Articles
Volume 11 (2013) - February 2013
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Commentary
Do statins lower testosterone and does it matter? Allan D Sniderman, George Thanassoulis BMC Medicine 2013, 11:58 (28 February 2013) Allan Sniderman and George Thanassoulis comment on a meta-analysis showing reduction of testosterone by statins, but argue that range of changes rather than average changes need to be considered when measuring the effects of specific drugs. |
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Research article
C Mary Schooling, Shiu Au Yeung, Guy Freeman, Benjamin J Cowling BMC Medicine 2013, 11:57 (28 February 2013) According to a meta-analysis, treatment with statins, a drug commonly prescribed to patients at risk of cardiovascular disease, can reduce testosterone levels in both men and women, although the cause for this needs to be determined by further studies. |
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Commentary
Maternal plasma sequencing: a powerful tool towards fetal whole genome recovery Elisavet A Papageorgiou, Philippos C Patsalis BMC Medicine 2013, 11:56 (27 February 2013) Elisavet Papageorgiou and Philippos Patsalis comment on a novel noninvasive method of fetal haplotype and phenotype analysis, and discuss how this study, published in Genome Medicine, can lead to better prenatal diagnosis of fetal abnormalities. |
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Commentary
Neural connectivity abnormalities in autism: Insights from the Tuberous Sclerosis model Charlotte Tye, Patrick Bolton BMC Medicine 2013, 11:55 (27 February 2013) Charlotte Tye and Patrick Bolton comment on a study showing that neural networks differ in tuberous sclerosis patients with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and describe how the results support the theory of altered neural circuitry in ASD. |
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Research article
Jurriaan M Peters, Maxime Taquet, Clemente Vega, Shafali S Jeste, Iván Fernández, Jacqueline Tan, Charles A Nelson, Mustafa Sahin, Simon K Warfield BMC Medicine 2013, 11:54 (27 February 2013) Graph theory measurements in autistic patients with and without tuberous sclerosis complex reveal more short-range neural connections compared with non-autistic controls, offering mechanistic insight into the neurobiological mechanisms of autism. |
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Commentary
Fascin-1 is a novel biomarker of aggressiveness in some carcinomas Vathany Kulasingam, Eleftherios P Diamandis BMC Medicine 2013, 11:53 (26 February 2013) Vathany Kulasingam and Eleftherios Diamandis comment on a meta-analysis reporting that fascin-1 is associated with cancer mortality and metastasis, and discuss why further research is required before this protein can be used as a biomarker. |
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Research article
Vanessa Y Tan, Sarah J Lewis, Josephine C Adams, Richard M Martin BMC Medicine 2013, 11:52 (26 February 2013) Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis shows that fascin-1 is associated with risk of metastasis and mortality in several cancer types, suggesting that it could be developed as a clinical biomarker or therapeutic target for cancer. |
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Commentary
New guidelines for the initial management of head injury Carolyn M Benson, G Bryan Young BMC Medicine 2013, 11:51 (25 February 2013) Carolyn Benson and Bryan Young comment on the updated Scandinavian guidelines for initial treatment of head injury, but note that some recommendations cannot be implemented in clinical settings with limited access to specific screening facilities. |
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Guideline
Johan Undén, Tor Ingebrigtsen, Bertil Romner, the Scandinavian Neurotrauma Committee (SNC) BMC Medicine 2013, 11:50 (25 February 2013) The Scandinavian Neurotrauma Committee presents an evidence and consensus-based update of guidelines for the initial management of minimal, mild and moderate head injuries in adults, but highlight that the recommendations also need to be validated in non-Scandinavaian clinical settings. |
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Commentary
Geriatric consultation services-are wards more effective than teams? Ian D Cameron, Susan Kurrle BMC Medicine 2013, 11:49 (22 February 2013) Although comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) by mobile teams can improve outcomes for mortality in frail older patients, Ian Cameron & Susan Kurrle argue that ward-based CGA is more effective for streaming patients that need complex treatment. |
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Research article
Mieke Deschodt, Johan Flamaing, Patrick Haentjens, Steven Boonen, Koen Milisen BMC Medicine 2013, 11:48 (22 February 2013) According to a meta-analysis, comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) by mobile teams improves patient mortality rate, but has limited impact on functional status and length of hospital stay, so further research is needed to understand which patients should be targeted. |
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Research article
David Martínez-Gómez, Pilar Guallar-Castillón, Luz M León-Muñoz, Esther López-García, Fernando Rodríguez-Artalejo BMC Medicine 2013, 11:47 (22 February 2013) Adherence to non-traditional health behaviors such as interacting with friends, as well as not smoking and eating healthily, could reduce mortality risk in older adults, highlighting the importance of combining these factors for a healthy lifestyle. |
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Research article
Mora Murri, Isabel Leiva, Juan Miguel Gomez-Zumaquero, Francisco J Tinahones, Fernando Cardona, Federico Soriguer, María Isabel Queipo-Ortuño BMC Medicine 2013, 11:46 (21 February 2013) Gut microbiota are present at lower quantity and have different composition in children with type 1 diabetes compared with healthy children, possibly due to altered gut permeability, and modification of these bacteria could control diabetes development. |
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Research article
Bernardo Costa, Francisco Barrio, Josep L Piñol, Joan J Cabré, Xavier Mundet, Ramon Sagarra, Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Oriol Solà-Morales, the DE-PLAN-CAT/PREDICE Research Group BMC Medicine 2013, 11:45 (21 February 2013) The predictive ability of a screening tool for diabetes is reduced when the proposed new hemoglobin-based criteria are used for diagnosis instead of glucose, suggesting that glucose should be measured to assess diabetes risk using this score.
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Research article
Flavia Prodam, Roberta Ricotti, Valentina Agarla, Silvia Parlamento, Giulia Genoni, Caterina Balossini, Gillian Walker, Gianluca Aimaretti, Gianni Bona, Simonetta Bellone BMC Medicine 2013, 11:44 (20 February 2013) High levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol are associated with distinct cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in obese children, suggesting complex mechanisms underlie interactions between hormones and metabolic impairments in obesity. |
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Research article
Clifford J Bailey, Jorge L Gross, Delphine Hennicken, Nayyar Iqbal, Traci A Mansfield, James F List BMC Medicine 2013, 11:43 (20 February 2013) In a 102 week trial, addition of dapagliflozin to metformin therapy for type 2 diabetes patients was effective for glycemic control in those who are inadequately controlled by metformin alone, suggesting a novel therapeutic option for those requiring long-term management. |
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Research article
Verena Sengpiel, Elisabeth Elind, Jonas Bacelis, Staffan Nilsson, Jakob Grove, Ronny Myhre, Margaretha Haugen, Helle Meltzer, Jan Alexander, Bo Jacobsson, Anne-Lise Brantsæter BMC Medicine 2013, 11:42 (19 February 2013) Caffeine intake from various sources during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of the baby being small for gestational age and decreased birth weight, which may have implications for the recommended consumption of caffeine. |
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Opinion
Tackling overweight and obesity: does the public health message match the science? Katherine Hafekost, David Lawrence, Francis Mitrou, Therese A O'Sullivan, Stephen R Zubrick BMC Medicine 2013, 11:41 (18 February 2013) Many weight-loss interventions based on a simple model of energy balance fail to achieve long-term results; Stephen R Zubrick and colleagues recommend that multiple factors affecting energy regulation should be considered in order to tackle obesity. |
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Commentary
Ed Peile BMC Medicine 2013, 11:40 (15 February 2013) Linking values-based and evidence-based medicine in an education strategy promotes better practice; Ed Peile discusses the importance of this for decision processes, highlighting the influence of well designed education strategies. |
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Research article
Myriam M Altamirano-Bustamante, Nelly F Altamirano-Bustamante, Alberto Lifshitz, Ignacio Mora-Magaña, Adalberto de Hoyos, María Ávila-Osorio, Silvia Quintana-Vargas, Jorge A Aguirre, Jorge Méndez, Chiharu Murata, Rodrigo Nava-Diosdado, Oscar Martínez-González, Elisa Calleja, Raúl Vargas, Juan Mejía-Arangure, Araceli Cortez-Domínguez, Fernand Vedrenne-Gutiérrez, Perla Sueiras, Juan Garduño, Sergio Islas-Andrade, Fabio Salamanca, Jesús Kumate-Rodríguez, Alejandro Reyes-Fuentes BMC Medicine 2013, 11:39 (15 February 2013) A Continuing Medical Education intervention, aimed at strengthening links between evidence-based and values-based medicine in healthcare personnel, improves high-order values such as openness to change, which are essential for improving medical care. |
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Research article
Huei-Chun Liu, Chen-Hung Ting, Hsin-Lan Wen, Li-Kai Tsai, Hsiu-Mei Hsieh-Li, Hung Li, Sue Lin-Chao BMC Medicine 2013, 11:38 (14 February 2013) Combined therapy of sodium vanadate with L-ascorbic acid delays disease progression and enhances motor performance in mice, as well as reducing toxicity, indicating an improved strategy for treating of late onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) |
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Review
Mazin S Ibrahim, Muhammad A Khan, Ikram Nizam, Fares S Haddad BMC Medicine 2013, 11:37 (13 February 2013) Fares Haddad and colleagues review peri-operative interventions for improved patient outcomes after total knee and hip replacements, which aim to improve patient quality of life and lessen the economic burden by reducing length of hospital stay. |
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Commentary
A practical method to target individuals for outbreak detection and control Gerardo Chowell, Cécile Viboud BMC Medicine 2013, 11:36 (12 February 2013) Gerardo Chowell and Cécile Viboud comment on a novel method that identifies risk of influenza transmission and allows early detection of infection in schools, but caution that this promising method needs testing on outbreaks in different settings. |
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Research article
Timo Smieszek, Marcel Salathé BMC Medicine 2013, 11:35 (12 February 2013) A low-cost ranking method for modeling the spread of influenza in schools identifies subpopulations at higher risk of early infection than randomly selected communities, which could be effective for predicting and preventing epidemics. |
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Commentary
Emanuel Severus, Michael Bauer BMC Medicine 2013, 11:34 (11 February 2013) Emanuel Severus and Michael Bauer comment on recent research that showed kidney toxicity is associated with duration of lithium treatment and age, and discuss the importance of managing renal function in patients on long-term lithium therapy. |
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Research article
Alberto Bocchetta, Raffaella Ardau, Paolo Carta, Franca Ligas, Claudia Sardu, Antonello Pani, Maria Del Zompo BMC Medicine 2013, 11:33 (11 February 2013) In patients with affective disorders, the duration of lithium treatment and advanced age are risk factors for glomerular failure, suggesting that kidney toxicity should be weighed against the protective effects of lithium in these patients. |
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Research article
Yiming Wang, Xingde Liu, Dongfeng Zhang, Jianhui Chen, Shuzheng Liu, Michael Berk BMC Medicine 2013, 11:32 (8 February 2013) Pro-apoptotic pathways in the heart are upregulated in rats that have suffered post-myocardial infarction (MI) depression, and these pathophysiological processes may underlie the increased incidence of depression in patients following MI. |
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Review
The sweet and sour of serological glycoprotein tumor biomarker quantification Uros Kuzmanov, Hari Kosanam, Eleftherios P Diamandis BMC Medicine 2013, 11:31 (7 February 2013) As there has been limited success in the development of glycoprotein tumor markers, Eleftherios Diamandis and colleagues review the challenges, and discuss how new technology will facilitate quantification of these biomarkers for clinical use. |
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Commentary
Fat dads must not be blamed for their children's health problems Gudrun E Moore, Philip Stanier BMC Medicine 2013, 11:30 (6 February 2013) Gudrun Moore and Philip Stainer comment on a recent study showing that fathers’ obesity is related to gene methylation changes in offspring, but highlight that the results should not be over-emphasized and future studies should consider whole genomes. |
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Research article
Adelheid Soubry, Joellen M Schildkraut, Amy Murtha, Frances Wang, Zhiqing Huang, Autumn Bernal, Joanne Kurtzberg, Randy L Jirtle, Susan K Murphy, Cathrine Hoyo BMC Medicine 2013, 11:29 (6 February 2013) Obesity in fathers is associated with a decrease in methylation of the insulin-like growth factor 2 gene in their newborns, suggesting that paternal obesity may disrupt normal imprinting in germ cells and affect the health of their offspring. |
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Review
Depression pathogenesis and treatment: what can we learn from blood mRNA expression? Nilay Hepgul, Annamaria Cattaneo, Patricia A Zunszain, Carmine M Pariante BMC Medicine 2013, 11:28 (5 February 2013) Carmine Pariante and colleagues review the altered pattern of peripheral gene expression in patients with major depressive disorder, and comment on the clinical applicability of potential biomarkers to measure these reversible changes in patients. |
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Commentary
Multigenerational epigenetic effects of nicotine on lung function Frances M Leslie BMC Medicine 2013, 11:27 (4 February 2013) A recent study in rats showed nicotine exposure during pregnancy results in significant multigenerational effects; in light of these findings Frances Leslie discusses the importance of effective smoking cessation strategies during pregnancy. |
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Minireview
Epigenetic mechanisms in migraine: a promising avenue? Else Eising, Nicole A Datson, Arn MJM van den Maagdenberg, Michel D Ferrari BMC Medicine 2013, 11:26 (4 February 2013) Michel Ferrari and colleagues review the evidence for potential epigenetic mechanisms behind migraine pathology, which may provide therapeutic targets for novel prophylactic strategies. |
