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Single injection could treat pain days, weeks, maybe even months

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have developed a slow-release anesthetic drug-delivery system that could potentially revolutionize treatment of pain during and after surgery, and may also have a large impact on chronic pain management

15 Apr 2009

Bracelet warns of too much sun exposure

Scientists in Britain have come up with what appears a very sensible idea - a team at Strathclyde University in Scotland have developed an early warning sunburn indicator - it comes in the form of a thin strip which turns pink after too much exposure to ultra-violet light.

15 Apr 2009

Type 1 diabetes controlled by stem cell transplants therapy

Scientists in the United States have found that stem cell transplants enabled people with type 1 diabetes to manage for as long as four years without needing insulin injections and to maintain good glycemic control - such patients typically need daily insulin therapy to control their diabetes.

15 Apr 2009

Price hike for tobacco would make many smokers quit

The latest research from Cancer Council Victoria which involved a telephone poll of 4,500 smokers, has found that almost three quarters of smokers surveyed would try to quit if the price of cigarettes rose by 50%.

15 Apr 2009

Vaccine for Coeliac disease could mean the end of gluten free diets

Australian scientists have developed an experimental vaccine to treat coeliac disease. The team at the Walter and Eliza Hall (WEHI) Institute in Melbourne are hoping a phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine, due to begin this month, will eventually lead to an effective clinical treatment for the disease.

15 Apr 2009

Wrist acupuncture prevents postoperative nausea and vomiting

Up to 80 percent of patients who have surgery complain of nausea and vomiting afterwards, but stimulating an acupoint in their wrists can help reduce these symptoms, finds a new evidence review.

14 Apr 2009

Surgery for obesity

Surgeons once recommended weight-loss surgery only for severely obese patients who failed to drop pounds with conventional weight-loss methods, but a review now finds that bariatric surgery helps the moderately obese lose more weight, too.

14 Apr 2009

PET/CT imaging shows if single cycle of chemo is working

Oncologists often have to wait months before they can determine whether a treatment is working.

14 Apr 2009

Early HIV treatment decreases the risk of death

Begin treatment as early as possible: this general common sense rule seems to apply to most diseases except HIV-AIDS, which is only treated once a certain number of immune cells called "CD4+" cells have disappeared.

14 Apr 2009

Pancreatic islets show promise in diabetes research, treatments

The use of pancreatic islets (hormone-producing cells) is increasing in diabetes research and may play an important role in future treatments, according to an article in the April 15 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Apr 2009

Statins for the prevention of dementia

An increasing number of studies show that elevated serum cholesterol levels might be part of the cause of Alzheimer's disease, but a new review of studies says that, even so, the most successful class of cholesterol-lowering medicines will not stave off the condition.

14 Apr 2009

Maternal positions and mobility during first stage of labor

Women who walk, sit, kneel or otherwise avoid lying in bed during early labor can shorten the first stage of labor by about an hour, according to a new Cochrane evidence review.

14 Apr 2009

Signals from stroking have direct route to brain

Nerve signals that tell the brain that we are being slowly stroked on the skin have their own specialised nerve fibres in the skin.

14 Apr 2009

Wireless body sensors to help prevent falls in seniors

When an older person is injured in a fall, the cost is significant, both in quality of life and medical expense.

14 Apr 2009

Scientists discover way to jumpstart bone's healing process

Rarely will physicians use the word "miraculous" when discussing patient recoveries.

14 Apr 2009

Many consumers ignore food product recalls

Rutgers' Food Policy Institute (FPI) released a study today showing that many Americans fail to check their homes for recalled food products.

14 Apr 2009

Enteral tube feeding for older patients with advanced dementia

Family members grappling with the decision to allow a feeding tube for a relative with advanced dementia will find little comfort from a new review of evidence.

14 Apr 2009