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Stress and depression worsen childhood asthma

Young people with asthma have nearly twice the incidence of depression compared to their peers without asthma, and studies have shown that depression is associated with increased asthma symptoms and, in some cases, death.

12 Jul 2009

ECOSOC's agenda should include noncommunicable disease threat in developing countries

"[E]xplicit indicators to measure progress in reducing heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases" are missing from the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agenda as it meets in Geneva this week "to focus on implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to public health," and the "omission needs to be urgently addressed if the intent is to have a major impact on reducing poverty by 2015," Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health; George Alleyne, PAHO's director emeritus; and Martin Silink, president of the International Diabetes Federation write in an opinion piece in the Hindu.

8 Jul 2009

Review of addiction to prescription painkillers

Chemical dependency and recovery in patients and physicians are closely examined in a series of articles and editorials in the July 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The subject is especially timely. As the immense challenges, including potential tragedies, of prescription chemical addiction and abuse are being discussed, these articles offer crucial overview, direction and optimism.

7 Jul 2009

Children's hospital a model for benefits, struggles of health IT

An Associated Press examination of the "new all-digital Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh" reveals the benefits of electronic health records in action, and the steep climb the hospital took to achieve those improvements.

7 Jul 2009

International health experts hold two-day H1N1 meeting

WHO leaders and international health ministers met Thursday for a two-day meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to share the lessons learned from the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) (Xinhua, 7/3) and strategies for "battling the pandemic," the AP/Washington Post reports (Rodriguez, 7/2).

7 Jul 2009

Pakistani refugees continue to be at high risk for disease, U.N. says

The 2 million Pakistani refugees forced from their homes due to a military offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley continue to be at high risk for diseases "as they cope with damaged water and sewage systems in towns and villages," according to the U.N., Bloomberg reports.

7 Jul 2009

Researchers profile genes in acutely ill idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients

The first findings from a one-of-a-kind, patient-driven effort to provide lung tissue for research might help doctors predict when patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are becoming dangerously ill and also could point the way to interventions that could sustain them until life-saving transplants can be performed.

7 Jul 2009

Whooping cough epidemic on North Coast of New South Wales

Health officials on the North Coast of New South Wales say there is now an epidemic of whooping cough in the region and they are advising young children and those who have close contact with them to be vaccinated.

5 Jul 2009

Research examines history of H1N1 and provides cautionary tale about the use of extinct viruses

The current H1N1 swine flu strain has genetic roots in an illness that sickened pigs at the 1918 Cedar Rapids Swine Show in Iowa, report infectious disease experts at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in the New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Jun 2009

MedImmune funds study on RSV disease among premature infants

MedImmune continues to advance its commitment to pediatric research with today's announcement of the first observational prospective study designed to assess the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among preterm infants 32-to-35 weeks gestational age (GA) in outpatient settings during their first year of life.

30 Jun 2009

Battle is on to keep swine flu out of hospitals and prisons

According to the latest update, #55, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), worldwide there have been 70,893 cases including 311 deaths from the influenza A H1N1 (swine flu).

29 Jun 2009

Soy consumption and risk of COPD and respiratory symptoms

People who eat lots of soy products have better lung function and are less likely to develop the smoking-associated lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). A study published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Respiratory Research has shown that consumption of a wide variety of soy products can be associated with a reduction in the risk of COPD and other respiratory symptoms.

28 Jun 2009

Antibiotic prescribing should be standardized across Europe to help tackle resistance

Antibiotic prescribing for respiratory illnesses should be standardised across Europe to help reduce inappropriate prescribing and resistance, say experts in a study published on bmj.com.

24 Jun 2009

Swine flu tally has U.S. top and Australia 6th

The latest update, # 52, from the World Health Organisation on the influenza A H1N1 pandemic (swine flu), says as of the 22nd of June the grand total of those infected is now 52,160 including 231 deaths.

23 Jun 2009

Music therapy for heart and stroke patients

Blood flow and respiratory rates can synch with music, indicating that music could one day be a therapeutic tool for blood pressure control and rehabilitation, according to a study by Italian researchers published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Jun 2009

Adults with asthma not getting their flu shots

Because of increased risk of complications from influenza, vaccination of adults and children with asthma is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

22 Jun 2009

Six 'major health agencies' form alliance to address chronic diseases in developing countries

A group of "major health agencies" from Australia, Canada, China, the U.K. and the U.S., which "together control 80 percent of the world's public health-research funding," have joined together to form the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) to combat chronic diseases in developing countries, Time reports (Walsh, Time, 6/16).

17 Jun 2009

Cannabis smoke damages DNA – cancer risks

A new study published by University of Leicester researchers has found "convincing evidence" that cannabis smoke damages DNA in ways that could potentially increase the risk of cancer development in humans.

16 Jun 2009

Pneumococcal vaccine effective in preventing severe pneumonia

A new trial has found that pneumococcal vaccine is effective in preventing severe pneumonia, the leading cause of death among children in developing countries. Co-ordinated by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) between 2000 and 2004, a large scale efficacy trial - first of its kind in Asia - was carried out in the Philippines to investigate the effect of an investigational pneumococcal vaccine.

16 Jun 2009

Reuters examines WHO efforts to fight H1N1 in developing countries

Reuters examines the WHO's battle against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus in "[d]eveloping countries, where medical care systems are weak and supplies of antivirals insufficient." In addition to "supplying countries with diagnostic kits, medicines and masks and gloves to protect health care workers and minimize the further spread of the new virus," the WHO is continuing to distribute doses of the antiviral Tamiflu, which has been "shown to be effective so far against H1N1," according to Reuters.

15 Jun 2009