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UCSF study seeks to discover true causes of sudden cardiac death

A new study by the University of California, San Francisco's Cardiac Electrophysiology Service seeks to discover for the first time the true causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD), why it is more prevalent in some demographic populations, and whether it is too often inaccurately cited as a cause of death.

16 Jun 2011

Children use self-induced vomiting as weight-loss strategy: Study

Children as young as ten are making themselves vomit in order to lose weight and the problem is more common in boys than girls, according to a study of nearly 16,000 school pupils published online early, ahead of print publication, by the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

16 Jun 2011

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to relaunch online smoking-cessation study

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center announced today that it is relaunching an online study to help people quit smoking. The study, called WebQuit, is enrolling adult smokers nationwide. Participation is free to eligible individuals.

16 Jun 2011

Inviragen commences INV21 Phase 1 trial against Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Inviragen announced today the initiation of the first clinical trial of the Company's proprietary Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) investigational vaccine, INV21, a highly purified virus particle preparation designed to protect against HFMD caused by enterovirus 71.

16 Jun 2011

Simple and cheap Syphilis test could save the lives of millions of babies

Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that has been a taboo for decades, kills an estimated one million newborn and stillborn babies every year. However a simple test for every pregnant woman followed by antibiotics for those infected would stop the deaths.

16 Jun 2011

High number of adverse patient safety events occur in doctors' offices

However, a high number of adverse events, including major injury and even death, occur in private physician offices and outpatient clinics as well. In a new study -- the first of its kind -- researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College found that the number and magnitude of events resulting from medical errors is surprisingly similar inside and outside hospital walls.

15 Jun 2011

FDA issues final rulemaking on testing and labeling of sunscreen products

"FDA's recognition today of the important role sunscreens play in protecting the public not only from sunburn but also from skin cancer and premature aging due to the sun is a very significant victory for public health. The role of UV rays in causing skin damage and the role of sunscreens in protecting against this sun damage are widely acknowledged within the medical and scientific communities, and we're very pleased the agency has taken this critical step.

15 Jun 2011

GlycoVaxyn's Second Annual Science Day to highlight challenges of vaccine industry

GlycoVaxyn AG, a leader in the development of conjugate vaccines, today announced that it will host its Second Annual Science Day to discuss challenges and opportunities in vaccine development on June 16-17, 2011, in Cannes, France.

15 Jun 2011

Improve water access to avoid serious public health crisis in Pakistan

Haider Warraich, a research fellow at Harvard Medical School, examines how a "lack of access to water in Pakistan only exacerbates the country's already dire public health situation" in this post on Foreign Policy's "AfPak Channel" blog.

15 Jun 2011

Family socioeconomic situation linked to sedentary behaviours in children

It is not strange to expect that families with better living conditions enjoy better health and a longer life expectancy. Now, a new study has also confirmed the relationship between a family's socioeconomic situation and certain sedentary behaviours, such as watching television and playing videogames, during the first years of life.

15 Jun 2011

California adults increase fruit and vegetable consumption from 1997-2007

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2010 objectives, adequate fruit and vegetable consumption is a national public health priority for disease prevention and maintenance of good health.

15 Jun 2011

Prolonged TV viewing associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and all-cause mortality

In an analysis of data from several studies, watching television for 2-3 hours per day or more was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease and all-cause death, according to a study in the June 15 issue of JAMA.

15 Jun 2011

Penn State receives NIH grant to improve public health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Penn State, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Penn State College of Medicine a $27.3 million, five-year grant designed to accelerate the translation of scientific discovery into methods for improving public health.

15 Jun 2011

Research reveals how humans of different ancestry process polyunsaturated fat

Over the past decade, much progress has been made regarding the understanding and promise of personalized medicine. Scientists are just beginning to consider the impact of gene-diet interactions in different populations in regards to disease prevention and treatment.

15 Jun 2011

Too much ‘tele’ raises risk of diabetes, heart disease … and reality TV!

Researchers in a new study say prolonged TV watching is linked to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. The study found that every additional two hours spent in front of the TV each day raises the diabetes risk by a fifth and heart disease risk by 15%. The work appears in the journal Journal of the American Medical Association.

15 Jun 2011

Food coloring additives do not cause ADHD in children

When University of Maryland psychologist Andrea Chronis-Tuscano testified before a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing last March, it changed her mind about possible risks of artificial food coloring for children, and drove her to look more closely at the products in her own pantry that she feeds her kids.

15 Jun 2011

Study links cysteine with obesity-related diseases

People with high levels of the amino acid cysteine carry 6-10 kilograms more fat than other people. Norwegian researchers studying this phenomenon are generating knowledge which could help to prevent and treat life-threatening obesity.

15 Jun 2011

Science Speaks series interviews key players in global AIDS fight

In the final installment of a series recognizing the 30th anniversary of AIDS on the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog, John Donnelly interviews Warren "Buck" Buckingham, director of the Office of AIDS Relief at the Peace Corps, about his work in the field.

14 Jun 2011

Poor maternal nutrition predisposes offspring to type 2 diabetes

A new study published by the American Physiological Society offers the strongest evidence yet that vulnerability to type 2 diabetes can begin in the womb, giving new insight into the mechanisms that underlie a potentially devastating disease at the center of a worldwide epidemic.

14 Jun 2011

Dengue virus circulating between monkeys, mosquitoes could emerge to cause human outbreaks

More than a thousand years ago, somewhere in Southeast Asia, a fateful meeting occurred between a mosquito-borne virus that infected mainly monkeys and a large, susceptible group of humans.

14 Jun 2011