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| Women´s Health |
 Talc use raises risk of ovarian cancer
Women have been warned to stop using talcum powder around their genitals after research found it could increase the risk of ovarian cancer by up to 40%. Although previous studies have raised concern about talcum powder, American scientists now fear it... |
Female Incontinence a Prevalent Problem
At least 1 in 4 U.S. women reports incontinence or prolapse, study finds.Almost 25 percent of American women have a pelvic floor disorder, such as urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse, according to new research. "This... |
Contraceptive pill influences partner choice
The contraceptive pill may disrupt women¿s natural ability to choose a partner genetically dissimilar to themselves, research at the Universities of Liverpool and Newcastle has found. Disturbing a woman’s instinctive attraction to genetically... |
Scientists identify possible cause of endometriosis
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have identified an enzyme that could be responsible for a condition called endometriosis - the most common cause of pelvic pain in women. Endometriosis is a condition whereby patches of the inner lining of the... |
| Men´s Health |
| Autism |
Autism Not Linked To Measles Vaccine, New Study
After a decade of controversy that has seen surges in measles outbreaks because of many parents' mistrust of the vaccine, a new US-led study concluded there is no link between the MMR vaccine and the onset of autism or gastrointestinal symptoms in... |
Study Dispels Link Between Autism and Measles Vaccine Parent advocate disagr
Parent advocate disagrees, noting that only one potential mechanism was studied. Hoping to dispel long-running concerns that autism is linked to the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR), researchers now say a new study shows the childhood vaccine does... |
Can Facial Structures, Brain Abnormalities Reveal Formula For Detection Of Autism?
Recently, Harvard researchers reported that children with autism have a wide range of genetic defects, making it nearly impossible to develop a simple genetic test to identify the disorder. Now, University of Missouri researchers are studying 3-D imaging... |
Measles Cases Grow in Number, and Officials Blame Parents’ Fear of Autism
More people had measles infections in the first seven months of this year than during any comparable period since 1996, and public health officials blamed growing numbers of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Many of these parents say they... |
| General Medicine |
Chernobyl Fallout? Plutonium Found In Swedish Soil
When a reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986 in what was then the Soviet republic of Ukraine, radioactive elements were released in the air and dispersed over the Soviet Union, Europe and even eastern portions of North America... |
Why China's milk industry went sour
It did not take long for the euphoria of the Beijing Olympics to fade. China's failure to produce good milk has killed at least four babies, and sickened many thousands of others. Domestic and export markets in anything that might contain Chinese... |
Deaf Patients Confront Difficulties In Obtaining Basic Health Care
Inadequate healthcare is received by thousands of the United Kingdom's Deaf patients because they are struggling to communicate with their healthcare providers, according to an article released on October 1, 2008 in BMJ. The term Deaf is defined... |
Health groups back traffic light labels
A "traffic light" system of labelling that identifies unhealthy foods in red and healthy foods in green is needed to help combat rising obesity rates, according to health and consumer groups. Under the colour-coded scheme, green, amber and red... |
The Hierarchy Of Directional Interactions In Visual Motion Processing
Humans can accurately perceive a moving object's direction. We can also, however, be fooled into miss-perceiving this direction. If one views upward motion for some 30 seconds and then subsequently looks at motion in a different direction, the latter... |
Journey to unlock 'out of body' mysteri
In September, medical teams at 25 hospitals across the world revealed they were undertaking the largest study of its kind into near death experiences (NDE). Researchers want to know if there is any truth in so called "out-of-body" incidents... |
Smart And Gentle Alarm Clock For Mobile Phones
Sleep disorders are very common in modern society. Mild forms are familiar to everyone and up to 10 – 20 per cent of adults suffer from related diseases (organic sleep disorders). Diagnosing sleep disorders often requires extensive and expensive... |
E.R. Patients Often Left Confused After Visits
A vast majority of emergency room patients are discharged without understanding the treatment they received or how to care for themselves once they get home, researchers say. And that can lead to medication errors and serious complications that can send... |
Feeling Cold? Maybe You're Lonely
Feeling cold? Maybe you're lonely. Social isolation makes people feel physically cold, find University of Toronto psychologists Chen-Bo Zhong, PhD, and Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, PhD. Moreover, they find that making people feel left out makes them more... |
Medical News Today Launches Customizable Website
We are pleased to announce the launch of our customized health news service on Medical News Today. This system enhances the services we already provide by allowing users to sign up and change their homepage and menu options. Having registered, you can... |
Clean living 'slows cell ageing'
Taking more exercise and eating the right foods may help increase levels of an enzyme vital for guarding against age-related cell damage, work suggests. Among 24 men asked to adopt healthy lifestyle changes for a US study in The Lancet Oncology, levels... |
Changes in Seniors' Sleep Patterns Need Attention
While it's normal for older people to have occasional sleep problems, seniors who experience sleep pattern changes that last for longer than two weeks should see a doctor, says Dr. Charles Cefalu, a member of the American Geriatrics Society. "Generally,... |
Clinical Trial For New Tuberculosis Vaccine
With annually 2 million deaths and 9 million new cases, there are more victims of tuberculosis than of any other infectious disease, apart from AIDS. To make the situation worse, many strains of tuberculosis are so resistant that they no longer respond... |
Defibrillators Are Lifesaver, but Risks Give Pause
The implanted defibrillator, a device that can automatically shock an erratically beating heart back to a normal rhythm, has been proved to save lives. Hence its nickname: an emergency room in the chest. Major medical groups have recommended that more... |
3-D Technology Signals Global Growth For Durham University Spin-Out Firm
Durham University spin-out company Reinnervate, which is revolutionising the way cells are grown in the laboratory, is preparing for commercial manufacture and global sales after securing 750,000 pounds funding in a deal led by NorthStar Equity Investors... |
The Bipolar Puzzle
When Claire, a pixie-faced 6-year-old in a school uniform, heard her older brother, James, enter the family’s Manhattan apartment, she shut her bedroom door and began barricading it so swiftly and methodically that at first I didn’t understand... |
New Nano Device Detects Immune System Cell Signaling
Scientists have detected previously unnoticed chemical signals that individual cells in the immune system use to communicate with each other over short distances. The signals the researchers detected originated in dendritic cells – the sentinels... |
Perhaps Death Is Proud; More Reason to Savor Life
That’s hardly our intention, but they die nonetheless. Usually it’s at the end of a long struggle — we have done everything modern medicine can do and then some, but we can’t save them. Some part of their body, usually their lungs... |
Heart Patients, Bypass Traffic Pollution
After a heart attack, it might be best to steer clear of traffic for a while. New research shows that traffic pollution can be dangerous for people with heart disease. In people with serious coronary artery disease, tiny particles of air pollution and... |
7 Steps to Summer Safety
Each year, more than two thousand kids die from injuries that could have been prevented. Thousands more have serious injuries that land them in hospitals. The most common risks are drowning, bike accidents and auto crashes. Even some summer dangers that... |
Pollution 'hinders heart pacing'
Air pollution from traffic hinders the heart's ability to conduct electrical signals, a study has suggested. Exposure to small particulates - tiny chemicals caused by burning fossil fuels - caused worrying changes on the heart traces of 48 heart patients... |
Toxic Plastics: Bisphenol A Linked To Metabolic Syndrome In Human Tissue
New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics—bisphenol A (BPA)—as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and its consequences. In a laboratory study, using fresh human fat... |
Displaced Sudanese Medics Return After Training In Canada And Kenya
Eleven refugees, who left Sudan as children, were raised in Cuba, and educated in medicine in Canada, now return to Sudan, where they may help improve medical conditions, according to a Comment released on September 5, 2008 in The Lancet. The authors... |
Chemists Identify Sources Of Smoke Smudging Mexico City's Air
Mexico City once topped lists of places with the worst air pollution in the world. Although efforts to curb emissions have improved the situation, tiny particles called aerosols still clog the air. Now, atmospheric scientists from UC San Diego and six... |
Test predicts vessel op response
Technology to reveal dangerous changes in blood pressure during delicate brain surgery is under development. The British project could make complex operations safer, New Scientist magazine reports. It relies on a combination of scans and massive computing... |
Bipolar Risk for Kids Born to Older Dads
A new study suggests that children born from older fathers are at increased risk of developing bipolar disorder. Earlier research has shown a link between older paternal age and risk for autism and schizophrenia. The new findings appear in the September... |
Hearing Specialist Craft First Professional Guidelines For Earwax
The age-old advice to routinely clean out earwax is discouraged under the first published guidelines from health care professionals about removing wax from the ear. “Unfortunately, many people feel the need to manually remove earwax, called cerumen,... |
Flu Vaccine Does Not Reduce Risk Of Death In The Elderly
New research from Canada suggests that some studies have exaggerated the benefits of the flu vaccine in reducing death rates among elderly patients and that while it confers protection against specific flu strains, other factors like unidentified "healthy... |
Incidence Of Intestinal Parasite Coccidia Is Increasing In Broilers
Coccidia are single-celled intestinal parasites that currently represent one of the greatest challenges to the broiler industry. To keep the level of infection low, farmers commonly add coccidia-inhibiting chemicals (coccidiostats) to broiler feed. While... |
Indians’ Water Rights Give Hope for Better Health
More than a hundred years ago, the Gila River, siphoned off by farmers upstream, all but dried up here in the parched flats south of Phoenix, plunging an Indian community that had depended on it for centuries of farming into starvation and poverty. If... |
Study Reveals Wide Global Health Gap
Your Chances of Good Health Have a Lot to Do With Where You Live. A girl born today can expect to live to be either more than 80 years old or less than 45 depending on what country she calls home, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report.... |
Treatment For Hearing Loss? Scientists Grow Hair Cells Involved in Hearing
Oregon Health & Science University scientists have successfully produced functional auditory hair cells in the cochlea of the mouse inner ear. The breakthrough suggests that a new therapy may be developed in the future to successfully treat hearing loss... |
Online Ayurvedic Medicine May Be Unsafe
Ordering traditional Ayurvedic medicines on the Internet may be unsafe. Approximately one-fifth of Ayurvedic medicines sold online to Americans contain metals, including lead, according to a new study by Boston University researchers. Ayurveda is a traditional... |
Face/Off surgery not sci-fi
Transplanting faces may seem like science fiction, but doctors say the experimental surgeries could one day become routine. In papers from two of the world's three teams that have performed partial face transplants, experts said their techniques were... |
Helping The Medicine Go Down
Getting little Doug and Debbie to take a spoonful of medicine is more than just a rite of passage for frustrated parents. Children's refusal to swallow liquid medication — and their tendency to vomit it back up — is an important public... |
Scientists observe first particles in the Large Hadron Collider
The LHCb VELO has recorded the first hits from tracks of particles injected into the new 27km Large Hadron Collider (LHC) accelerator at the CERN Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva. The Liverpool Semiconductor Detector Centre at the University of Liverpool... |
HRT Improves Quality Of Life For Some
A new study published on bmj.com argues that for older women, health related quality of life can be improved by hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The authors recommend that HRT guidelines should be revised with this most current evidence taken into consideration... |
That Tastes ... Sweet? Sour? No, It's Definitely Calcium!
Chemists in Philadelphia are reporting a discovery that could expand the palate of human tastes — sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory — to include a new taste sensation that they term "calcium." In a report scheduled for presentation... |
Calif. AG, Family Planning Advocates Say Proposed HHS Rule Would Overturn State Birth Control Law
California Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) and some family planning advocates on Wednesday said that a draft HHS regulation would prohibit the state from enforcing the state law requiring insurance coverage for birth control to women, the San Francisco... |
How pollution influences the weekend weather
The effects of weekday emissions differ from country to country. Researchers have pinned down how pollution is changing the weather at weekends in some of the countries in Europe. Spain’s winter weekends, for example, are sunnier, but Iceland’s... |
Reversing the prism
A slab of material that bends light the wrong way could herald true invisibility. Materials that could one day make objects invisible to visible light have been devised by scientists at the University of California at Berkeley. Nature.com
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Sing me something smart
Brainy birds have the best tunes — and the most pulling power. When shopping for a mate, female zebra finches might choose males with the sweetest song because singing ability advertises intellectual prowess. Neeltje Boogert of McGill University... |
Brain's counting skill 'built-in'
Humans have an in-built ability to do mathematics even if they do not have the language to express it, a research team has suggested. A study in Australian Aboriginal children, whose languages lack number words, found they did just as well as English-speaking... |
Ricin's Deadly Action Revealed By Glowing Probes
A new chemical probe can rapidly detect ricin, a deadly poison with no known antidote that is feared to be a potential weapon for terrorists and cannot ... ScienceDaily
... |
Greenland Ice Core Reveals History Of Pollution In The Arctic
Coal burning, primarily in North America and Europe, contaminated the Arctic and potentially affected human health and ecosystems in and around Earth's polar regions, according to new research. The study was conducted by the Desert Research Institute... |
Leishmaniasis Parasites Evade Death By Exploiting Immune Response To Sand Fly Bites
Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by painful skin ulcers, occurs when the parasite Leishmania major, or a related species, is transmitted to a mammalian host by the bite of an infected sand fly. In a new study from the National Institute... |
Call to end animal pain-research
Using animals to research pain has "limited value" and should be replaced by newer technologies, argues a panel of medical experts from across England. Animal tests can only simulate some aspects of chronic pain and are too simplistic, their report says... |
Light Metals Against Bombs And Grenades
A soldier in a war lives a life exposed to danger – both inside the compound fence and on assignment on the outside. If the container he lives in is struck by a direct hit, it can be transformed into a clump of twisted metal in a matter of seconds... |
Burmese Pythons Will Find Little Suitable Habitat Outside South Florida, Study Suggests
Burmese Pythons – one of the largest snakes in the world – may have chosen Florida as a vacation destination, but are unlikely to expand further, according to a new study by researchers at the City University of New York (CUNY. Although the... |
Antarctic Climate: Short-term Spikes, Long-term Warming Linked To Tropical Pacific
Dramatic year-to-year temperature swings and a century-long warming trend across West Antarctica are linked to conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, according to a new analysis of ice cores conducted by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric... |
Big-brained Animals Evolve Faster
Ever since Darwin, evolutionary biologists have wondered why some lineages have diversified more than others. A classical explanation is that a higher rate of diversification reflects increased ecological opportunities that led to a rapid adaptive radiation... |
Journal Series Shows New Orleans' Health Care System Recovering
The number of physicians per capita in the New Orleans region has exceeded the national average, a sign that medical professionals say indicates the area's health care system is recovering, according to a report published Friday in the American Journal... |
Back when the desert was green
Burial site offers rare glimpse of daily life in the stone-age Sahara. She was in her twenties when she died; the children were roughly five and eight. No one knows what killed them or what happened after, but it’s easy to speculate. Perhaps she... |
Fare's fair for hackers?
Researchers warn of ‘devastating effect’ of computer-science gagging order. A legal ruling on a student project in the United States has thrown the computer science community into a battle over the line between legitimate research and illegal hacking... |
Photo finish for shortest metal-metal bond
When in March this year Rhett Kempe submitted a paper for publication that reported the shortest ever bond between two atoms of metal in a stable molecule, he was confident of taking the record. In the compound made by Kempe and Awal Noor at Bayreuth... |
Prescriptions for Health, the Environmental Kind
In a bright studio at New York University, Natalie Jeremijenko welcomes visitors to her environmental health clinic. She wears a white lab coat with a rotated red cross on the pocket. A clipboard with intake forms hangs by the door. New York Time ... |
Organic alcohol lifts the bar
Call it hedonistic environmentalism. Or maybe just eco-conscious imbibing.Either way, those who want their dirty martini to be a little cleaner are increasingly pouring organic spirits into their glass. Life & Style
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| Drugs |
Antibiotic resistance rise fear
The rise in antibiotic resistance is reaching worrying levels, experts say. The Health Protection Agency said while the focus on infections such as MRSA had been largely successful, new trends in other bugs were now posing a threat. For instance, 12%... |
A Regeneron Drug Minimized Recurrence of Gout in Clinical Trial
A drug being developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals sharply reduced the number of gout flare-ups in a clinical trial, the company is expected to announce Wednesday. Experts said the drug, called Arcalyst, potentially could be a significant advance in... |
Pill for painful PMS hits market
Women suffering from a severe and debilitating form of PMS will have access to a new contraceptive pill from next month that is designed to ease their pain. The low-dose pill treats the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), where normal... |
Experimental RNA drug may cause blindness
Caution needed in clinical trials, scientists urge. An experimental therapy to treat the eye disease macular degeneration might actually cause blindness in some patients, according to a study published today. The treatment uses so-called 'small interfering... |
New Cystic Fibrosis Drug Found To Be Promising
Researchers in Israel have found that a new drug for cystic fibrosis, PTC124, is able to bypass the genetic defect in the protein-making machinery of patients and improve the functioning of weakened cell membranes. The results in published in an upcoming... |
Monthly Premiums for Medicare Drugs will Increase in 2009
Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the Part D prescription-drug plan will pay $28 per month for it in 2009 -- $3 more than they paid this year. The estimated average monthly premium of $28 for 2009 -- a sum derived from bids by private plans to deliver... |
Cialis, Viagra Labels to Note Amnesia
Rare Reports of Transient Global Amnesia Going on Cialis, Viagra Labels; Already on Levitra Label All three erectile dysfunction drugs -- Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra -- now list rare reports of transient global amnesia on their labels. Transient global... |
Medicare Prescription Drug Premiums to Rise in '09
The average monthly premium for Medicare's prescription drug plan will increase to an estimated $28 in 2009, three dollars more than this year's monthly premium, Medicare officials announced Thursday. That 2009 figure is 37 percent lower than... |
Methadone Rises as a Painkiller With Big Risks
Suffering from excruciating spinal deterioration, Robby Garvin, 24, of South Carolina, tried many painkillers before his doctor prescribed methadone in June 2006, just before Mr. Garvin and his friend Joey Sutton set off for a weekend at an amusement park... |
FDA Approves New Huntington's Drug
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Friday that it has approved Prestwick Pharmaceuticals Inc's new drug Xenazine (generic name tetrabenazine) for the treatment of chorea in people with Huntington's disease, heralding the first... |
| Urology - Nephrology |
RAD001 Shows Promise In Renal Cell Cancer Patients Who Have Failed Targeted Therapies
The investigational once-daily oral mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor RAD001 (with the proposed brand name Afinitor), formerly known as RAD001, significantly prolongs disease-free survival in patients with metastatic renal cell cancer who... |
Report finds grave flaws in urology trial
Scandal erupts at Austrian medical school. A clinical trial of a stem-cell procedure for urinary incontinence by urologists at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria, was full of serious procedural and ethical problems, finds a report by the go... |
| Transplants - Organ Donations |
The Dead Donor Rule and Organ Transplantation
In this issue of the Journal, Boucek et al. (pages 709–714) report on three cases of heart transplantation from infants who were pronounced dead on the basis of cardiac criteria. The three Perspective articles and a video roundtable discussion at www... |
Pediatric Heart Transplantation after Declaration of Cardiocirculatory Death
In three infants awaiting orthotopic cardiac transplantation, transplantation was successfully performed with the use of organs from donors who had died from cardiocirculatory causes. The three recipients had blood group O and were in the highest-risk... |
| Sports Medicine |
Building Better Bodies
IN this factory town in south-central Michigan, hard hit by the decline of the auto industry and home to a population whose health grimly lags well below national averages, several dozen small-business owners have joined forces in a wellness campaign... |
10 Tips for an Olympic Body
Experts share the diet and exercise secrets of Olympic athletes. When the 2008 Olympic Games open in Beijing, millions will be marveling at all the athletes' bodies. Muscled legs, backs, abs, and arms -- sure signs of the Olympic body, carefully... |
Special Report: Volunteer Physicians Tend to U.S. Olympians
At the 2000 World Rowing Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, a rower suffering excruciating pain in his forearm approached Kristine Karlson, M.D., team physician for USRowing. Dr. Karlson gave him a corticosteroid injection to relieve the pain... |
DIY Olympians told to 'ease off'
One of the aims of the Olympics is to raise interest in taking part in sports - but it seems some people are pushing themselves a little too hard. A gadget helpline has been receiving calls from people wanting to know how to set their cycling and rowing... |
Are You Suffering From Olympic Exhaustion?
Sure, the Olympics Are Exciting, but Is All the Late-Night TV Watching Running You Ragged? .S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps may have no problem breaking two world records within an hour. But the rest of us watching him are exhausted. There's no... |
| Smoking - Quit Smoking |
Indian ban on smoking in public
A ban on smoking tobacco in public has come into force in India. Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss says he aims to cut the number of smokers and to protect passive smokers from the harmful effects of tobacco. The government says India has more than... |
Smoke alarm: dope use hooks puff daddies onto nicotine
THE North Coast is the smoking capital of NSW, with researchers saying that widespread cannabis use could be causing more than half of young men in the area to become addicted to nicotine. Three in five male residents aged between 25 and 34 smoked, research... |
Older Smokers' Quit Rate Rises with Patches and Phones
Older smokers doubled their quit rate when given nicotine patches and access to telephone counseling, showed a Medicare demonstration program. The one-year quit rate was almost 20% compared with 10% for smokers who received a brochure about smoking cessation... |
Home Smoking Ban Keeps Teens From Lighting Up
But parental behavior remains strong influence on kids' attitudes, study says A new study finds that parents who enforce a no-smoking ban at home are less likely to have teens who experiment with cigarettes. The Massachusetts study, which followed... |
| Respiratory - Asthma |
Beware of First Impressions
A 64-year-old Filipino man presented to a Baltimore hospital with a 4-month history of worsening midback pain, progressive leg weakness, and intermittent bladder and bowel incontinence. He had no fever or pulmonary symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging... |
| Radiology - Nuclear Medicine |
| Psychology - Psychiatry |
Football therapy - for the mentally ill
When Peter Smith was a young boy he was obsessed with football. He would play every lunchtime at school and any other time he got the chance. But when he hit the age of 19 he and his identical twin David were both diagnosed with mental health problems... |
A Cold Stare Can Make You Crave Some Heat
For every congenial character who can warm a room, there’s another who can bring a draft from the north, a whiff of dead winter. And even if the thermometer doesn’t register the difference, people do: social iciness feels so cold to those... |
Stroke patients to test sensors
Motion sensors similar to those developed for video games like Nintendo Wii may help stroke patients relearn simple tasks, researchers say. A UK team is assessing such technology to see if it can be used to monitor improvements in upper body movements... |
9/11's Psychological Scars Slowly Healing
New Yorkers may be starting to heal psychologically -- as much as it is possible to heal at all -- from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, experts now say. "There is a thing called natural recovery and, for... |
Take a walk to keep your brain young
Walking not only boosts physical health but now world-first Australian research shows it can help your brain stay younger longer. In a University of Western Australia study, conducted over 18 months, 170 participants aged over 50 who felt they had memory... |
Serotonin Brain Chemistry Changes With Seasons
Researchers in Canada and Austria found that serotonin transporter protein, a brain chemical that reduces levels of the mood-regulating hormone serotonin around brain cells, is more active during the darker months of the year, and suggested this could... |
Psychologists Clash on Aiding Interrogations
They have closely studied suspects, looking for mental quirks. They have suggested lines of questioning. They have helped decide when a confrontation is too intense, or when to push harder. More than those in the other healing professions, psychologists... |
Psychologists Show New Ways To Deal With Health Challenges In Space
As NASA prepares to send humans back to the moon and then on to Mars, psychologists are exploring the challenges astronauts will face on missions that will be much longer and more demanding than previous space flights. Psychologists outlined these mental... |
'Bravest' students do not cheat
Students who are bravest are least likely to cheat, say US researchers. Two studies of more than 400 students at Ohio State University found those who did not cheat scored highest in tests of courage and empathy. They also, perhaps unsurprisingly, scored... |
Pay-for-Performance Yields Cash Bonuses at Physician Groups
The 10 physician groups participating in a Medicare pay-for-performance demonstration project met the vast majority of their quality goals and were awarded nearly all the cash bonuses for which they were eligible. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid... |
Americans Spending, Gambling, Saving
For some, spending in today's tumultuous economy is not a problem, especially for those who don't care what everyone else has. But for others, casino splurges, not saving enough or buying the latest iPhone on impulse can lead to emotional turmoil... |
| Prostate - Prostate Cancer |
Lifestyle Changes Boost Enzyme Regulating Cell Aging
Major lifestyle changes can help improve levels of an enzyme called telomerase that controls cell aging, say California researchers. Telomerase repairs and lengthens telomeres, which are DNA-protein complexes at the end of chromosomes that directly affect... |
Popularity of a Hallucinogen May Thwart Its Medical Uses
DALLAS — With a friend videotaping, 27-year-old Christopher Lenzini of Dallas took a hit of Salvia divinorum, regarded as the world’s most potent hallucinogenic herb, and soon began to imagine, he said, that he was in a boat with little green men... |
| Pregnancy - Obstetrics |
Pregnancy death rate could be higher
The number of women who die as a consequence of pregnancy or childbirth may be nearly twice as high as shown in official figures, which capture only one-third of suicides in the year after giving birth, according to NSW analysis that reveals the true... |
| Pharma Industry - Biotech Industry |
| Pediatrics - Children\'s Health |
Big babies 'risk breast cancer'
Baby girls who are of larger than average length and weight at birth grow up being at increased risk of breast cancer, analysis suggests. The analysis of 32 studies involving more than 600,000 women provides the strongest evidence yet of such a link.... |
MRI Detects Soft Tissue Damage Affecting Kids' Hearing
Scans could improve docs' ability to diagnose location of defects, study says Soft-tissue defects that contribute to hearing loss in children can be detected using MRI, say U.S. researchers who analyzed the medical records of hundreds of children... |
Huge split in child death rates
Progress in cutting the number of deaths among children under five is still "grossly insufficient" in some parts of the world, Unicef has warned. Its report, published in the Lancet, shows there has been a fall of 28% in child deaths since 1990... |
Stuttering More Likely In Bilingual Children
Children are more likely to stutter and have more trouble losing the impediment if they are bilingual before the age of five, in comparison to children who speak only one language during this period, according to an article released on September 9, 2008... |
10 Tips for Giving Medications to Children
Use care when giving any medicine to an infant or a child. Even over-the-counter (OTC) medicines that you buy are serious medicines. The following is advice for giving OTC medicine to your child, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the... |
Children In UK Estimated To Be More Active Than They Actually Are
The physical activity levels of children in the United Kingdom have been enormously overestimated, according to an article released on September 9, 2008 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, one of the BMJ Specialty journals. UK public health policy... |
Mom's Mood, Baby's Sleep: What's The Connection?
If there's one thing that everyone knows about newborn babies, it's that they don't sleep through the night, and neither do their parents. But in fact, those first six months of life are crucial to developing the regular sleeping and waking... |
Giving Ibuprofen Before Paracetamol Shortens Fever In Children
If given a regimen of ibuprofen followed by concurrent administration of ibuprofen and paracetamol, fever in young children may be controlled, according to a study released on September 3, 2008 in BMJ. A common symptom of childhood illness, fever simply... |
Ibuprofen best for child fevers
Ibuprofen is better at alleviating childhood fever than paracetamol and should be the drug of first choice, say UK researchers. The Bristol-based trial involving 156 children aged between six months and six years showed ibuprofen reduced temperature... |
Active Video Games Help Kids Exerci
Children love playing video games, and playing active versions of these games may help stop children from becoming obese, University of Hong Kong researchers report. In fact, children playing active video games have higher heart rates and burn four times... |
Perfume 'risk to unborn babies'
Pregnant women have been told that using perfumes or scented creams may increase the risk of unborn boys developing infertility in later life. Edinburgh University researchers claimed a crucial window between eight and 12 weeks of pregnancy determined... |
Children Learn to Share by Age 7 or 8
Three- and 4-year-olds are selfish and not likely to share -- hardly news to any parent who has presided over a toddler play date. The good news is children do develop altruism and the desire for things to be fair by the time they are 7 or 8, according... |
Infant Deaths Linked to Prematurity Show Small Rise
Infant mortality related to prematurity edged up slightly in the first half of the decade, according to CDC data issued here. The rate of deaths directly attributed to birth before 37 weeks of gestation rose from 2.38 to 2.5 per 1,000 live births from... |
Kids With Dogs May Become Snorers
Childhood risk factors, including exposure to dogs and respiratory infections, can boost the chances of snoring later in a life, according to a team of researchers. "Early-life environments can affect if you are a snorer or not later in life,"... |
Easy Steps to Your Child's Nutrition
Top 10 Brain Foods for Children Want your child to do better in school? Take a close look at diet. Certain "brain foods" may help boost a child's brain growth -- plus improve brain function, memory, and concentration. In fact, the... |
Protecting Newborns From a Dangerous Threat
Simple tests and antibiotics can thwart Group B strep, doctors say. One in four women in the United States carries a bacterium that could cause a debilitating and life-threatening infection in their newborn babies. And many don't know it. Infants... |
Why Women Stop Breast-Feeding
Breast or bottle? That simple question is always certain to generate a lively debate among women about the pros and cons of breast-feeding. That debate has continued on the Well blog this week , with hundreds of readers talking about a new report from... |
New Evidence On Benefits Of Breast Feeding
Researchers in Switzerland and Australia are reporting identification of proteins in human breast-milk — not present in cow's milk — that may fight disease by helping remove bacteria, viruses and other dangerous pathogen's from ... |
| Parkinson\'s Disease |
Pain Shows Up as Parkinson's Sets In
Parkinson's disease has no known cure, although it is treated with several medicines. The movement disorder takes its time developing; it can go unnoticed for years, or show up initially as just a small shaking in your hand. New research shows that... |
| Obesity - Weight Loss - Fitness |
Before Hustling to Finish, Relaxed Is a Good Way to Start
LIKE so many people around the world, Dr. Michael Joyner was transfixed watching Michael Phelps swim in the Summer Olympics. But while many of us focused on Mr. Phelps’s world records, Dr. Joyner, a competitive Masters swimmer and an exercise researcher... |
Jog To The Beat: Music Increases Exercise Endurance By 15%
Brunel University’s School of Sport and Education has reveals that, according to Dr Costas Karageorghis’s latest research, carefully selected music can significantly increase a person’s physical endurance and make the experience of cardiovascular... |
Mothers' stress linked to obesity in kids
Treating low-income mothers for depression, stress and anxiety could help combat the childhood obesity epidemic and reduce the number of teenagers developing type 2 diabetes and heart problems, a study has found. About 1.5 million Australian children,... |
Being unique is a disorder
Bad, quirky and obsessive behaviour is not new. Now there's a drug for everything - but is that the answer? Roger Dobson reports. Spending too much time on the internet? Worried about a low sex drive, shyness or lack of social skills? Or do you lose... |
Asthma-Obesity Study Rules Out Link Between Systemic And Airway Inflammation
Scientists in New Zealand found that while they observed systemic and airway inflammation in people with obesity and asthma, two diseases that are known to be strongly linked in some way, there was no clear evidence of an interaction between the two.... |
Map highlights 'obesity hotspots'
Shetland and parts of Wales and northern England are Britain's obesity hotspots, according to a map of obesity rates compiled from GP records. Almost one in four adults is obese and the rates are rising, according to official government figures.... |
Obesity risks higher than thought
AUSTRALIANS with obesity are at significantly higher risk than previously thought of suffering illness, including diabetes, heart attack, stroke and osteoarthritis, a new study has found. The reassessment of obesity's impact in Australia found that... |
Flawed Logic in Obesity Forecast
In the future, everyone will be fat — or so warns a new study published online last month in the medical journal Obesity. About 66 percent of American adults are now overweight or obese, according to government estimates, and the report makes the... |
Priced Out of Weight Loss Camp
Tiffany King has made progress. When the 5-foot-tall 12-year-old arrived at Camp Pocono Trails in June, she weighed 354 pounds. By Sunday’s weigh-in at the weight loss camp, she had lost 37 pounds. She hopes to get down to 304 by the time camp ends next week... |
Clumsy young 'face obesity risk'
Clumsy and poorly co-ordinated children could be at higher risk of obesity in later life, a study says. Researchers found youngsters who performed least well in tests assessing cognitive and physical function were far more likely to be obese aged 33.... |
Work and Your Weight
8 easy ways to lighten your load at the office. Webmd.com
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Vigorous Exercise Like Running Linked To Longer Life And Less Disability In Old Age
US scientists comparing middle aged and older regular runners with healthy equivalents for more than 20 years found that vigorous regular exercise was linked to longer life and less disability in old age. The study was the work of Dr James Fries... |
Nab a Better Gym Membership
More people join gyms in January than any other month, according to the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). If this includes you, check out our insider's tips for getting the best deal with the most perks. 1. Take... |
Belly Size May Be Better Stroke Predictor Than BMI
A new study from Germany suggests that belly size and other markers of abdominal fat may be a better predictor of stroke than body mass index (BMI). The study was the work of lead author Dr Yaroslav Winter from the University of Heidelberg and other colleagues... |
Hefty but Healthy?
Despite their weight, nearly a third of obese people are not at high risk of diabetes or heart disease -- but nearly a quarter of normal-weight people are. WebMD
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Runners Live Longer and Have Fewer Disabilities
Regular running in middle age and beyond may lengthen lifespans and retard the disabilities of aging, a longitudinal study showed.MedPage Today
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Scientists Create Mice Resistant to Obesity
Research with a brain chemical might lead to drug treatments for humans. The findings could one day lead to possible drug treatments for obesity in people. They also shed light on the brain circuitry that controls energy homeostasis -- the balance... |
Running Slows the Effects of Aging
A study that tracked older runners for two decades shows that regular runners have fewer disabilities and are less likely to die early deaths. WebMD.com
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| Nutrition - Diet |
Pizza Marinara With Tuna and Capers
This pizza is a slice of southern Italy. Be careful with the hot red pepper flakes — just a light sprinkle is enough to give the pizza a little heat. 1 14-oz. can tomatoes, finely chopped and drained in a strainer for one hour; or 3/4 cup fresh... |
Cadbury's Chocolate Safe in U.S.
Cadbury's Chocolate Recall Limited to Asia, Australia; Company Notes Melamine Risk The chocolate company Cadbury is temporarily taking certain chocolate products off the market -- but only in Asia and Australia. In a news release, Cadbury calls the... |
Strict Mediterranean Diet Can Help Reduce Deaths From Major Chronic Diseases
Sticking to a full Mediterranean diet provides substantial protection against major chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published on the British Medical Journal website... |
Middle Eastern Pita and Vegetable Salad (Fattoush)
Flat breads become stale very quickly, so it’s no surprise that there’s an array of Arab dishes made with crumbled up pitas. This is my favorite destination for them (I love any dish where bread is soaked with salad dressing). You can use... |
Grilled Eggplant Panini
Eggplant slices are ready in two or three minutes on a panini grill. If you don’t use the slices for panini, you can simply top them with tomato sauce, or chop and toss them with pasta or rice. Alternatively, try them drizzled with vinaigrette and... |
The Misunderstood Eggplant
My favorite line about eggplant is from “How to Pick a Peach,” an appreciation of seasonal produce by Russ Parsons. “Let’s get one thing straight: most eggplants are not bitter (even though they have every right to be after everything... |
Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza Recalled
Nestle Recalls Certain 12-Pack Cartons of Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Sandwiches. Nestle Prepared Foods Company is recalling about 215,660 pounds of its "Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza" stuffed sandwiches because they may contain pieces of plastic... |
Fruit juice: friend or foe?
Grapefruit, orange and apple juices can harm the body's ability to absorb certain medications and make the drugs less effective, said a Canadian study released this week in the United States. The research showed that these juices can decrease the... |
Grapefruit, Orange, and Apple Juices Lower Absorption of Certain Drugs
Evidence has been reported that grapefruit and other common fruit juices, including orange and apple, can substantially decrease the absorption of drugs, potentially wiping out their beneficial effects. It has been known for years that grapefruit juice... |
The Good Mood Diet
Research shows certain snacks make potent antidepressants, if you eat them right My grandfather was a wonderful man who loved cookies. When I visited his lovely, old house surrounded by trees, flowers, vegetable gardens, and lawns, we shared all... |
Diet friends or enemies?
Chew On This Are your friends making you fat? To what extent is weight gain a social phenomenon?Life&Style
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French paradox a diet myth
Cheese, pastries, foie gras — France's culinary delights are full of dietary sins. Now child obesity is rising and the myth that French people can eat anything and stay thin is fading. So the Government is fighting back.The latest anti-fat... |
Freshman Weight Gain Has Many Culprits
Fast food access, alcohol and study load contribute to poor dietary choices, expert says Irresponsible eating, lack of exercise and alcohol consumption are among the factors that contribute to the Freshman 15, which refers to the extra pounds packed on... |
Summer Pasta With Tomatoes and Chickpeas
like this simple, high-protein combination with an uncooked tomato sauce, but it also can be made with a more traditional cooked sauce. Substitute cooked tomato sauce for the first six ingredients below, then stir in the chickpeas before tossing with the pasta... |
Diet Pills
The Federal Trade Commission says promises like these convince American dieters to spend over $30 billion a year on products and programs that supposedly help you lose weight. But do they really work? Are they safe? Or are they just a ruse to get your... |
Summer Minestrone With Fresh Basil
You can finish this hearty summer soup with slivered fresh basil or with pistou, the Provençal version of pesto. (It’s pesto without the pine nuts.) A Parmesan rind, simmered in the soup and then removed, provides great depth of flavor... |
Aussies favour instant gratification
Australians may be latte and cappuccino drinkers in public, but they prefer instant coffee at home, a survey has found. A report on Australians' non alcoholic drinking choices by industry analyst BIS Shrapnel says as a nation we are also increasingly... |
| Neurology - Neuroscience |
Non-Laminar Cerebral Cortex In Teleost Fishes?
A large skull is disadvantageous to animals that move quickly in three-dimensional space, like fish and birds in water or air. A cerebral neocortex with a six-layered sheet has not evolved, most likely due to the limited cranial space. Instead of the... |
Why An Exciting Book Is Just As Thrilling As A Hair-raising Movie
Watching Keanu Reeves walk along the ledge of a skyscraper and lose his footing in The Matrix can make us skip a heartbeat or sweat, as if we were risking our own life. This sharing of other people's emotions in movies has been shown to depend on... |
| Multiple Sclerosis |
| MRI - PET - Ultrasound |
Tiny 3-D Ultrasound Probe Guides Catheter Procedures
An ultrasound probe small enough to ride along at the tip of a catheter can provide physicians with clearer real-time images of soft tissue without the risks associated with conventional x-ray catheter guidance. Duke University biomedical engineers designed... |
| Mental Health |
US Army To Strengthen Suicide Prevention
The US Army is strengthening its suicide prevention with awareness raising, policy reviews and more intervention training in the wake of reports indicating that the suicide rate this year could reach an all time high. This week, 7-13 September, is National... |
Down's signs 'seen in stem cells'
Scientists have revealed the earliest developmental changes that lead to Down's syndrome. The team from Barts and the Royal London say the changes to embryonic stem cells are caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21. The study, in... |
Researchers Create Animal Model Of Chronic Stress
In an effort to better understand how chronic stress affects the human body, researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, have created an animal model that shows... |
Social factors key to ill health
Social factors - rather than genetics - are to blame for huge variations in ill health and life expectancy around the world, a report concludes. The World Health Organization (WHO) has carried out a three-year analysis of the "social determinants"... |
Measles Cases Grow in Number, and Officials Blame Parents’ Fear of Autism
More people had measles infections in the first seven months of this year than during any comparable period since 1996, and public health officials blamed growing numbers of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Many of these parents say they... |
Happiness is key to longevity
The catchy 1980s hit, Don't Worry, Be Happy, got it right. New research shows being happy can add several years to life. "Happiness does not heal, but happiness protects against falling ill," says Ruut Veenhoven of Rotterdam's Erasmus... |
For Families of the Ailing, a Brief Chance to Relax
Mildred and John Fischer thought their retirement years would be a time for traveling and visiting their grandchildren. Then last September, just as Mr. Fischer was retiring as a postal carrier, Mrs. Fischer’s mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease,... |
Stress, Anxiety Can Make Allergy Attacks Even More Miserable And Last Longer
A new study shows that even slight stress and anxiety can substantially worsen a person’s allergic reaction to some routine allergens. Moreover, the added impact of stress and anxiety seem to linger, causing the second day of a stressed person's... |
Mental Health Issues Prominent In Child Soldiers
Compared to children in Nepal who were not forced into military service, former child soldiers were more likely to present severe mental health problems such as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. These findings are reported... |
| Medical Students - Training |
Med School Diversity May Help Whites Care Better for Minorities
Findings urge push for broad-based admission policies that reflect ethnic variety. Attending medical schools with high levels of racial and ethnic diversity may better prepare white medical students to care for minority patients, U.S. researchers say.... |
Medicare, Graduate Medical Education, and New Policy Directions
It has been more than a decade since Congress enacted legislation that significantly altered the policies under which Medicare supports graduate medical education (GME). Now, the political ground under this relationship is beginning to gradually shift... |
| Medical Malpractice - Litigation |
Medicare Won’t Pay for Medical Errors
If an auto mechanic accidentally breaks your windshield while trying to repair the engine, he would never get away with billing you for fixing his mistake. On Wednesday, Medicare will start applying that logic to American medicine on a broad scale when... |
Federal Judge Rules Mass. Abortion Buffer Zone Law Constitutional
A Massachusetts law that expands buffer zones around abortion clinics was ruled constitutional Friday by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro, the AP/Boston Herald reports (AP/Boston Herald, 8/25). Tauro said the law "passes constitutional muster under... |
Medical negligence more costly
Payouts of more than $500,000 for doctors' mistakes have almost doubled in recent years. Life & Style
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| Lymphoma - Leukemia |
| Lupus |
| Lung Cancer |
Newly Discovered Air Pollutants May Cause Lung Problems
Cancer, cardiopulmonary diseases might be tied to persistent free radicals, study says Recently discovered so-called free radicals that are attached to small particles of air pollution could cause lung damage and perhaps even lung cancer, researchers report... |
| Liver Disease - Hepatitis |
Vaccinations of Toddlers Set a Record
Toddlers received the recommended vaccinations against childhood diseases at record levels in 2007, federal health officials said on Thursday, as they urged parents to continue to trust vaccine safety. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued... |
| Infectious Diseases - Bacteria - Viruses |
Herpes strain hitting sumo wrestlers
Japan's sumo wrestlers are vulnerable to a more virulent strain of a herpes skin virus, contracted through grappling their opponents, scientists revealed today. The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is notorious among the general public for causing... |
New Way To Make Malaria Medicine Also First Step In Finding New Antibiotics
University of Illinois microbiology professor William Metcalf and his collaborators have developed a way to mass-produce an antimalarial compound, potentially making the treatment of malaria less expensive. Metcalf set out to understand how this compound,... |
Virus That Affects Mosquitoes May Offer New Malaria Strategy
Mosquitoes are known for transmitting deadly viruses to humans, but the insects themselves are susceptible to viral infection. According to a study published in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have described... |
Molecule Keeps Bacteria Like Salmonella in Check
Finding could also fight other pathogens before they develop resistance to antibiotics A molecule that tames bacteria that cause gastroenteritis, tularemia and severe diarrhea has been identified by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern... |
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