Innumerable trials and systematic reviews over the last decade have pressed home the message that early invasive treatment is best for acute coronary syndromes. Now the best marker for cell […]
Richard Lehman’s weekly review of medical journals
Plant of the Week: Azara microphylla “Variegata
This small Chilean tree justifies its place in the garden all the year round, with handsome tiered branches covered in tiny variegated evergreen leaves. But as winter ends, it begins […]
Plant of the Week: Edgeworthia chrysantha
Two plant families have the potential to produce a continuous cycle of fragrant flowers throughout the year in Britain – the honeysuckles and the daphnes. This one is a daphne […]
Arch Intern Med 26 Feb 2007 Vol 167
Another reason not to smoke: if you live in an infected population, it increases your risk of tuberculosis, according to this systematic review. Though it does not seem to increase […]
Lancet 3 Mar 2007 Vol 369
It’s time to get out the sugar solution and to encourage breastfeeding during infant immunisation: as this editorial reminds us, these are simple and well-proven methods for relieving pain in […]
BMJ 3 Mar 2007 Vol 334
A group of wise and experienced academics got together in a Cambridge college last year to agree basic principles for designing and evaluating complex interventions to improve health care. But […]
NEJM 1 Mar 2007 Vol 356
What do you know about hepatitis E? Not a thing, in my case, before I read the editorial on p.949 accompanying this vaccine trial. It’s caused by a tiny RNA […]
JAMA 28 Feb 2007 Vol 297
Human papilloma viruses, which are the commonest sexually transmitted pathogens, come and go from the genital tract and usually do little harm except for types 16 and 18, which cause […]
JAMA 21 Feb 2007
For several years, it’s been known that cardiopulmonary bypass machines can throw off micro-debris and this has been linked to the cognitive impairment seen in a substantial proportion of patients […]
NEJM 22 Feb 2007
Tidings of Seretide to send sales soaring. This study, funded by GlaxoSmithKline (and hence in part by you, dear taxpayer), finds “significant benefits […]