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Five million village doctors in rural China to be re-trained

A memorandum which is to lead to the re-training of five million village doctors in rural China is to be signed on 23 May in Beijing, China. The memorandum goes back to the initiative of Terence Ryan, Professor of Dermatology at the University of Oxford, who has been instrumental in drawing it up and will participate in the signing.

14 May 2004

Training and flexibility the key to retaining rural doctors

A Monash University study of more than 1100 rural doctors has found that Federal Government strategies to attract doctors to rural areas are working.

14 May 2004

Patients still prefer doctors to wear white coats

Doctors find their traditional white coats uncomfortable and a germ reservoir, but patients still prefer them to be worn, finds research in Postgraduate Medical Journal.

13 May 2004

Physicians perceive overactive bladder as a normal part of aging when in fact it is a treatable medical condition

Nearly half of people with symptoms of overactive bladder had to initiate multiple conversations with their doctor before receiving a diagnosis or treatment, according to a national survey of more than 500 people with symptoms of overactive bladder. Furthermore, only 15 percent of those surveyed said their doctors had ever initiated a discussion about overactive bladder symptoms.

12 May 2004

What's the fourth biggest killer in America? Over 51% of Americans don't know either

More than half of Americans (51 percent) have never even heard of a disease that is the fourth leading killer in this country, according to results of a nationwide survey released today by the National Women’s Health Resource Center (NWHRC).

11 May 2004

68 percent of smokers want help quitting

According to a study just published in Preventive Medicine, 68 percent of smokers who were offered free cessation treatment at their regular clinics took advantage of the invitation.

11 May 2004

Indicators identify shingles patients who have an increased risk of developing persistent pain

Researchers have recently confirmed a set of indicators that, alone and in combination, identify shingles patients who have an increased risk of developing persistent pain after the shingles rash heals. Results and implications of their study will be presented in the May 11 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 May 2004

Men with erectile dysfunction (ED) are 38 percent more likely to have hypertension

This statistical analysis is the largest epidemiological study to confirm this link, and the first to compare men with ED - and those without - for hypertension

10 May 2004

More UK health professionals will be able to prescribe medicines

The proposals recommend that physiotherapists, radiographers, chiropodists and optometrists should be able to prescribe medicines, in partnership with a doctor, to help treat and manage conditions such as glaucoma, chronic back pain and the effects of multiple sclerosis, as well as providing pain relief for patients attending radiography sessions.

10 May 2004

Research finds feeding ewes well impacts on future generations

Research that has found a two-fold difference in the amount of epithelial tissue in the mammary glands of foetal lambs whose dams were well fed throughout pregnancy compared to dams fed at maintenance levels could have important implications for sheep farm management in New Zealand – and perhaps human nutrition.

10 May 2004

Paul Martin has been accussed of hypocrisy for pushing public health care in Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin is has been accussed of hypocrisy for pushing public health care in Canada while his own family doctor runs a several private medical clinics.

8 May 2004

Traditional Chinese medicine contains human placenta

MHRA (Medicines) has recently become aware of a traditional Chinese medicine called Nu Bao. The product patient information leaflet lists human placenta (Placenta hominis), deer antler (Corna cervi pantotrichum) and donkey skin (Colla cori astini) as ingredients.

8 May 2004

Post surgery follow up by robotic physician

A new study at Johns Hopkins finds that many hospitalized patients prefer visits from their own physician to those of the physicians on duty, even when those "visits" are virtual "telerounds."

8 May 2004

Childhood asthma study reveals parental age anomaly

A study of children with asthma conducted by the University's Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and the Children's Hospital at Westmead has found that the age of the children's parents is a key factor in the early diagnosis of the disease.

8 May 2004

Britain debates whether to create DNA registry of newborn babies

In a White Paper published last year the Government asked the Human Genetics Commission and the National Screening Committee to consider the case for screening every baby at birth and storing their genetic profile for future use.

7 May 2004

Aortic screening programme in the UK could save lives at reasonable cost

Every year in England and Wales about 6,000 men die from a ruptured aortic aneurysm (caused by ballooning of the artery wall) yet aortic aneurysms can be detected with a simple ultrasound scan.

6 May 2004

Antidepressant drugs prescription to children and adolescents increased 300% in the nineties

The rate at which antidepressant drugs are prescribed for the nation’s children and adolescents increased more than three fold between the early 1990s and 2001, according to a review of medical office survey data completed recently by researchers at Washington State University.

6 May 2004

FRC applauds FDA for rejecting over-the-counter pill in America's pharmacies

Citing a concern that young teenagers may not safely use the morning after pill without a doctor's guidance, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late today officially rejected a plan to make the pill available over-the-counter in America's pharmacies. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement in response to the FDA's decision:

6 May 2004

7 health workers face firing squad after being detained for over 5 years

A Libyan court has sentenced six Bulgarian health workers and a Palestinian doctor convicted of spreading AIDS to death by firsing squad. The seven were originally arrested in February 1999 and have since been incarcerated in an inconspicuous grey compound in Tripoli's chaotic western suburbs.

6 May 2004