Body

Resistance to ciprofloxacin, a member of one of the most commonly used groups of antibiotics in the world, has been discovered by a team of Canadian researchers among people in remote South American villages who are believed to have never taken this medication. The findings are published July 16 in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE.

Hanover, NH-- Distinct genetic profiles can discern different groups of patients with scleroderma, a vexing autoimmune disease in which the body turns against itself, Dartmouth Medical School researchers report. Their discovery of distinguishing molecular subtypes within the disease offers new insight into the complexity of a poorly understood and hard to treat illness and opens a window for better diagnosis and targeted therapies.

It is a staple of women's health advice and visits to the OB/GYN: the monthly breast self-exam to check for lumps or other changes that might signal breast cancer. However, a review of recent studies says there is no evidence that self-exams actually reduce breast cancer deaths.

Instead, the practice may be doing more harm than good, since it led to almost twice as many biopsies that turned up no cancer in women who performed the self-exams, compared to women who did not do the exams.

Custom-made insoles known as foot orthoses can reduce foot pain caused by arthritis, overly prominent big toe joints and highly arched feet, a new systematic review shows.

A team of Cochrane Researchers found that custom orthoses were safe interventions for foot pain in a number of different conditions. However, more research is required to develop an in depth understanding of their effectiveness.

Zinc supplementation benefits children suffering from diarrhoea in developing countries, but only in infants over six months old, Cochrane Researchers have found. Their study supports World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for the treatment of diarrhoea with zinc, although not in the very young.

"Zinc is clearly of benefit to children with diarrhoea," says lead researcher Marzia Lazzerini, who works at the Unit of Research on Health Services and International Health in Trieste, Italy.

In 2000 the World Health Organization (WHO) stopped recommending metrifonate for treating urinary schistosomiasis because the drug did not appear to be as effective as the treatment of choice, praziquantel. Now a systematic review published in the latest edition of The Cochrane Library indicates that both metrifonate and praziquantel are effective at treating the infection. The team of researchers who carried out this study suggest that metrifonate may be a valid addition to the current one-drug strategy against urinary schistosomiasis.

Despite the routine delivery of babies by caesarean section, there is no consensus among medical practitioners on which is the best operating method to use. In a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library, researchers call for further studies to establish the safest method for both mother and infant.

"Caesarean section is a very common operation, yet there is a lack of high quality information available to inform best practice," says researcher Simon Gates of the Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Warwick.