The American Red Cross and American Heart Association announced changes to guidelines for administering first aid. Among the revisions are updated recommendations for the treatment of snake bites, anaphylaxis (shock), jellyfish stings and severe bleeding. The First Aid Guidelines are being published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Volunteer experts from more than 30 national and international organizations joined the Red Cross and the American Heart Association in reviewing 38 separate first aid questions. Experts analyzed the science behind them and worked to reach consensus on the treatment recommendations. Last revised in 2005, these recommendations form the recognized scientific basis for most first aid training around the world.

“It is vital that the first aid community come to consensus and speak in a clear voice on these life and death issues,” said David Markenson, M.D., first aid science advisor to the American Red Cross. “We are proud to help set the standard for first aid training around the globe.” Read the rest of this entry »


New MedCentre delivers a remote dispensing platform designed to support enhanced patient care, convenience, scalability, and security.

PharmaTrust is launching the next generation of the MedCentre remote dispensing system with world-class features that redefine and take remote dispensing services to the next level. The MedCentre is a modular, scalable solution designed to meet both patients’ need for convenience and counseling and healthcare professionals’ responsibility to deliver the highest level of care.

Key features include*:

  • Real-time video counseling
  • Ultra-fast (sub 1 minute) dispense times
  • Dual multilingual touch screen interfaces to accommodate multiple, simultaneous patients receiving pharmacist counseling in their language of choice Read the rest of this entry »

10 Tips for Breast Cancer Prevention

Throughout October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and its clinical care partner, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, are offering a series of weekly research-based tip sheets regarding a variety of topics related to breast cancer, including breast cancer prevention, screening and early detection, treatment, and survivorship.

The series launches today with “10 Tips for Breast Cancer Prevention” provided by Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Hutchinson Center’s Prevention Center, a member of the Center’s Public Health Sciences Division, and author of “Breast Fitness” (St. Martin’s Press).

The first of four tip sheets in the series follows:

10 TIPS FOR BREAST CANCER PREVENTION

  1. Avoid becoming overweight. Obesity raises the risk of breast cancer after menopause, the time of life when breast cancer most often occurs. Avoid gaining weight over time, and try to maintain a body-mass index under 25 (calculators can be found online). Read the rest of this entry »

Elemental Healthcare, a leading medical devices company that specialises in providing products for non-surgical treatments, today announced the UK launch of the EndoBarrier Gastrointestinal Liner.

EndoBarrier has been designed for people who struggle with the management of Type 2 diabetes, of which over 2.5 million people suffer in the UK, and those who are also clinically obese. The introduction of EndoBarrier could have significant implications on the current burden of diabetes and obesity care in the UK. Recently reported clinical data on the EndoBarrier shows cardiovascular and metabolic improvements as well as significant weight loss following 12 months of therapy.

The EndoBarrier is suitable for patients who have Type 2 diabetes with a BMI of 30-50. It is initially being offered to private patients at St Anthony’s Hospital in Surrey and is hoped to become available on the NHS in due course, following trials at three NHS hospitals.

Clinical trials, involving more than 300 patients to date, have demonstrated significant diabetes improvement and weight loss with the EndoBarrier, when combined with certain diet and lifestyle modifications. In a 12-month study[v], patients fitted with the EndoBarrier, achieved weight loss of more than 20.0 percent of their total body weight (average loss 22kg / 3.5 stone) and amongst patients with Type 2 diabetes, EndoBarrier was able to reduce blood sugar levels, halting the increase of HbA1c levels seen in diabetes and potentially reduced the need for medications to control the disease. The EndoBarrier procedure is quick, incisionless and reversible, and many patients often go home the day of the procedure. In recent clinical trials, there have been no serious adverse events.

Mr. Alberic Fiennes, Consultant Bariatric Surgeon at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Surrey said: “This new procedure is pioneering in that it works as a metabolic regulator directly treating Type 2 diabetes and associated weight-gain, giving patients a chance to drastically improve their condition. I was excited when I first heard about EndoBarrier and impressed at the results produced by clinical studies that showed that as early as the first week post procedure, patients can experience a significant effect on their diabetes.”

Adam Power, Director of Elemental Healthcare, who is launching the non-surgical therapy into the UK in an exclusive partnership with GI Dynamics, the US company responsible for the design of EndoBarrier said: “To halt the rapid growth of Type 2 diabetes and obesity in the UK represents a daunting challenge. We believe EndoBarrier provides an innovative approach in addressing these serious metabolic conditions and could help meet this challenge. It represents an exciting next step in the way Type 2 diabetes is managed.”


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