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Friday, November 19, 2010

Patient of prostatitis due to E.coli not responding to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and doxycycline

Questioner: Wong
Question- I have been diagonsed with prostatitis. The offending organism is E.coli. I have been treated with Ciprofloxacin for 7 days and levofloxacin for 6 weeks with no improvement in symptoms. A later culture and sensitivity test showed that the bacteria is resistant to ciprofloxacin. Then I tried doxycycline for a month with no improvement. I asked my doctor to test other prostate-penetrating drugs on the bacteria, but he said he can't dictate what the lab does. I'm thinking about using sparfloxacin, gatifloxacin, or minocycline, but due to the E.coli being resistant to ciprofloxacin and lack of symptomatic response to doxycycline, do you think that the bacterial would be resistant to these drugs as well?


Please give your opinion (with reasoning) in comments.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Onabotulinumtoxin A for Migraine

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox; Allergan Inc) for headache prophylaxis in patients with adult chronic migraine who suffer headaches on 15 or more days per month, each lasting more than 4 hours.
    To treat chronic migraine, onabotulinumtoxinA is given approximately every 12 weeks as multiple injections around the head and neck. The recommended dose is 155 units (1 mL) divided across 7 head and neck muscles, administered at intervals of at least 12 weeks.
The most common adverse reactions reported by patients being treated with onabotulinumtoxinA for chronic migraine were neck pain (9%) and headache (5%).
Marketed as Botox and Botox Cosmetic, onabotulinumtoxinA has a boxed warning that the effects of the botulinum toxin may spread from the area of injection to other areas of the body, causing symptoms similar to those of botulism.Symptoms include swallowing and breathing difficulties that can be life-threatening.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Which is more important for universities and colleges-Teaching or Research?

In universities here, research is the main criterion for appointment as well as promotion and  good researchers generally pay less attention to teaching. However, I feel one cannot remain abreast with recent developments in the field without being involved in research and the teaching will be very dogmatic. Also, only researchers can infuse a spirit of enquiry and innovation in their students.So, there is a need to balance the 2, not their separation. Quality of teaching must be an equal, if not more important, criterion for grading and promotion of teachers. What do you say?

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