Patients

Although doctors often advise Parkinson's disease patients to exercise — and the more intense the exercise, the better — new research from the University of Maryland Medical Center shows that long walks at a more comfortable pace may be the best medicine. Dr. Lisa M. Shulman, co-director of the University of Maryland Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, made the surprise discovery recently that low-intensity workouts make the most difference in mobility and gait, which become a problem for most of those who sufferer from the disease.

No one likes to get stuck with a needle. But it's the only way doctors can get blood to test for diabetes, anemia and numerous other health problems. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing say there is a much less invasive and painless means of detecting illnesses in patients — spit. Like blood, spit contains proteins, hormones, enzymes and DNA that can be used to test for and combat disease. It is easy and inexpensive to collect and analyze, making it ideal for research.

The simple act of trying to keep dentures in place can trigger serious health problems, including neurological damage, a new study by University of Maryland researchers warns. Preliminary studies link the zinc in some adhesives to neurological damage and blood abnormalities, at least among patients who squeeze out too much denture cream, too often, trying to keep their teeth anchored. A review of the scientific literature by faculty members at the University of Maryland Dental School has concluded that these health risks "should be a matter of concern for all dentists caring for denture patients.

You did a write up on HBO's documentary "The Weight of the Nation" in which you called our obesity epidemic a wake up call for America ("Salad bars take root," May 1). Nothing new here. The alarm bells have been sounding for a while now. I am an endocrinologist, and 90 percent of my patients are obese or near obese. This is a frustrating problem for doctors. There are no rewards for treating obesity. It is well known among physicians that a diagnosis code of obesity on your insurance claim can get you rejected for payment.

The stethoscope may be an icon of the medical profession to most patients. But it's more of a relic to many doctors. The device used to listen to the heart, lungs and other body parts — invented nearly 200 years ago — has been overtaken by newer, more sophisticated imaging equipment and other changes in healthcare. And some adherents to the old ways say a significant number of physicians who wear a stethoscope around their necks no longer know how to use it properly. Some medical schools including Johns Hopkins, however, are bringing back the lost art of cardiac auscultation, or listening, as a means to sharpen their students' diagnostic skills and cut costs from excessive high-tech imaging.

A once-prominent psychiatrist and pain specialist who enjoyed a national reputation and a thriving practice in northwest Baltimore County was in court again Tuesday, facing another in a string of female patients who over the years have accused him of sexually abusing them. Nelson H. Hendler, 65, whose license to practice medicine was revoked by the Maryland Board of Physicians in February 2006 after it concluded that he committed sexual misconduct with patients and dispensed drugs without a permit, settled earlier civil suits from some of the women.

Do you think your doctor is open and honest with you? Maybe not always, according to a new survey. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston surveyed 1,891 physicians nationwide and one-tenth said they had told a patient something untruthful in the last year. Nearly 20 percent of physicians surveyed said they had not fully disclosed an error to a patient in the previous year because they feared a malpractice case.

At the ding of a cowbell Sunday, staffers in a command center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital began clapping and yelling out victory cheers. Another department had begun to transfer patients as part of a massive move from Hopkins' aging hospital building to a towering $1.1 billion facility next door. The complicated process, which centered on the delicate task of relocating sick patients, was running according to plan. The official opening Tuesday of the two 12-story towers will mark the final step in the largest hospital project in Maryland history.

Maryland's 46 acute care hospitals can now all share information electronically on patients admitted, discharged for transferred. The “encounter level” data can be passed along in real time via the Maryland Health Information Exchange , a statewide system of secure information sharing among hospitals, doctors' offices and health organizations, according to Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who announced the system recently. Some hospitals also are sharing lab and radiology reports, consult notes and other clinical data.

As Maryland moves toward implementation of federal health care reform, it is critical to ensure that all Maryland patients have timely access to the care they deserve. But Maryland physicians have increasingly voiced their concerns about the significant and potentially dangerous ways in which health insurers are intruding on the doctor-patient relationship. Insurers' tactics are designed to deny patients access to care. Insurers create these barriers to access under the guise of cost control.

The Supreme Court's ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, expected in June, will determine the future for countless Americans. Health care reform debates have elevated the plight of millions of uninsured Americans to the national consciousness. However, the physician workforce that would be needed to care for millions of newly insured people deserves equal attention. There is a growing shortage of primary care physicians in the U.S., and it has been forecasted for decades.

At the ding of a cowbell Sunday, staffers in a command center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital began clapping and yelling out victory cheers. Another department had begun to transfer patients as part of a massive move from Hopkins' aging hospital building to a towering $1.1 billion facility next door. The complicated process, which centered on the delicate task of relocating sick patients, was running according to plan. The official opening Tuesday of the two 12-story towers will mark the final step in the largest hospital project in Maryland history.

Patients may be getting blood transfusion too often during surgery, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers. The study shows wide variation in the use of transfusions, and those who receive blood fare no better, and sometimes do worse. The problem may be that doctors don't have clear guidelines about when to use the expensive and scarce resource. “Over the past five years, studies have supported giving less blood than we used to, and our research shows that practitioners have not caught up,” said Dr. Steven M. Frank, leader of the study published in the journal Anesthesiology . “Blood conservation is one of the few areas in medicine where outcomes can be improved, risk reduced and costs saved all at the same time,” he said in a statement.

One day in June 2009, I was seeing patients at my neurology practice in Catonsville when I felt a sudden headache and noted my words seemed to be slurred. I called my wife, a speech-language pathologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and asked if she detected a change in my speech. She urged me to go to the hospital, which turned out to be a very good idea. I had suffered a brain hemorrhage and nearly died that day — on my 24th wedding anniversary. One of my secretaries drove me to the emergency room at St. Agnes Hospital, where I had been chief of neurology for about 10 years.

Sometimes men are the ones to take care of birth control through a surgical procedure. But when those men and their partners have a change of heart about children for any number of reasons, they seek to reverse their vasectomies. And that's usually possible, even long after the original procedure, says Dr. Brad Lerner, co-director of the Vasectomy Reversal Center of America a division of Chesapeake Urology. Lerner answers questions about getting and reversing a vasectomy. How common are vasectomies?

Severely injured patients are more likely to survive if transported by helicopter rather than ambulance, according to new research by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine that adds fuel to the debate over flying patients to receive care. The study, unveiled Tuesday, is the latest in a body of often conflicting research into whether medevac helicopters get patients to hospitals faster, provide better care and increase the chances of saving lives. The use of helicopters has been scrutinized because of the risk of crashes that could kill the very people paramedics are helping.

In response to the article "Md. fights through haze over medical marijuana" (Jan. 31), I say good luck, Maryland. It took New Jersey five years to pass its medical marijuana bill into law. In the end, it was the patients and their testimony that finally swayed legislators in New Jersey to support medical marijuana. That's what it will take in Maryland, too. Patients stood up and spoke out about how marijuana helps them with their afflictions. These were individual acts of courage and selflessness.

Nurse practitioners who educated legislators, negotiated with MedChi and reached out to all stakeholders were happy with the outcome of legislation to reduce the administrative burden of a physician collaborative agreement. The lengthy form and approval process was eliminated and will be replaced with a written statement by each nurse practitioner on file at the Board of Nursing. This highlights two things. First, public acceptance of the high quality, safe and cost effective care by nurse practitioners.

Stress is behind some seizures rather than the neurological disorder epilepsy, researchers at Johns Hopkins have determined. A team of doctors and psychologists evaluated patients admitted to Hopkins' inpatient epilepsy monitoring unit for treatment of intractable seizures. They believe a third have symptoms only mimicking epilepsy and have been misdiagnosed. These are war veterans, mothers in child-custody battles and over-extended professionals. They seem to have uncontrolled movements, far-off stares or convulsions, but the symptoms are not the result of abnormal electrical discharges in the brain characteristic of epilepsy.

The Ravens have said all along that they would be patient in free agency and not panic to fill any perceived holes. They've been true to their word. When left guard Ben Grubbs opted to sign with the New Orleans Saints about 48 hours into free agency, the expectation was that the Ravens would move immediately to find a replacement for the Pro Bowl performer. It wasn't necessarily immediate but the Ravens didn't wait too long to bring in Evan Mathis , regarded as the third best free agent guard behind Carl Nicks (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)