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National campaign to highlight significance of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance is one of the world's most pressing public health threats. To bring attention to this increasing problem, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government partners will observe its third annual Get Smart About Antibiotics Week on Nov. 15-21, 2010.

16 Nov 2010

City, national leaders to develop policies to improve health of city dwellers

In an unprecedented demonstration of global collaboration, city and national leaders from around the world are coming together in Kobe, Japan, to compare approaches and develop policies to improve the health of city dwellers.

16 Nov 2010

Researchers develop new vaccine delivery system for rotavirus infection

Researchers have developed a promising new approach to vaccination for rotavirus, a common cause of severe diarrheal disease that is responsible for approximately 500,000 deaths among children in the developing world every year.

16 Nov 2010

Reducing salt intake can enhance health of young adults in future: Research

Cutting back on salt in teenagers' diets by as little as one-half teaspoon, or three grams, a day, could reduce the number of young adults with high blood pressure by 44 to 63 percent, according to new research presented Sunday, Nov. 14 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010 meeting in Chicago.

16 Nov 2010

Large tobacco companies fight tougher restrictions around the globe

As sales to developing nations become ever more important to giant tobacco companies, they are stepping up efforts around the world to fight tough restrictions on the marketing of cigarettes.

16 Nov 2010

Review: Mercury likely plays role in development of AD

Mercury likely plays a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to a review of relevant scientific literature published this month in The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Joachim Mutter of Germany, Dr. Richard Deth of the United States, and other esteemed researchers collaborated on the groundbreaking article Does Inorganic Mercury Play a Role in Alzheimer's Disease? A Systematic Review and an Integrated Molecular Mechanism, which clarifies the need for continuing research to understand the cause of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's.

16 Nov 2010

National health disparities conference wraps up with creative approaches, expectations for new healthcare reform

Focusing on the disparities in the quality of health care across demographic groups, the Fourth Annual National Conference on Health Disparities brought together White House officials and national and local healthcare executives to address a series of key questions about non-medical determinants of health quality and to recommend strategies to bring more equitable healthcare access to the underserved. The determinants discussed at the four-day-long conference, which began November 10, 2010 and concluded Saturday, November 13, 2010, included education levels, health literacy, poverty, public safety, community design, access to care, environmental quality and personal, government and corporate responsibility.

15 Nov 2010

Graphic images of negative consequences of smoking have greatest impact on smokers

Marketing researchers at the University of Arkansas, Villanova University and Marquette University surveyed more than 500 U.S. and Canadian smokers and found that the highly graphic images of the negative consequences of smoking have the greatest impact on smokers' intentions to quit. The most graphic images, such as those showing severe mouth diseases, including disfigured, blackened and cancerous tissue, evoked fear about the consequences of smoking and thus influenced consumer intentions to quit.

15 Nov 2010

Best ways for proper disposal of unused medicines

Patients in cities all over the country will learn tomorrow about one of the best ways to avoid today's rampant prescription drug abuse – proper disposal of unused medicines.

15 Nov 2010

Support for comparative effectiveness research is gaining momentum, experts say

The Wall Street Journal: "A national push to increase research to find out which medical treatments work best for which patients is gaining momentum, even though many worry the findings may be used to ration care.

15 Nov 2010

Pneumonia Report Card shows prevention, treatment tools not widely adopted in countries where disease kills most children

In advance of World Pneumonia Day, the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) on Thursday released a report card showing that pneumonia prevention and intervention targets are not being met in the 15 countries where three-quarters of deaths in children under age 5 from the disease occur each year, IRIN reports.

14 Nov 2010

Job strain can increase risk of cardiovascular disease in women

Women who report having high job strain have a 40 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and the need for procedures to open blocked arteries, compared to those with low job strain, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.

14 Nov 2010

UAS Laboratories acquires outstanding shares of APN Labs

On November 11, 2010, UAS Laboratories, Inc. acquired all outstanding shares of APN Labs, Inc. to become the sole owner. APN Labs, Inc. of Wausau, Wisconsin, USA, has been a leading contract manufacturer of nutraceuticals for the past 10 years. APN Labs has its own condition-specific probiotic blends as well as other ingredients.

14 Nov 2010

Australian epidemics research programme to be disbanded

The Australian Federal Government scrapped the funding to the Australian National University’s Master of Applied Epidemiology (MAE) program. This group helps Australia’s response to major disease outbreak and will be disbanded at the end of next year. According to Emeritus Professor Robert Douglas who founded this program, this has been responsible for Australia’s response to serious epidemic outbreaks in the past.

14 Nov 2010

Research roundup: Doctors' industry ties; Patient safety and residents' hours; Designing a medical home

Archives of Internal Medicine: Physician Professionalism And Changes in Physician-Industry Relationships From 2004 to 2009 -"During the last 6 years a number of efforts have aimed to reduce, and in some cases eliminate, certain types of physician-industry relationships (PIRs)," including policies "that forbid physicians from accepting samples and receiving food and beverages in offices, limiting company representatives' access to physicians' offices and clinical areas, and banning faculty participation in speaker bureaus and other forms of promotional activity," write the authors.

12 Nov 2010

Progressive report recommends new practices to manage errors in HIT systems

An original and progressive report on health information technology (HIT) vendors, their customers and patients, published online today, makes ground-breaking recommendations for new practices that target the reduction or elimination of tensions that currently mar relationships between many HIT vendors and their customers, specifically with regard to indemnity and error management of HIT systems.

12 Nov 2010

Plant-based respiratory allergies on the rise due to climate change

Bad news for 35 million allergy sufferers - ragweed, fungal spores and poison ivy are thriving due to rising carbon dioxide levels. At the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Phoenix, Nov. 11-16, allergists and scientists discussed the effects of rising CO2 levels and a changing climate on plant biology and public health.

12 Nov 2010

Bioethics in pharmaceutical industry, regenerative medicine, and public health

To celebrate 40 years of pioneering bioethics publication, the Hastings Center Report, the world's first bioethics journal, looked to the future, asking young scholars to write about what the next generation of bioethicists should take up. Out of 195 compelling submissions, four of the best essays were selected for publication in the November-December issue.

12 Nov 2010

Dreaded cod liver oil in a variety of flavours

The stomachs of the generation of 50 year olds and above, will be churning at the thought of their parents and grandparents serving up spoonfuls of the much dreaded cod liver oil. As a practice, parents giving their children cod liver oil has all but died, and yet, as a population, we have seen more and more inflammatory conditions effect people's lives, which are due in no small part to the 'modern day diet', which many of us live.

12 Nov 2010

U-M researchers develop simple mathematical model to predict whooping cough transmission

Strategies for preventing the spread of whooping cough on the rise in the United States and several other countries in recent years should take into account how often people in different age groups interact, research at the University of Michigan suggests.

12 Nov 2010