Summary: Patients may experienced lower quality of care during sign outs, which is the transfer of a patients during a shift change. Researchers used oral sign-outs and written sign-outs to compare to reports of subsequent errors. It was found that doctors are often more confused about the patient information rather than factual details. Examples of such problems are doctors not fully understanding the clinical condition, or doctors not knowing the reasoning behind a test.

Comment: It is suggested that sign-out procedures become a part of medical school curriculum to raise the quality of patient care. Patients should also be aware that after and during a sign-out their doctors may not be fully informed about their conditions and test. Being able to close these safety gaps at sign-out can allow patients to receive the best care possible.

Summary: Researchers found that sticking to a strict Mediterranean diet can reduce deaths from conditions such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. This diet is characterized by small amounts of meat and dairy, and larger amounts of vegetables, nuts, olive oil, fruits, fish, and grains. A Mediterranean diet lowered the risk of death from cancer by 6%, cardiovascular diseases by 9%, and the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease by 13%.

Comment: This research suggests that by adopting a Mediterranean type diet death rates can be lowered. They also found that the adherence rate was a factor in the benefits from the diet. This research also reinforces previous diet guidelines that are similar to a Mediterranean diet.

Summary: Abnormal, or fatal, interactions between the a-syn protein, which is involved in Alzheimer's disease, and the Abeta amyloid, which is linked to the plaque associated with Alzheimer's disease, can form hybrid, unique complexes. The hybrid complexes created can result in combined neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.

Comment: This research shows the relationship between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and explains the higher risk of those with Alzheimer's also developing Parkinson's. The protein models developed can show scientists how to better prevent the conditions, and improve the symptoms of the conditions. The research team also developed a method of dynamic modeling, which allows researchers to model accurately at the atomic level.

Summary: Between 1997 and 2005, the costs of patient care in United States hospitals rose an average of 5.3 percent a year. These cost increases mean that, since 1997, hospital costs have almost doubled. Yet, in a positive turn, during 2005 and 2006 the average rise in costs was only 1 percent.

Comment: Nearly half of the cost increases from the past 10 years was due to higher intensity of care (greater use of procedures, technologies, and other inventions). The significant slow of that increase over the period from 2005 to 2006, however, may be due to the adoption of managed care plans and rising use of outpatient care.

Summary: Researchers have discovered breakthrough information to prevent or slow a type of Parkinson's disease and Lewy body disease. They have created a genetically altered mouse that demonstrates the brain deterioration and nerve cell loss found in those with Parkinson's disease.

Comment: The current treatments for Parkinson's disease only work to relieve some of the symptoms, not to improve the actual condition. This research shows how the brain deterioration happens, which could lead to new medications that prevent or slow the brain deterioration. Being able to see how the nerve damage actually happens can allow scientist to begin new studies to better understand the causes and prevention of Parkinson's disease.

Summary: Recent statistics show that in 2007 56% of Americans adults, which is more than 122 million people, attempted to find information about a personal health concern from a source other than their physician. This statistic is up from 38% in 2001. Education levels were a key factor in determining whether a person sought medical information, 72% of those with a graduate degree compared to 42% of those with only a high school diploma. The number of Americans using the internet for medical information doubled from 16% in 2001 to 32% in 2007.

Comment: More than half of the people reported that the information changed their general approach to their health care, and 80% reported that the information helped them better understand treatments of their condition or illness. Doctors are always a good source of medical information, but it can often be hard to consult a doctor with every concern. Finding more information on medical conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, can help patients better understand their health.

Summary: The American Academy of Neurology, to follow up the success of Neurology Now (an award-winning patient and caregiver magazine), is planning to release, next year, a series of Neurology Now Books. Currently there are titles planned to address multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, and taste and smell disorders. In addition, a fourth publication is planned for later that year.

Comment: The magazine, Neurology Now, offers cutting-edge information on neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, migraines, and Parkinson's disease, among others. These books will offer the same kind of information to an even greater number of the one in six people now affected with a neurological disorder.

Summary: A century old drug, methylene blue, may be able to provide a cure for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's by slowing the cellular aging. The dose required is very low, the equivalent of a few raindrops in four Olympic sized pools, but the small dose slows the cellular aging and improves mitochondrial functions, which helps people with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's to stay healthier for longer.

Comment: Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are often affected by aging, so this drug that slows aging could slow the progress of the diseases. The researchers believe that even though this drug was never previously considered as a treatment it could provide a higher quality of life for those with the diseases. They also believe that after more research methylene blue could become a commonplace drug like aspirin, and that it could also be prescribed as a blood thinner.

Summary: Parkinson's disease is characterized by the accumulation of alpha-syn proteins in the dopaminergic nerve cells. It was found that yeast has a protein that protects itself from protein aggregation, but this protein does not exist in mammals. This protein is called Hsp104 and can reduce alpha-syn aggregates such as those that cause Parkinson's disease.

Comment: It has long been suggested that being able to block alpha-syn protein aggregates could help cure or lessen the symptoms for those with Parkinson's disease. This new protein from yeast could allow a new kind of Parkinson's treatment that could actually cure the disease. More research still needs to be done to test the safety of Hsp104 on the brain.

Summary: Inpatient medication reconciliation was made a National Patient Safety Goal in 2005 and nationwide attention was soon focused on the issue of errors in these medication records as patients move in and out of hospitals. However, a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital has shown that inpatients experience and average of one and a half potentially harmful errors in their records during the course of their hospital stay. The study also attempted to identify the frequency of specific kinds of errors, at what point during a patient's stay these errors occur, and factors which put a patient at risk for errors to occur.

Comment: Dr. Jeffrey Schnipper, MD, MPH senior author and Hospitalist at BWH stated his hope that, "This information can help guide hospitals in determining where to focus their efforts for addressing this problem." He also noted that patients today are often on more medications than they have been in the past, raising the stakes along with the risks. Information collected by this study will, no doubt, have a significant effect in reducing the frequency of these errors, thus reducing the risk for all patients.