Do midwives have the midwives — basically nurses — have the medical knowledge and insight to provide consultation for mothers or help them make decisions that are a matter of life and death? My feeling is that some do and some don’t. But I think, on balance, why not have…
Since cerebral palsy (CP) is associated with children, much of the data comprises infants and young children. There is little information on difficulties that adults with cerebral palsy face as they get older. However, a recent study fills in this lack of data. Published in JAMA Neurology, it concluded that…
Nike has just signed their first professional athlete with cerebral palsy, cross-country runner Justin Gallegos. They signed the University of Oregon junior to a three-year contract. A moving video posted on YouTube shows the exact moment that he had received the news, which was on World Cerebral Palsy Day. The…
Medical errors can seriously affect patients. While mistakes made may not affect health outcomes, sometimes fatal results may occur. A Johns Hopkins study discovered that over 250,000 people die in the United States each year because of medical errors. This makes it the third-leading cause of death, after heart disease…
If you or a loved one are taking valsartan, you may or may not know about the recent recalls or lawsuits involving it. All of them involve valsartan-products manufactured in China by the pharmaceutical company Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical (ZHP). They all note that ZHP-manufactured valsartan contains N-nitrodimethylamine (NDMA), which groups,…
A team of researchers at University College London has developed a device known as a broadband near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) that uses light to detect brain damage in infants. They are now planning a clinical trial of the NIRS. What is near-infrared spectroscopy? Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a spectroscopic method that…
The potentially dramatic impact of a stroke on your health and wellness cannot be understated. What many people don’t know is that strokes arise from several possible conditions, including brain ischemia (commonly referred to as cerebral or cerebrovascular ischemia). What is Brain Ischemia? Brain ischemia occurs when there is insufficient…
Serratia marcescens outbreaks are rare. When they happen, it is a big deal. Here are the eight things you want to know about these infections that often end in medical malpractice cases. What is Serratia marcescens? Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic nosocomial pathogen. This bacterial pathogen has been isolated from…
As a parent, you don’t want to hear that there’s a problem with your soon to be son or daughter. Or that a life-changing complication was discovered in the hours after their birth. An infection during pregnancy can have devastating consequences for you and your child. If untreated, maternal infection…
Antipsychotic medications (such as Abilify, Seroquel, Risperdal, and Zyprexa) are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the country. But a bombshell report released by Human Rights Watch has found that tens of thousands of elderly patients with dementia are being inappropriately prescribed antipsychotic drugs. The study states that nearly…