• Med Mnemonics – A mnemonic is a short rhyme, phrase or technique used to make remembering information easier. When you’re studying complex medical terms (or afterwards when you need to remember them), this technique can be excellent. Memory aids will benefit you both short and long term, no matter what field you’re working in. This handy app contains over 1600 mnemonics covering a range of specializations. Save favorites for easy future reference or search and filter as required. You can also add your own mnemonics to the database.

• iPubMed+ – A great app for those who use PubMed regularly, this will allow you to retrieve all your search results, conduct new searches, manage searches and email the results with just one tap. You can also access the PubMed webpages in the app without having to leave your search results. If using your organisational network, you can even view PubMed with full text access. Searches can be filtered in a number of ways, including recently added, author, journal and title.

• ICD9 Consult 2011 – Access the full ICD9-CM from your iPad for about a third of the cost of a bulky, inconvenient paper manual. With diagnosis codes both searchable and browsable, you’ll have no need to trawl through a huge reference book again. Featuring full 2011 diagnosis codes and 2008 procedure codes, including all subcodes and descriptions for over 21,000 codes, easy distinguishing between specific and non-specific codes and the ability to keep a favorites list, this app may well prove invaluable in your daily working life.

• Calculate – This app was designed to aid with diagnosis, treatment and prognosis decisions and it does it’s job very well. Developed by a team of medical experts, the database covers a wide range of specialities including cardiology, oncology, neurosurgery, orthpedics,  emergency medicine and general surgery. With detailed references, Pubmed integration and the ability to adapt automatically to the described practice, this could well prove to be invaluable.

• ECG Guide – A must have for students, residents and doctors alike, this app offers ECG interpretation and removes the need to carry ECG cards or similar reference tools. Featuring clear descriptions of many ECG results, both common and uncommon and over 120 sample images to aid with visual learning, the app has been written by experts who know exactly what you need. There is also a quiz feature to aid with studying, which can be useful for reviewing and refreshing your knowledge later on in your career.

• ICD9 Coder – Excellent for any medical professionals who need to be familar with ICD9 codes, this handy app provides almost instant answers when you need them. Developed using the American Academy of Family Physician’s long list of commonly used codes, the app replaces the codes with problem-orientated descriptions of common problems. This is designed for primary care givers and it should be noted that it is not a complete list, just a collected of those most commonly used. Features of the app include the simplified listing,  just 2 clicks needed to get to the code you want and a quick search function.

Luckily, iTriage is now available on iPhone and Android and will soon be released for Blackberry.  Search the symptoms against the possible causes to ascertain what kind of medical facility you should attend. Do you need the Emergency Room or just a physician? Are your symptoms minor and possibly treatable by a pharmacist? Even if you’re away from home, iTriage can pinpoint your location and provide full directions to the nearest hospital, urgent care, pharmacist or physician using your phone’s GPS technology. It can even tell you what the waiting times are for a number of large hospitals.

iTriage is free to download and use and is certainly a useful application to keep close to hand. However, we would stress that if you think the situation is an emergency, it should be dealt with accordingly as quickly as possible.

• Epocrates – The Epocrates family of reference guides have been popular with medical professionals for some time now and this latest mobile version for iPhone is as impressive as you would expect. The number one drug reference guide used by physicians at present, Epocrates is definitely one to keep handy. Containing information on thousands of prescription and over the counter drugs, a pill identification function, the latest medical news and the ability to check if up to 30 drugs are likely to effect each other when taken simultaneously, this is an invaluable reference guide.

• iFirstAid – We know that medical professionals are likely to know exactly what to do in any emergency situation but what if something comes up that you haven’t encountered before? Better safe than sorry, we say. Download this handy app to your iPhone to make sure you can find out what to do in case of burns, poisoning, drug overdoses, CPR and more. The age-specific advise gives you peace of mind that you’re doing the right thing when dealing with a child and the easy to read one line guides contain a lot more information when you request it.

• The Merck Manual Professional Edition –  As an internet connection is not required to access the vast content of this app, it is fantastic for those moment when you need to look something up on the go. Featuring detailed information on thousands of diseases and clinical treatments, this manual is made up of the work of over 300 contributors so you know you’re getting expert information from whatever field you need. The paper version of the Merck Manual has been trusted by professionals for over one hundred years and this iPhone version is no less reliable. Allowing users to bookmark their favorites and automatically saving the browsing history, this could well prove invaluable as well as saving you precious time daily.

• Medscape – The most downloaded free medical app of 2010, Medscape contains an extensive database of thousands of branded, generic and over the counter drugs, a thousand herbal remedies and both adult and pediatric dosage. The app also includes information on over 3,500 diseases, conditions and treatments along with daily medical news and alerts and content written by trusted professionals and experts. Medscape also allows its users to continue their medical education by completing CME/CE content across thirty specialisms.

• MedAbbreviations – A handy reference guide of over 13,000 abbreviations spanning many medical fields, this app is great to have to hand for quick searching. Search by abbreviation or scroll through the alphabetical index to find the entry you need, then bookmark it for future use by simply double-tapping. Entering the details screen of an abbreviation will allow you to search for further information should you wish to do so. The content is regularly updated.

With daily coverage of over thirty specialities as well as over sixty annual meetings and conferences, this application offers an extensive range of medical news and information. Features include breaking medical news, audio and video reports and free CME/CE posttests. It also features the ability to send relevant articles to a friend or colleague, making important news even easier to spread.

MedPage Today is developed and published by medical professionals and therefore offers a clinical perspective on all happenings. CME (Continuing Medical Education) credits can also be gained at no cost by completing educational modules. MedPage Today Mobile is available on iPhone, iPad and Android and is a must for all medical professionals.

Medscape is most commonly used as a drug reference guide but it’s considerably strengths go a lot further than that. One of the best features is the disease and condition clinical references. Far from being a simple smart phone app as you may think, this is as useful as carrying a textbook around. Searching for a disease or condition will provide you with detailed information, images, procedure videos and protocols. The database includes all common conditions and an extensive number of less common ones.

The drug reference aspect includes information on a huge range of drugs, complete with dosage information, common brand names the drug may also be called by and what it is used to treat. Even better is the interaction tool, which allows the user to input a number of drugs to find out if any known issues are caused by using them simultaneously.

Medical news and alerts, CME/CE logging and a directory of over 400,000 physicians, 6000 hospitals and 57,000 pharmacies in the US – where location and contact information can be emailed to a patient or colleague – make this an absolutely fantastic app for anyone in the medical profession. Medscape is expected to be available for Android in 2011.

Zindel Segal, who is based at the center, carried out a study comparing mindfulness based therapy and maintenance anti-depressant therapy with some interesting results. 166 random patients between the ages of 18 and 65 who suffered from major depressive disorders, were invited to testing at two outpatient centres in Canada. Three groups were created – one who were treated with mindfulness based cognitive therapy, one with antidepressant maintenance therapy and third with a placebo. The patients who received cognitive therapy continued with their normal use of antidepressants and attended eight weekly group sessions.

The treatment effects on the 51% of patients who were assessed as unstable remitters at the end of the study were examined. The findings stated that the two groups who received treatment had a reduced risk of relapse whereas the placebo group had no change. Relapse rates were 28% for mindfulness cognitive therapy, 27% for antidepressant maintenance therapy and 71% for the group who received a placebo.  ”For patients whose acute-phase remission was marked by periodic symptom flurries, discontinuing antidepressants and receiving cognitive therapy, or continuing with antidepressants significantly lowered relapse/recurrence risk compared with discontinuation to placebo” was stated in the report.

This findings are in line with findings in previous studies regarding remission however, it was decided that further study is needed before a conclusive result can be found.

The findings are not conclusive enough as yet to advocate the addition of probiotics in infant formula and they definitely should not be administered to children with serious illnesses. This information is included in a report published recently in Pediatrics journal by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Companies have long claimed that natural bacteria found in the intestinal tract can be enhanced by probiotic pills and dairy products, resulting in a healthier immune and digestive system. The new report covers a summary of the findings found in the recent tests, which suggest that probiotics may help children suffering from minor complaints such as diarrhoea caused by a virus or by taking antibiotics.

This claim may well be further substantiated by future research but one warning is clear: children who are receiving intravenous medication or who have compromised immune systems should not use probiotics due to the increased risk of infection.

“What we found was 5-lipoxygenase regulates and controls the amount of total amyloid beta produced in the brain,” said Praticò. “With aging, the more 5-lipoxygenase you have the more amyloid beta you’re going to produce. This will translate into a higher risk to develop full Alzheimer’s” In a previous study, Pratico had proven that a lack of this protein alone can halve the presence of Alzheimer’s in the brain.

Armed with this new information, it could be possible for new medication and therapies to be developed to help combat this devastating disease. Several FDA-approved 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors are currently in use for the treatment of asthma, meaning that there is no need to go through expensive drug discovery process. As the medication is approved, available and inexpensive, the only thing needed is a clinical trial to determine the effectiveness against Alzheimer’s Disease.

As Alzheimer’s Disease curently devastates the lives of many patients and their families, any breakthrough towards preventing or curing it would surely be welcomed in the medical community. Watch this space.

The study, published in this month’s issue of Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, shows a vaccine which is delivered nasally and has been proven to combat the spread of rotavirus in mice. Testing has shown that this new method can safely be used for tetanus and is currently being tested with other immunisations such as diphteria. Without the need for refrigeration that current vaccines have, this new method would greatly reduce the cost involved in immunising people in developing countries. Availability in the form of nasal drops makes it more easily transportable and negates the need for a sterile environment. It also makes the lack of trained personnel less of a problem.

“In addition to being heat-stable and low-cost, the B. subtilis vaccines are given in the form of nasal drops or spray. A needle-free approach to vaccination is particularly advantageous in developing countries where clean needles and syringes and trained personnel are not always available,” said team leader Abraham L. (Linc) Sonenshein, PhD, professor and acting chair of molecular biology and microbiology at TUSM.

“This vaccine project is still in the developmental stage,” he continued. “The next major step for these vaccines is to show that they are safe and work well in humans, and then to extend the rotavirus and tetanus vaccine technology to include diphtheria, pertussis and other infectious diseases. Those diseases cause tens of thousands of deaths, particularly in newborns and in South-East Asia. We are actively looking for partners in the US and around the world to help us pursue our goal of reaching the point where many childhood and adult vaccines can be manufactured in a way that avoids the need for injection or refrigeration. Jerry Keusch of Boston University School of Public Health and I started this project 15 years ago and it has taken a long time to reach the stage where we now have effective needle-free vaccines. The technology has now advanced enough that we can expect to be successful with many other vaccines in a short time frame.”