistant to meticillin (MRSA) is one of these bacteria which is problematic for many doctors. This type of micro-organism has developed a lack of sensitivity to antibiotics of the B-lactams group (i.a. penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, monobactams). The bacteria produced a new type of penicillin-binding protein (PBP) which has no affinity with B-lactams. Additional problem is cross-resistance of MRSA to macrolides and fluoroquinolones. Read full text »

Vaccinations and the public knowledge of infections, in particular concerning exotic diseases, in the era of increasing number of travelers is a very important aspect of health care. It does not only involve people who leave, but also an increasing number of tourists. The knowledge of Polish about vaccinations and prophylactic for diseases which occur in the countries we visit is very low. Read full text »

One day, blind people may have their sight restored thanks to a new method of molecular therapy. It makes use of genes acquired from an unlikely source, algae. Recently a group of American scientists proved, that the therapy is successful in murine model. During a described trial (1), solution containing viruses, which carry the algal genes, was injected into the eyes of blind mice. It turned out that retinal cells became sensitive to light and mice could easily find their way out of a maze. According to WHO (2), it has been estimated that about 39 million people worldwide suffer from a severe vision impairment. Perhaps we could put an end to this problem by using a power of nature mixed with technological advance. Read full text »

Tooth loss is a major problem of humanity. It may lead to physical and mental discomfort, compromising the quality of life and social interactions. First attempts of dealing with tooth loss appeared in the 600 AD in Mayan civilization. In 1931 archaeologists found a mandible fragment of a Mayan woman with tooth-shaped pieces of seashell as a substitute for natural lower incisors. Contemporary dental implants are nothing like the Mayan shells. They consist of titanium root with the ability of osseointegration and a prosthetic crown of aesthetic features. Read full text »

For many years parents have been blamed for their ADHD children outrageous behavior. The disease had been thought to be of pure social origin and the parents have been living under pressure of their prejudiced neighbours and collegues.The recent UK study has been a great breakthrough and it predicts a big change in the approach to the issue. Read full text »

The relationship between chronic otitis media with effusion (COME) and obesity has been obvious for some time. It was firstly suggested, that obesity could have an effect on development of COME. Abnormal anatomy of Eustachian tube, altered function of immune system and obesity related co­morbidities were highlighted as potential risk factors. However latest study (1), conducted by South Korean otorhinolaryngologists, proves that the correlation mentioned above presents itself the other way round. COME changes the taste function through a deterioration of chorda tympani nerve, which results in higher risk of pediatric obesity. Read full text »