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Health care disparities found for female veterans

Female veterans do not receive the same quality of outpatient care as male veterans at about one-third of the 139 Department of Veterans Affairs facilities that offer it, according to a report released on Friday by VA, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

17 Jun 2008

Drink up that coffee to reduce your risk of a heart attack!

According to new research drinking coffee on a long-term basis does not increase the risk of early death and may in fact reduce the risk of dying from heart disease.

17 Jun 2008

Misoprostol off-label use may have led to deaths

Preliminary U-M studies indicate that oral use of RU-486's companion drug misoprostol is safe, but vaginal use may undermine body's immune responses

16 Jun 2008

Diabetic women get less intense treatment of heart disease than men

Women with type 2 diabetes and heart disease have poorer control of both diseases and receive less intensive medical treatment than do men, a large new study found. The results have been presented Sunday, June 15, at The Endocrine Society’s 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

16 Jun 2008

Racial disparities reduced in injury related mortality

When it comes to injury-related deaths, the gap between black and white American youths is narrowing, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

16 Jun 2008

Breastfeeding support lacking in U.S. hospitals and birth centers

Many birth facilities in the United States are not providing maternity care that is fully supportive of breastfeeding, according to a study in today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR), a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

15 Jun 2008

Age-adjusted death rates in U.S. down sharply in 2006

Age-adjusted death rates in the United States dropped significantly between 2005 and 2006 and life expectancy hit another record high, according to preliminary death statistics released today by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

11 Jun 2008

Good sleep patterns paramount to health in older men

It appears that disrupted rest and activity rhythms are associated with increased mortality rates among older men, according to new University of Minnesota research.

11 Jun 2008

Computed tomography lung cancer screening no cure-all for smokers

Screening for lung cancer with computed tomography (CT) may help reduce lung cancer deaths in current and former smokers, but it won't protect them from other causes of death associated with smoking, according to a new study published in the July issue of the journal Radiology.

11 Jun 2008

Guardian examines rise of pregnancies among HIV-positive women in Malawi

London's Guardian on Saturday profiled Grace Mathanga, an HIV-positive pregnant woman living in Malawi whom the newspaper first profiled five years ago.

11 Jun 2008

Low levels of vitamin D in men linked to heart attack

Low levels of vitamin D appear to be associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) in men, according to a report in the June 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

9 Jun 2008

Chinese red yeast rice reduces repeat heart attacks

A clinical study on patients who have suffered a heart attack found that a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%, revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular mortality and total mortality by one-third and cancer mortality by two-thirds.

9 Jun 2008

Cancer warning on diabetic ulcer gel

The U.S. watchdog the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says a warning will be added to the label of a topical gel used to treat leg and foot ulcers which refuse to heal in diabetic patients.

9 Jun 2008

Scientists closer to solving epilepsy mystery

Scientists in the United States believe they are a step closer to understanding why some people suffer from epileptic fits.

9 Jun 2008

Experts to develop national response to growing crisis of premature birth

Experts from throughout the United States will gather to develop a comprehensive national action plan to address the growing crisis of preterm birth.

9 Jun 2008

FDA announces label changes for Regranex - boxed warning

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced the addition of a boxed warning to the label of Regranex Gel 0.01% (becaplermin) to address the increased risk of cancer mortality in patients who use 3 or more tubes of the product. Regranex is a topical cream indicated for the treatment of leg and foot ulcers that are not healing in diabetic patients.

8 Jun 2008

More evidence red wine keep hearts young

How, scientists wonder, do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats?

3 Jun 2008

Less than 1 in 5 patients receive treatment to prevent venous thrombosis after surgery

Fewer than 1 in 5 patients received post-discharge therapy to prevent life-threatening blood clots - venous thrombosis - after hip- or knee-replacement surgery, report Rahme and colleagues in a retrospective cohort study. Venous thrombosis is one of the leading causes of death among hospital patients. However, elderly patients have a 70% lower chance of dying within 3 months if they take an anticoagulant drug to prevent blood clots.

2 Jun 2008

Delegates agree to focus on HIV/AIDS, other issues hindering African development at close of Tokyo conference

Delegates at the close of the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan, on Friday agreed to focus on health issues, including HIV/AIDS, on the continent, the Kyodo News/TMCnet reports. In the Yokohama declaration, delegates also pledged to pay "special attention" to issues -- such as health, poverty and food insecurity -- that are hindering African development.

2 Jun 2008

IDM Pharma presents new data on IDM-2101 in non-small cell lung cancer

IDM Pharma, Inc. today announced follow-up results from the Phase 2 study of IDM-2101 showing that the product candidate was well tolerated, induced broadly specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses, and showed a positive survival trend in HLA-A2 positive patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were treated with IDM-2101, compared to a parallel external control group of HLA-A2 negative non-treated patients.

2 Jun 2008