Nosebleeds: An analysis of nosebleeds presenting to the emergency department of an Italian hospital found that most seem to occur in the morning or the evening. This finding suggests that nosebleeds follow a 24-hour rhythm similar to that of blood pressure. The authors of the study conclude that blood pressure might trigger or contribute to nosebleeds.
British Medical Journal
Osteoporosis fractures: The recent American College of Rheumatology meeting was told that a new drug can reduce a woman's risk of painful spinal fractures.
The Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation trial in the United States looked at postmenopausal women taking the drug Raloxifene and found that it increased the density of bone as early as six months into treatment. One in three women over 50 suffers a spinal fracture related to osteoporosis.
Pregnancy website: A new website for pregnant women, eumom.com, is a Europe-wide initiative headed by an Irish doctor, Joe Mason. The medical information on the website comes from obstetricians and midwives.
Antenatal check-ups: Inappropriate attendances at hospitals and GP surgeries by fit and healthy mothers-to-be is wasting much doctor and midwife time every year, according to a new report. For low-risk mothers, antenatal visits could be halved without compromising safety, says Prof Tom O'Dowd of the Department of Community Health and General Practice at Trinity College Dublin. O'Dowd's report is contained in a booklet entitled, Over-spending in the NHS, published by the Social Affairs Unit, a British research body.
Irish Medical Times
Child sexual abuse: Sexual aggression as a coping strategy for children who have experienced abuse; responding to teenagers who sexually offend; and the family as a healing unit. These are topics which will be addressed at a conference on child sexual abuse at the Imperial Hotel, Cork on Wednesday, November 22nd. It is organised by Children At Risk in Ireland, to coincide with the launch of new therapy services for sufferers of child abuse in the Cork area.
The new services will be available at the Cork Rape Crisis Centre.
Tel: 01 8308529 for more details of the conference.
Pre-menstrual suffering: Two-thirds of men say their wives or girlfriends suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS), according to a survey by netdoctor.co.uk. The men say they are subjected to irrational behaviour, heated arguments and unexplained floods of tears. Forty-four per cent of the men interviewed say they do not treat their partners any differently when they have PMS. A spokesman for the marriage guidance charity, Relate, says communication difficulties cause many marital problems. "Understanding more about one another's health - particularly complex or seldom discussed issues such as hormonal changes, HRT and PMS - is important, as they can sometimes be one of the triggers to the relationship breaking down."
BBC Health News
New medicine: The medicine of the new century will be an integration of Chinese medicine and modern Western medicine, says Dr Hui Ka-kit, director of the Center for East-West Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Hui, who is trained in Western and Chinese medicine, urged doctors to develop at least a familiarity with Chinese medicine so that they can incorporate it into their practice. He suggested conditions such as fibromyalgia, low back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome can easily be treated using a Chinese medicine approach.
Reuters Health
Depression: One in five Americans is depressed or unhappy. In a survey of almost 2,000 adults in six major US cities, 12 per cent met the criteria for clinical depression and 10 per cent suffered from frequent low mood. Signs include difficulty sleeping, poor appetite, fatigue, difficulty in concentrating and an ongoing case of "the blues". The factors listed most frequently as contributing to negative mood were family issues, traffic, work and financial difficulties.
The groups which reported the highest rates of low mood were those between 18-24, the unemployed, members of unmarried couples and women.
Reuters Health