Friday and Saturday: Health care professionals are invited to hear about the latest research and best practices for treating patients with CFS and FM. The conference runs from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, at Salt Lake Community College, Miller Campus Professional Development Center.
Saturday: Patients, caregivers and the public are invited to a conference covering therapies and other information, also at the center, from noon to 5 p.m. There is a $30 fee.
To register, go to www.utahoffer.org, call 801-328-8080 or send an e-mail to offerregistration@yahoo.com.
Speakers will include nationally recognized CFS experts; Salt Lake City physician Lucinda Bateman, who specializes in the chronic illnesses; Suzanne Vernon, a physician and researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and physician Kathleen Light, who is researching CFS at the University of Utah.
The conferences are presented by Utah-based OFFER, the Organization for Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Education and Research. CFS is characterized by debilitating fatigue lasting at least six months, and experts believe most sufferers are undiagnosed.
Walk raises funds for asthmatics
The American Lung Association of Utah is hosting an Asthma Walk in Sugar House Park on Saturday to raise $75,000 for two programs that help children who have the chronic disease.
Money raised by donations will help fund Camp Wyatt, which teaches children ages 8 to 12 about living with asthma, and Open Airways for Schools, which teaches the same age group and has been found to reduce the number and duration of asthma episodes.
By teaching children how to control their asthma early, "they will have better lung health in the future," said Don Hooper, the lung association's development director.
Organizers expect 500 participants for the walk, which starts at 9 a.m. Registration is at 8 a.m. Or people can register online by going to www.utahlung.org and clicking on the asthma walk button.
Docs' talk a big help for drinkers
Even five minutes of straight talk from a physician can reduce alcohol-related injuries and accidents among patients with drinking problems, a new study reports.
In a review of 21 separate clinical trials, researchers at Newcastle University in England and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine found that brief interventions by a physician reduced alcohol consumption by an average of four drinks a week. The review appears in the current issue of the Cochrane Library, a journal published by an international organization that evaluates health care research.
The effect of a physician's counsel was strongest for problem drinkers who did not appear to be alcohol-dependent. ''But more severely dependent drinkers, especially those not yet aware of the medical impact of their drinking, will also benefit,'' said Fred Rotgers, a psychologist at Philadelphia College.
The study should motivate more physicians to tackle the often delicate discussion of problematic alcohol consumption with patients and have greater confidence that they can make a difference, says Dr. Benjamin Ansell, director of the Comprehensive Health Program at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Fearing ''patient push-back,'' physicians often shy away from discussing alcohol consumption, Ansell says. ''Doctors are often averse to confrontation,'' he says. ''You run a fine line between getting information and trying not to offend.''
- The Los Angeles Times
