Health

Allan Steigleman, University of Florida and Elizabeth M. Hofmeister, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Cataract surgery is one of the most popular and commonly performed procedures in the world. The vast majority of patients have excellent outcomes with few complications. Here are the numbers: By age 80, over half of all Americans have cataracts. Close to 4 million cataract surgeries are performed in the U.S. every year. Over 90% of patients have 20/20 vision with glasses after surgery, although those with other eye conditions may not do as well, including those with...

Botox injections are a popular cosmetic treatment for reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This non-invasive procedure involves injecting a purified form of botulinum toxin into the muscles responsible for creating wrinkles. The...

Dan Gordon, Anglia Ruskin University; Jonathan Melville, Anglia Ruskin University, and Matthew Slater, Anglia Ruskin University Runners are obsessed with time. Amateur or professional, for most avid runners the aim is to get faster – constantly training in order to shave even just a couple of seconds off their marathon time or 5K pace. But one running trend that’s started to gain a foothold in recent years is that of “slow running”. The idea behind the slow running movement is that anyone can run – no matter your ability or how fast you run. Fans of this approach say it has many benefits – not just for your health but also in how enjoyable you find running. Research agrees, with evidence showing...

Better tailoring prescriptions to the unique biological make-up of each patient could lead to big improvements in health. By Anthony King One size does not necessarily fit all. This is as true in medicine as in most other areas of life. People can react very differently to the same treatment and the results are potentially very serious. Consequently, it can be difficult for doctors to decide on exactly which drug to prescribe to patients with the same presenting symptoms but very different genetic and biological make-ups. Research in the field of personalised medicine is seeking to tailor drug prescriptions to individual profiles more effectively.Cholesterol case At the University of Helsinki in Finland, the EU-funded IndiviStat project is looking at the use of statins...

Jeremy Howick, University of Leicester - Empathic care in medicine is associated with greater patient satisfaction, a new review has found. “Patient satisfaction” is more than a fluffy metric that measures how satisfied “customers” are. Increased patient satisfaction is associated with, among other things, improved survival after heart attacks, a lower risk of being readmitted to hospital, higher general quality of care and better patient safety. Empathic care is also associated with patients taking their drugs as prescribed, which itself improves patient outcomes. Unfortunately, patient satisfaction is often lacking. In 2022, only 36% of surveyed UK patients were satisfied with their care in the NHS – the lowest since it was first measured...

A nutritional epidemiologist explains what food choices will help...

Mark Horowitz, UCL; Joanna Moncrieff, UCL, and Katharine Wallis,...

Evelien Adriaenssens, Quadram Institute - An international team of...

Researchers are joining forces with the food and health...