Adam Hochron

Patients with multiple sclerosis face a variety of challenges in their daily lives, especially when they experience a relapse. How they and their healthcare professionals approach these relapses can impact their overall quality of life even after the relapse passes.

Multiple sclerosis is a condition that affects a person's life over the course of many years. For those with the relapsing form that can include managing symptoms and potential relapses that come during treatment.

Medical marijuana has shown some benefits in the treatment of other health conditions, but its efficacy for patients with multiple sclerosis is still to be determined.

The issue of marijuana use is complicated for many reasons. One of the biggest, according to a recent survey is the willingness of patients and healthcare providers alike to even discuss the topic.

One of the most important things for many patients with multiple sclerosis is their ability to be able to move on their own despite the condition. Sometimes the reasons they are unable to move the way they want may go beyond the original diagnosis.

In a longterm condition like multiple sclerosis finding the proper treatment option can often be a difficult task. A medication was recently approved to help patients who have struggled to find that help in the past.

Proper nutrition can benefit everyone but keeping a healthy diet can be especially important for patients with multiple sclerosis.

While it is a rare condition and no medications have been approved for its treatment patients with neuromyelitis optica can get the help they need if doctors know what they are looking for.

As more is learned about the gut microbiome researchers are finding new ways to apply it to other fields of medicine. A recent study looked at how it can affect multiple sclerosis and what role it can have in future treatment options.

With the help of a 3-D printer researchers are working on developing a new overtube that can be used during endoscopic submucosal dissection.

In most cases when a patient undergoes a biopsy on their esophagus any cancer found is located too late to be treated. A recent development could help doctors find the disease before it is too late.

While there have been some concerns raised about computer assisted propofol sedation studies have shown it to be a safe and effective method when conducted by properly trained healthcare professionals. Work is also being done to ensure better results in the future.

According to research done on computer assisted propofol sedation patients see a faster recovery time by approximately 6 minutes on average. This can help not only the patients to leave the recovery area faster, but can also put less of a burden on the staff and location of their endoscopic procedure.

When undergoing endoscopic procedures it is important that patients receive the proper pain medication. A recent study looked at whether a computer can assist in the process to keep the patients comfortable allow them to continue on their day after the procedure.

For patients with severe and life threatening allergies epinephrine auto injectors can provide the right dose to help them work through an emergency situation. There are now new models available that can help talk patients through the process and fit better to the injection site.

With the weather getting warmer stinging insects like bees and wasps are becoming more of a concern for people with allergies or potential allergies. How these conditions are treated can make a significant difference in the time following stings.

Food allergies are an ever growing concern for doctors in a wide range of specialties and now there are new conditions for them to consider when looking to make a proper diagnosis.

There are medications which can all but cure hepatitis C but for those patients who have not yet beaten the condition there is research that shows a link to developing cancer.

As work continues to be done to find the best ways to use new technology the question of what the next advancement will be is already setting the stage for the future of patient care.

Patients with long-standing ulcerative colitis have shown signs of being more at risk for developing cancer. Research has looked at why that is the case and what can be done to prevent the cancer from progressing.

Gastroenterologist Venkat Subramanian, MD, discusses the use of high-definition screens and dyes during endoscopy to detect cancerous and noncancerous lesions in patients with ulcerative colitis

With the incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile infection increasing every year, the growing acceptance of fecal transplant as a viable treatment may mean stool banks will become as common as sperm and blood banks.

For patients with C. difficile infection, fecal micriobiota transplantation may be their best bet when medication is not effective. Even as transplant becomes a more accepted approach for treating C. diff infection, researchers are investigating other areas it can be applied to.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy may be the way to go for some patients, but for others bioidenticals and other medications may provide better treatment over a shorter period of time.

There may be no shortage of stool around the world, but finding potential donors for fecal micriobiota transplant is a much more involved process. Research has shown that only 4% of people are viable for the process.

Men may not always want to go to the doctor but for an issue like low testosterone seeking treatment can make a considerable difference in their daily quality of life.

While the research being done in endocrinology using genetics is only done in a few select locations, that work can make a big difference in helping a patient answer some of their most pressing questions.

Sometimes even the most seasoned endocrinologists will encounter a patient who they have trouble finding a diagnosis. There is now an effort to use advances in science to help find answers for some of the field's most troubling questions

For younger male patients with low testosterone traditional treatments may not be the best method for what could be a temporary condition.

For anyone who has undergone a colonoscopy the worst part of the procedure is usually the preparation. Between the fluids that need to be ingested and the necessary fasting, it can be a long process before ever seeing the doctor. A recent pilot study looked at ways to change that.