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Back to school to get fit and healthy

A study which reviewed physical activity in schools has found that school health and exercise programmes can offer benefits even if they don't help students lose weight.

21 Jan 2009

All countries should offer universal infant immunization for hepatitis B

All countries should offer universal infant immunization for hepatitis B, write Dr. Christopher Mackie from McMaster University and coauthors in a public health analysis in CMAJ.

19 Jan 2009

Health and environmental hazards of tungsten

Surprising new scientific research is raising concerns about the potential health and environmental hazards of tungsten - a metal used in products ranging from bullets to light bulbs to jewelry - that scientists once thought was environmentally-benign, according to an article scheduled for the Jan. 19 issue of Chemical & Engineering News , ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

19 Jan 2009

People who are socially active have lower risk for dementia

A new study shows that people who are socially active and not easily stressed may be less likely to develop dementia.

19 Jan 2009

Study looks at hospital at-home programs

For select patients, hospital at home treatment produces similar outcomes to inpatient care at similar or lower costs, found a study by researchers from the United Kingdom and Italy to be published in CMAJ.

19 Jan 2009

Survivorship care after breast cancer, call for more action

As the nation's growing population of breast cancer survivors ages, many patients will likely develop common chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, and they'll need specialized care to balance those problems with the late effects of cancer therapies they received.

19 Jan 2009

Coca-Cola accused of outright fraud

Soft drink giant Coca-Cola has been accused of making deceptive and unsubstantiated health claims about its Vitaminwater beverages.

19 Jan 2009

Kidney transplant survival can be long-term for people with HIV

A Johns Hopkins study finds that HIV-positive kidney transplant recipients could have the same one-year survival rates for themselves and their donor organs as those without HIV, provided certain risk factors for transplant failure are recognized and tightly managed.

19 Jan 2009

Gambling addict wins 3 years jail sentence

A 55-year-old travel agent's gambling addiction has won her a three year jail sentence after she stole $52,558 from her Brisbane employer.

19 Jan 2009

Tanning beds provide potential pain relief for fibromyalgia patients

Ultraviolet light may help relieve pain in fibromyalgia syndrome patients, according to a preliminary study at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center conducted by dermatology, rheumatology, and public health sciences researchers.

19 Jan 2009

Obesity centre behind major staff expansion

The University of Sydney is embarking on one of its largest ever recruitment drives in the wake of recent federal funding for an international centre of expertise in obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

19 Jan 2009

Savella - Fibromyalgia treatment approved by FDA

Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Cypress Bioscience, Inc. have announced that Savella (milnacipran HCl), a selective serotonin and norepinephrine dual reuptake inhibitor, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of fibromyalgia.

19 Jan 2009

E. coli persists against antibiotics through HipA-induced dormancy

Bacteria hunker down and survive antibiotic attack when a protein flips a chemical switch that throws them into a dormant state until treatment abates, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Jan.16 edition of Science.

19 Jan 2009

DREAM gene found to be a genetic candidate for explaining old age dementia

In 2002, a group of scientists at the University of Toronto was able to identify a gene which they dubbed DREAM (downstream regulatory element antagonistic modulator).

19 Jan 2009

Biodegradable nanoprobe images new blood vessel growth

Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, plays a critical role in several chronic human diseases, including metastatic cancer. In fact, several new anticancer therapies are designed to starve tumors by shutting down angiogenesis, but the lack of a good assay for quantifying angiogenesis in the body has hampered the development of effective antiangiogenesis therapies.

18 Jan 2009

Half of people 50 years and younger with low 10-year risk of CVD have high lifetime risk

About half of people 50 years and younger who have a low 10-year or short-term cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk may have a high lifetime risk, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

15 Jan 2009

Electrical stimulation of the brain offers hope for Parkinson's sufferers

Electrical stimulation of the brain -- a treatment in which a pacemaker-like device sends pulses to electrodes implanted in the brain -- is riskier than drug therapy but may hold significant benefits for those with Parkinson's disease who no longer respond well to medication alone.

14 Jan 2009

Antidepressants improve symptoms of fibromyalgia

The use of antidepressant medications by patients with fibromyalgia syndrome is associated with a reduction in pain, sleep disturbances and depressed mood and improvement of health-related quality of life, according to an analysis of previous studies, which is published in the January 14, 2009 issue of JAMA.

14 Jan 2009

Transplanted fatty livers associated with worse prognosis for patients with hepatitis C

A new study suggests that patients with hepatitis C (HCV) who need a liver transplant should not receive an organ with high levels of fatty deposits (a.k.a. hepatic steatosis).

14 Jan 2009

Infection with hepatitis C virus may increase pancreatic cancer risk

A new study shows that infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) increases a person's risk for a highly fatal cancer of the biliary tree, the bile carrying pathway between the liver and pancreas.

13 Jan 2009