November 4, 2008
Project seeks volunteers to make their DNA profiles public for researchers
People may be thinking about genetic testing again, after reading recent press reports about the Personal Genome Project.
Late last month, the first few volunteers saw some of their genetic information made public on the Internet.
This effort seeks 100,000 volunteers willing to have their DNA sequenced, databased, and stored online, along with identifying medical and personal information, in order to speed the development of medical genomics.
For a quick brush-up on the pros and cons of reading your own gene map, the search term
risks genetic testing
offers some balanced reflections.
In some cases, diagnosis by history and examination has already given way to genetic testing. For instance, it’s now time to think “genotype first” when you see a child with a developmental issue, said an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine a few weeks ago.
See what you can find by searching through the article categories with the search term “genetic testing”.
Evidence-based Articles
Scroll down first page of results for genetic testing to find a recent systematic review in JAMA about genetic testing for chronic adult diseases.
Practical Articles/News
This category holds a news article showing that an inconclusive genetic result can be as distressing as a positive one.
Patient Education
Scroll down here to find a Mayo Clinic blog for patients who may want to learn more about the topic on their own time.
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Cancer, Cardiovascular, Diabetes_Endocrine, Family Medicine, Gastrointestinal, Internal Medicine, Medical ethics, Nervous System, Psychiatry, Respiratory_Infectious | Tagged: genetic testing, Personal Genome Project | 
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August 12, 2008
Meds + booze + street drugs @ home = sharp rise in accidental deaths
Fatal medical errors skyrocketed in the two decades after 1983—but not in hospitals. The increase overwhelmingly involved people who died at home after mixing medicines, street drugs, and alcohol. Death rates in this category rose 30-fold between 1983 and 2003.
Oddly, accidental deaths from any of those three substances in isolation did not increase markedly during the same period.
Don’t just blame substance abusers: At-home deaths involving medications but not street drugs or alcohol increased nearly six-fold during those two decades.
The most common victims were men between the ages of 40 and 59.
The study of death certificates is newly published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The increase in these deaths has been accelerating. The article urges medical professionals to address the problem by:
* assessing how well patients can manage their own medicines
* taking pains to educate them about the risks of their medications and
* keeping track of their progress
Related searches
screening alcohol use
self-report alcohol drug
Research/Reviews
What’s the best way to talk with patients about their new prescriptions? We found interesting insights with the query communication risks.
Practical Article/News
In a recent review in Psychiatric Times, a Yale University psychiatrist warns about an emerging problem among aging baby boomers: substance abuse.
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Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Medical ethics, Psychiatry, Uncategorized | Tagged: alcohol, drug abuse, drug interactions, medical errors, medication errors, suicide | 
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Posted by smnewsletters
Posted by smnewsletters
