This week don’t miss a Special Report about the upcoming US election later this year. Todd Zwillich reports from Washington DC about the 3 presidential candidates And their positions on domestic US health policy and of health-care issues globally. Check out our Web Focus section for more details, includeing an audio report from faith McLellan, our North American senior editor

In research we publish an important study about rhinosinusitis - this common upper respiratory tract Infection affects millions of people worldwide, and is a leading cause of visits to primary care. Investigators from the Basle Institute of Epidemiology, Switzerland, assessed data from nine randomised trials to assess whether there is a justification for antibiotic prescription for the acute phase of rhinosinusitis. In brief - with a few exceptions, they conclude that antibiotics are not justified for acute infection, and emphasise that at this stage treatment should be aimed at reducing symptoms. Antibiotics are probably only effective in chronic disease that lasts several weeks.

You can hear two of the study authors discussing the results in this week’s podcast.

The long Editorial looks at the rise of alcohol consumption among children In countries Includeing the UK, Denmark, USA, and Australia - In the UK the topic is never out of the mainstream media. The editorial calls for a stronger role among the family to help shape a more responsible approach concerning young people and alcohol. France, for example, is cited as a country where responsible (and family oriented moderate alcohol consumpion, such as a glass of wine with a meal) is appropriate. The leader also urges manufacturers to make popular alcoholic drinks more expensive, and asks politicians to at least debate a possible age rise to 21 years for alcohol purchase. You can hear The Lancet’s Deputy Editor Astrid James discussing the editorial in this week’s podcast.

Back to research: we publish Articles about the potential of bioabsorbable coronary stents; Non-laboratory tests for the screening of cardiovascular disease in developing countries, and the emergence of more industrialised risk factors for heart disease in the heart of SOWETO study from south africa.

And this week’s Seminar is on mumps.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 11:33 am and is filed under The Lancet Digest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can trackback from your own site.