Is your new
doctor the Internet?
More and more people today are using internet to learn and
share health problems – a remarkable shift that has gained momentum in the last
decade, a new research finds. People want more than just information online,
they also seek reflections, insights and practical advice from other patients.
This study examined interviews with patients conducted between 2001 and 2013
and explored how people talked about internet – capturing changing attitudes
towards the use of internet for health.
‘By 2013, the web has become an almost routine part of many
people’s experience of health and illness. The internet has transformed how
people make sense of and respond to symptoms, decide whether to consult, make
treatment choice, cope with their illness and connect to others,’ said
professor Sue Ziebland from the University of Oxford. Film, animations, sound,
pictures and personal experiences online make health information more
digestible for people from all backgrounds.
‘By helping people to learn about their condition, prepare
for consultations and demonstrate to doctors their interest and involvement,
the web may even help to undermine some health inequalities,’ Ziebland added.
Doctors are aware of this and recommend useful websites to their patients now.
Yet, patients were reluctant to talk to their doctors about what they find
online, fearing that such revelations might damage their relationship with
their doctor, the study noted.
‘Physicians and nurses who recognise that people are using
the Internet when they are ill can support and discuss the information with
their patients,’ Ziebland said during a South West Society for Academic Primary
Care meeting at the University of Bristol, Britain.
Source: http://health.india.com
07.03.2014
Eye
injections a thing of past soon?
In what could be a breakthrough for the millions worldwide
suffering from age-related eye disorders, scientists have found that drugs
could be successfully administered by eye drops rather than unpleasant and
expensive eye injections. The current treatment of injecting drugs into the eye
is uncomfortable, detested by patients and often needs repeated monthly
injections in hospital for as long as 24 consecutive months.
The new research demonstrates that it is possible to create
formulations of tiny nanoparticles loaded with the age-related macular
degeneration (AMD) drug Avastin and deliver significant concentrations to the
back of the eye. ‘The development of eye drops that can be safely and
effectively used in patients would be a magic bullet – a huge breakthrough in
the treatment of AMD and other debilitating eye disorders,’ said professor
Francesca Cordeiro from the Institute of Ophthalmology at the University
College London.
One in five people over 75 have age-related macular
degeneration worldwide. Effective delivery of drugs to the retina of the eye is
considered one of the most challenging areas in drug development in
ophthalmology owing to the presence of anatomical barriers. The researchers
showed in animal models a formulation system to get substances including
Avastin across the barriers in the eye and transport them across the cells of
the cornea.
‘All the components we used are safe and well established in
the field, meaning we could potentially move quite quickly to get the
technology into trials in patients,’ added Ben Davis from the university’s
institute of ophthalmology. The research was published in nanotechnology
journal Small.
Source: http://health.india.com
07.03.2014
You
never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have
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