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Regular exercise increases "good" cholesterol

Regular exercise appears to modestly increase levels of high-density lipoprotein, or "good," cholesterol, according to a meta-analysis study in the May 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

30 May 2007

Dentists need more training in oral cancer detection

More than 92 percent of Illinois dentists provide oral cancer examinations for their patients, but many are not performing the procedures thoroughly or at optimum intervals, according to a new University of Illinois at Chicago study.

30 May 2007

Warnings on all alcohol in Britain by end of 2008

By the end of 2008 all alcoholic drinks sold in Britain will carry new health warning labels.

28 May 2007

Form of bird flu spreads in Wales

An outbreak of a mild form of bird flu in Wales continues to spread and authorities have admitted that they cannot rule out the possibility that the disease has spread from person-to-person.

28 May 2007

Significant breakthrough in the search for an effective malaria vaccine

One person dies of it every 30 seconds, it rivals HIV and tuberculosis as the world's most deadly infection and the vast majority of its victims are under five years old.

28 May 2007

FDA should be given broad regulatory authority over tobacco marketing, packaging, and distribution

A combination of increased excise taxes, nationwide indoor smoking bans, and other measures would significantly lower the U.S. smoking rate, which now hovers at around 21 percent of the adult population, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

28 May 2007

Co-infection of HIV and HCV a significant health concern due to increasing prevalence

Researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have found that persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), who also have alcohol problems, were negatively affected by co-infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

28 May 2007

Drinking lots of coffee reduces the risk of gout for men

Coffee is a habit for more than 50 percent of Americans, who drink, on average, 2 cups per day.

28 May 2007

Time to fortify the world's processed cereals

Fortifying cereals with a different type of iron supplement reduces anaemia, iron-deficiency anaemia and general iron deficiency children in developing countries, and boosts three major iron status indicators, conclude authors of an Article published in this week’s edition of The Lancet.

28 May 2007

Bird flu arrives in Britain

Health officials in the UK are investigating two possible cases of bird flu in north Wales and say 36 people could have been in contact with the disease.

28 May 2007

Avian influenza H7N2 infection confirmed in north Wales

The Health Protection Agency is providing expert support and advice to the National Public Health Service for Wales after an H7N2 avian influenza infection was found in birds on a small farm in north Wales.

27 May 2007

Restrictive drinking culture at work curbs an individual's overall alcohol intake

The researchers base their findings on a detailed analysis of workplace attitudes towards drinking and drinking behaviours in over 5,000 employees in 16 different organisations, representing a range of different sectors.

24 May 2007

Significant breakthrough in the search for an effective malaria vaccine

One person dies of it every 30 seconds, it rivals HIV and tuberculosis as the world's most deadly infection and the vast majority of its victims are under five years old.

24 May 2007

Hormone therapy and menopause study

When is the best time in a woman's reproductive history to start hormone therapy?

24 May 2007

Could the food we eat be contributing to the continuing rise of antibiotic-resistant infections?

Harmless and even beneficial bacteria that exist in our food supply may also be carrying genes that code for antibiotic resistance.Once in our bodies, could they transmit the resistance genes to disease-causing bacteria?

24 May 2007

Moderate alcohol consumption lowers women's risk of heart attack

Women who regularly enjoy an alcoholic drink or two have a significantly lower risk of having a non-fatal heart attack than women who are life-time abstainers, epidemiologists at the University at Buffalo have shown.

24 May 2007

Effects of estrogen therapy with perimenopausal women

When is the best time in a woman's reproductive history to start hormone therapy? How does estrogen therapy affect a woman's cognition and mood? What is the most beneficial form of estrogen?

24 May 2007

More evidence found indicating potassium channels play a critical role in sleep

A gene that controls the flow of potassium into cells is required to maintain normal sleep in fruit flies, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH).

24 May 2007

Diets high in salt may increase stomach ulcers

Scientists from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) have discovered that diets high in salt may increase the virulence of the pathogen Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which is the most common cause of ulcers in the stomach and duodenum.

24 May 2007

Status of malaria in the world today

In an editorial in this week's JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, Gianna Zuccotti, M.D., Contributing Editor, and Catherine D. DeAngelis, M.D., M.P.H., Editor in Chief, JAMA, comment on the status of malaria in the world today.

24 May 2007