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Chronic stress can be harmful - to your health and also to your brain

Chronic stress can be harmful - to your health and also to your brain, according to researchers at the Douglas Hospital Research Center. Their findings, published in a recent issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology, show increased stress hormones lead to memory impairment in the elderly and learning difficulties in young adults.

17 May 2005

6,000 UK breast screenings to be reviewed because of concerns

Women who had breast cancer screening at a hospital in Essex are to have their records reviewed after "inconsistencies" were found.

4 May 2005

Ensuring patient safety at fertility clinics

In the years since the birth of the first ‘test-tube’ baby in 1978, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) has grown to become an accepted mainstream medical technique, with more than 25,000 treatments carried out every year.

23 Apr 2005

International internet drug ring shattered

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Karen P. Tandy has announced the results of Operation “Cyber Chase”, a year-long Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that targeted international Internet pharmaceutical traffickers operating in the United States, India, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. These e-traffickers distributed drugs world-wide using “rogue” Internet pharmacies.

23 Apr 2005

Missing samples of deadly flu strain now found

World Health Organization (WHO) officials say that all but one of the deadly flu virus samples mistakenly sent to labs outside the United States have been destroyed.

20 Apr 2005

Framework agreement creates safe blood for China

In an important step to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in China, The People's Republic of China's Ministry of Health signed a groundbreaking framework agreement with Washington, D.C.-based Safe Blood International Foundation (Safe Blood International), an organization dedicated to providing a safe blood supply for developing countries to help them stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases at the Ministry of Health in Beijing.

12 Apr 2005

HIVNET 012 perinatal HIV prevention trial praised by IOM

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences in the autumn of 2004 was asked by the NIH to review the HIVNET 012 perinatal HIV prevention trial and provide an assessment of the validity of the study results.

10 Apr 2005

Electronic nose can be used to detect early evidence of lung cancer

The electronic nose, a device long used for safety and quality control in the food, wine and perfume industries, also can be used to detect early evidence of lung cancer, according to research conducted at The Cleveland Clinic.

7 Apr 2005

Why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases, which include Alzheimer's disease and a cluster of ailments called the familial amyloidoses.

7 Apr 2005

Federal database used to track trends in cochlear implant complications

Changes in the format of a federal database for mandatory reporting of major and minor complications for medical devices, including cochlear implants, could make it a valuable resource, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

22 Mar 2005

Smart tech at Pittsburgh hospital improves patient safety

Pittsburgh's Ohio Valley General Hospital, in an effort to improve patient safety, has implemented an automated system that uses barcoding and "smart" infusion system technology to ensure that patients receive the right intravenous (IV) medication at the appropriate dose and rate.

16 Mar 2005

American endocrinologists aim to keep patients safe

As medicine becomes more complex and patients live longer and better lives, it also becomes more difficult to keep them safe.

17 Jan 2005

Alternative therapies and conventional medical therapies should be held to same standards

Stating that health care should strive to be both comprehensive and evidence-based, a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies calls for conventional medical treatments and complementary and alternative treatments to be held to the same standards for demonstrating clinical effectiveness.

13 Jan 2005

Discovery shows how embryonic stem cells perform 'quality control' inspections

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have found a fundamental mechanism used by embryonic stem cells to assure that genetically damaged stem cells do not divide and pass along the damage to daughter stem cells.

26 Dec 2004

New virtual microscopy system

Researchers at the universities of Helsinki and Tampere (Finland) have developed a new virtual microscopy system, which allows users digitize entire microscope glass slide specimens, and then create a virtual slide with the quality and resolution similar to the original glass slide viewed on a microscope.

29 Nov 2004

Herbal, nutritional supplements linked to side effects ranging from dry eye to retinal hemorrhages and transient visual loss

An estimated 42 percent of Americans use herbal medicines or nutritional supplements. Many people taking these products and their physicians are unaware of the adverse reactions they can cause.

13 Oct 2004