Popular Articles

Prevalence Of Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS) Symptoms In Adult Women In The General Population In Japan
UroToday.com - In the only survey of BPS/IC conducted in Japan, done in urology clinics, the prevalence was estimated at 4.5/100,000 women.[Ito et al. 2000] Studies in Finland, Austria, and Taiwan using O"Leary-Sant questionnaires to identify persons with symptoms of BPS/IC have arrived at figures around 300/100,000 women.[Yu 2006;Leppilahti . 2005;Temml et al. 2007]

Today's Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Congress Needs To Think Big About Medicare Fix Politico
News of the day
Doctors And Hospitals Look For Ways To Cut Costs, Improve Quality
The "patient-centered" practices movement is growing in popularity, the New York Times reports. Primary care physicians in the practices "spend more time with patients, emphasize prevention and education" to keep patients healthy and "can handle many medical problems without referrals to specialists." Often, "this kind of care can reduce a patient"s medical bills." Dr. Jose Batlle, a doctor in the Bronx, for example, gives patients his cell phone number and helps his patients cut down on the number of prescription drugs that have him prescribed to them by multiple specialists. "I prefer to keep them healthy than treat them when they are sick," Batlle says.
Cardiovascular

Benefits From Upper Airway Surgery For Sleep Apnea Found To Equal CPAP

Adults who struggle with CPAP treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) should be considered candidates for reconstructive surgery on the upper airway, because it holds the same quality-of-life (QOL) benefits but with more permanence. This thesis is in new research published in the August 2009 edition of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is a highly effective means for treating obstructive sleep apnea, but because it involves a mask and set of hoses, it can be frustrating and uncomfortable for some patients, and compliance may be short-lived. The Australian authors of the study discovered that among moderate-to-severe OSA-suffering patients, those treated through upper airway surgery experienced the same level of long-term quality-of-life improvement as their peers who were treated with CPAP therapy. Among the QOL benefits were improvements in snoring, sleepiness, and neurocognitive impairment. In contrast, those patients who were prescribed, but did not adequately use CPAP, had minimal QOL improvement. The upper airway includes nose and throat (pharyngeal) areas, particularly behind the soft palate and tongue. Reconstructive surgery to treat sleep apnea involves clearing any blockages in those areas that might be hindering breathing. Matt Daigle American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery


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