Communications and interactions between pharmaceutical companies and doctors regarding drug promotion and marketing have lately been the focus of ethical interest. These interactions are pervasive and can be influential and beneficial for the patient, but they may also have some undesirable consequences. Concerns are whether drug promotion is inducing doctors to prescribe specific drugs and if promotion leads to inappropriate clinical use of some drugs.
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) were clinically introduced more than 25 years ago and have since proven to be invaluable, safe and effective agents for the management of a variety of acid-related disorders
Chronic constipation (CC) is an extremely common disorder with an estimated prevalence ranging between 2% and 24%. The prevalence of CC increases with age and may reach 80% in nursing home residents. Constipation has severe consequences for the quality of life of those affected and costs to individual patients and to society in general are significant.
Employing an evidence-based approach is a necessity for the modern day clinician. The treatment of neuromusculoskeletal disorders is one domain within the realm of healthcare that is, historically, poorly managed in this regard; this is particularly evident in terms of pain of spinal origin.
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Systemic sclerosis (SSc), or scleroderma, is a multisystem autoimmune disease characterised by vasculopathy and fibrosis. Adultonset Raynaud’s phenomenon or Raynaud’s phenomenon complicated by digital ulceration or infarction should prompt consideration of connective tissue disorders including SSc. Early identification of severe, lifethreatening organ manifestations can result in improved quality of life and survival. Management of patients with SSc is multifaceted and dependent on individual disease manifestations.
Probiotics are live microorganisms, found in fermented foods, cultured milk and are used for infant food. They are well-known as “health friendly bacteria”, which exhibit various beneficial properties such as prevention of bowel diseases, improving the immune system, for lactose intolerance and intestinal microbial balance, exhibiting antihypercholesterolemic and antihypertensive effects, alleviation of postmenopausal disorders and reducing traveller’s diarrhoea. Modulation of the gut-brain by probiotics has been suggested as a novel therapeutic solution for anxiety and depression.
Cold weather and respiratory disease, including flu, go hand in hand. Research has shown that cold spells are reliably followed by upticks in the number of deaths from respiratory disease. Some of this may have to do with a few infectious organisms, like flu viruses, thriving in colder temperatures, but there’s also evidence that exposure to cold temperatures suppresses the immune system, providing opportunities for infections to increase. Natural therapeutics in the form of nutritional supplementation and immune-stimulating and antiviral botanicals can support the body’s natural defences, potentially decreasing the incidence of colds and flu, shortening the duration and decreasing the intensity of symptoms and preventing complications
Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) has been touted as one of the key strategies required in tackling worldwide escalation of antibiotic resistance. Although AMS has optimised antibiotic usage and reduced the incidence of resistance development in some regions, it is evident at present that the worldwide rate of antibiotic resistance development has shown no sign of slowing down whilst the global consumption of antibiotics continues to rise over the years.
Infertility is common – approximately 10% to 15% of couples have difficulty conceiving a child. In young, healthy couples, the probability of conception in one reproductive cycle is typically 20% to 25% and in one year it is approximately 90%.1 An evaluation is commonly recommended after one year of unprotected intercourse without conception, the standard clinical definition of infertility. As women age, their fertility declines and the rate of miscarriages increases.
