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British smokers told to start vaping by public health experts

A major British medical organization has urged Britain’s eight million smokers to switch to electronic cigarettes, as their best hope of managing to stop smoking.

28 Apr 2016

Certain genetic markers linked with depression can also predict who may benefit from exercise

Call it personalized medicine for depression -- but the prescription in this case is exercise, which University of Florida Health researchers have found helps people with certain genetic traits.

28 Apr 2016

Nurse scientist asks health-care systems to set patients up for mortality cliff

Longer lifespans, due to advances in medicine and public health, mean people are living longer with multiple chronic conditions.

28 Apr 2016

Existing non-antibiotic therapeutic drugs could help combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens

The rise of antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens is an increasingly global threat to public health. In the United States alone antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens kill thousands every year.

27 Apr 2016

Research highlights global economic burden of norovirus

While norovirus is often linked in the news to outbreaks on cruise ships, the highly contagious stomach bug sickens nearly 700 million around the world every year and results in roughly $4.2 billion in health care costs and $60.3 billion in societal costs annually, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

27 Apr 2016

Zika virus present in Americas prior to first identification in Brazil

The Zika virus was present in Haiti several months before the first Zika cases were identified in Brazil, according to new research by infectious-disease specialists at the University of Florida.

27 Apr 2016

Yoga exercise may reduce impact of asthma on people's quality of life

A new Cochrane Review, published in the Cochrane Library today, suggests that yoga may have a beneficial effect on symptoms and quality of life in people with asthma, but effects on lung function and medication use are uncertain.

27 Apr 2016

Working in night shifts may increase risk of coronary heart disease

Working at night is unhealthy for the heart and increases the risk of sustaining coronary heart disease, meaning a disease of the coronary arteries. This is the result of a current, and one of the largest American cooperation studies under the management of Eva Schernhammer of the epidemiology division of MedUni Wien, which was published in the top journal JAMA today. First author is Celine Vetter of Harvard University in Boston.

27 Apr 2016

PANDHUB project develops ways of reducing pandemic risk in transport hubs

Transport plays a major role in the spread of transmissible diseases. PANDHUB, a project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, develops ways of reducing the risk of pandemics and managing other high-threat pathogen incidents in transport hubs.

27 Apr 2016

Mozambique women who use modern contraceptives more likely to undergo HIV testing

Women in sub-Saharan Africa who use modern contraceptives are more likely to be tested for HIV than those who do not, according to a study published April 25, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Katherine Center from the University of Arizona and colleagues.

27 Apr 2016

First-ever vaccine to combat Leishmaniasis under development

As scientists scramble to get a Zika virus vaccine into human trials by the end of the summer, a team of researchers is working on the first-ever vaccine to prevent another insect-borne disease - Leishmaniasis - from gaining a similar foothold in the Americas.

27 Apr 2016

Endocrine Society urges physicians to increase screening for primary aldosteronism

The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline calling on physicians to ramp up screening for primary aldosteronism, a common cause of high blood pressure.

27 Apr 2016

Post-mortem toxicology screening has many phases

Prince's autopsy was conducted by A. Quinn Strobl, MD, FCAP, a member of the College of American Pathologists. The results are expected to take at least two weeks, perhaps as many as six full weeks. This tragedy has people asking again "Why do toxicology results take so long?"

26 Apr 2016

Study highlights potential emergence of new swine flu strains

The wide diversity of flu in pigs across multiple continents, mostly introduced from humans, highlights the significant potential of new swine flu strains emerging, according to a study to be published in eLife.

26 Apr 2016

Researchers reveal how bile component taurine attracts Vibrio cholera

A group of researchers from Osaka University, Hosei University, and Nagoya University have revealed the molecular mechanism that Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of cholera, is attracted by bile. This group has also successfully detected the ligand binding to the bacteria chemoreceptor in vivo for the first time. These results may significantly advance research on mechanism and control of V. cholerae.

26 Apr 2016

Hearing aid use improves cognitive function in hearing-impaired older adults

A study conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center found that older adults who used a hearing aid performed significantly better on cognitive tests than those who did not use a hearing aid, despite having poorer hearing. The study was published online in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

26 Apr 2016

Same genetic changes responsible for gastrointestinal problems in children with autism

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have found evidence in mice that, for some types of autism, gastrointestinal difficulties may originate from the same genetic changes that lead to the behavioral and social characteristics of the condition. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

26 Apr 2016

Criminology theory to combat counterfeit, sub-standard medicines

Around the world, especially in developing nations, counterfeit medicines are a real problem. Until now, in many countries there hasn't been a standard protocol to conduct investigations and pursue prosecution.

26 Apr 2016

FDA intends to ban electrical stimulation devices to ensure safety, well-being of patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a proposal to ban electrical stimulation devices (ESDs) used for self-injurious or aggressive behavior because they present an unreasonable and substantial risk to public health that cannot be corrected or eliminated through changes to the labeling.

25 Apr 2016

Lab-grown mini-brains shed light on health crisis posed by Zika virus in fetal brains

Studying a new type of pinhead-size, lab-grown brain made with technology first suggested by three high school students, Johns Hopkins researchers have confirmed a key way in which Zika virus causes microcephaly and other damage in fetal brains: by infecting specialized stem cells that build its outer layer, the cortex.

25 Apr 2016

Public Health News and Research

British smokers told to start vaping by public health experts

Certain genetic markers linked with depression can also predict who may benefit from exercise

Nurse scientist asks health-care systems to set patients up for mortality cliff

Existing non-antibiotic therapeutic drugs could help combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens

Research highlights global economic burden of norovirus

Zika virus present in Americas prior to first identification in Brazil

Yoga exercise may reduce impact of asthma on people's quality of life

Working in night shifts may increase risk of coronary heart disease

PANDHUB project develops ways of reducing pandemic risk in transport hubs

Mozambique women who use modern contraceptives more likely to undergo HIV testing

First-ever vaccine to combat Leishmaniasis under development

Endocrine Society urges physicians to increase screening for primary aldosteronism

Post-mortem toxicology screening has many phases

Study highlights potential emergence of new swine flu strains

Researchers reveal how bile component taurine attracts Vibrio cholera

Hearing aid use improves cognitive function in hearing-impaired older adults

Same genetic changes responsible for gastrointestinal problems in children with autism

Criminology theory to combat counterfeit, sub-standard medicines

FDA intends to ban electrical stimulation devices to ensure safety, well-being of patients

Lab-grown mini-brains shed light on health crisis posed by Zika virus in fetal brains

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