All the students beware! Nibbling sweets and drinking soda during cramming might actually threaten your exams. UCLA scientists found that unhealthy diet hampers the brain functions such as learning and memory. According to their findings, presented in the May edition of Journal of Physiology (1), rats watered with fructose solution were slow in finding the way out of a maze, which they had learnt before the introduction of diet. A mechanism responsible for this relation is connected with insulin receptor signalling and synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system. Fortunately, the researchers found the antidote – omega -3 fatty acids (n-3) minimize the harmful effects of high-sugar diet. Read full text »

A group of the scientists from Switzerland, Germany and Israel have described the cases of three infants with similar symptoms. After genetic analysis of a samples harvested from the young patients, a mutation of α3 integrin was found. Read full text »

Human Phantom Vibration Syndrome (HPVS) is a new phenomenon on the verge of psychology and neurology that affects many users of mobile phones. It manifests itself differently but most commonly the owner a cell phone experiences the sensation of a vibration signal, although the device receives neither a message nor a call. The phenomenon has already been described in medical journals, however, there are very few studies on how often it occurs and what are the causes. Read full text »

Written by:
JORGE A. GUZMAN, MD
Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit
Cleveland Clinic Foundation


Jorge A. Guzman, MD, has indicated to Physician’s Weekly that he has received grants/research aid from bioMerieux, speakers fees for bioMeriuex, and consulting fees for Pfizer.

Written for Physician’s Weekly.

Sepsis is a potentially fatal condition that strikes an estimated 750,000 people each year in the United States. Defined as the body’s reaction to infection (whether bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic), sepsis is the most common underlying cause of mortality in non-coronary ICUs. It can rapidly lead to systemic inflammatory reactions and, eventually, organ dysfunction or failure. People who are at greatest risk of developing sepsis include patients who are very young or very old, those with compromised immune systems, those who are hospitalized and are very sick, and individuals with invasive devices (eg, urinary catheters or breathing tubes).
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Written by: Therese West, RN, CPN, MSN, APN-C



Therese West, RN, CPN, MSN, APN-C
Director-At-Large, American Association of Neuroscience Nurses

Financial Disclosure: Therese A. West, MSN, APN-C has indicated to Physician’s Weekly that she is on the Board of Directors of AANN and is employed as a contracted consultant for the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Written for Physician’s Weekly.

The focus on TBIs among high school, college, and professional athletes has brought attention to new research showing the residual effects that remain in some patients with mild TBI. A new clinical guideline on caring for patients with mild TBI promotes evidence-based practices across the continuum of care.Continue Reading

Written by:
Christopher D. Still, DO, FACP, FACN
Director, Geisinger Obesity Research Institute
Medical Director, Center for Nutrition and Weight Management
Geisinger Health System

Written for Physician’s Weekly.

Approximately 20% of patients either fail to lose weight or regain weight following bariatric surgery. To reduce this likelihood and to ensure that comorbid conditions are managed appropriately, all patients should receive careful medical follow-up after their surgery. Continue reading

Cardiology – one of the fastest developing specializations, again takes a major step forward. After percutaneous interventions of stenting, valve replacements, atrial septal defect occlusion, atrial appendage occlusion, time has come for even greater interference in human heart’s structure. Now the scientists get closer to the total replacement of insufficient ventricles with artificial heart. Although, the mankind has dreamt of placing a machine inside the chest for generations, the mechanism of similar size, weight, and functioning as a human heart has not been created until now. The task has been accomplished by a French research group that developed a prototype named CARMAT. This artificial heart model has been recently launched into the first phase of clinical testing and this year it is to be implanted into several patients. Read full text »

Written for Physician’s Weekly.

A new blood test may predict patients at risk of an imminent heart attack. Researchers have discovered mutated circulating endothelial cells (CECs) that are released into the bloodstream days before the formation of a clot. A blood test may be used to identify this particular cell type up to 2 weeks before the heart attack is likely to occur. Continue reading