With the advent of the AllTrials initiative, the EU Clinical Trials Regulation and the recent Tamiflu debacle, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have received a lot of attention over the last 12 months. Despite all this recent furore surrounding the reporting of RCTs, there are those of us who have been banging this drum for a… Read more »
A new paper published in Genome Medicine today describes research with the potential to ‘personalize’ treatment for patients with heart disease. Determining whether or not certain treatments or interventions are right for a particular patient is a tricky business. Much of the time it is about weighing up the benefits versus potential side effects… Read more »
A study published today in Genome Medicine describes a framework for returning ‘secondary’ or ‘incidental’ genomic findings to patients. We take a look at what the implications of this could be, both for patients and clinical researchers. Close your eyes and imagine for a moment you’re a patient trying to decide whether to enroll in… Read more »
This is a guest post by Dr. Umberto Volta from Bologna University (Italy). He tells us more about non-celiac gluten sensitivity and the multicenter prospective survey he coordinated on it, which was promoted by the Italian Association for Celiac Disease and has been published today in BMC Medicine. As a pioneer of non-celiac gluten sensitivity… Read more »
Resistance to antibiotics is not a new issue, but is certainly a growing one. As concerns around addressing it continue to mount, Dr Courtney Reynolds and colleagues have demonstrated the financial burden that this problem is creating. In this guest blog, she discusses antibiotic resistance and what their study has found. The emergence of antibiotic… Read more »
This is a guest post by Sarah Venis and Philipp du Cros of the Manson Unit at Médicins sans Frontières. Ahead of MSF Scientific day this Friday, they take a look at the role of research and evidence in humanitarian aid. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide in which between 500,000… Read more »
A new article about Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) – a progressive kidney disease – was published in BMC Medicine today. We spoke to Jochen Reiser, an expert in the field, and Chairman of Medicine at Rush University, Chicago, to find out more about FSGS and what these latest results add to our understanding. What exactly… Read more »
‘On the 20th of May 1747, I took twelve patients in the scurvy, on board the Salisbury at sea. Their cases were as similar as I could have them.’ James Lind This is a description of one of the first ever clinical trials, investigating the impact of citrus fruit on scurvy. According to Lind, scurvy… Read more »
BioMed Central and PLOS Medicine are proud to be co-sponsoring this year’s MSF Scientific Day and have co-written this joint blog on both the Speaking of Medicine and the BioMed Central blog to mark the occasion! Streamed live on 23rd May 2014 from the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) in London, MSF Scientific Day is… Read more »
Many different food types – from the school dinner favorite broccoli to traditional Chinese goji berries – have been termed ‘superfoods’ in recent years, due to their reported beneficial effects on longevity and disease prevention. The health gains of these foods are largely attributed to their antioxidant content, but evidence behind the benefits of consuming… Read more »