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Race and age play a major role in use of alternative therapies for chronic pain

In a University of Michigan Health System study, 1 out of 3 patients with chronic pain reported using complementary and alternative medicine therapies such as acupuncture and chiropractic visits for pain relief.

30 Apr 2010

A crystal ball into your future health!

Imagine knowing just what diseases you are likely to suffer from in your lifetime thanks to the sequencing of your genes. That is exactly what Professor Stephen Quake knows, because he has had his entire genome sequenced and studied. In fact he was in the news last year as well when he used new technology to sequence his genetic code for less than $50,000.

29 Apr 2010

Hullabaloo over the tobacco tax hike and planned plain cigarette packaging law

The Australian Federal Government this week announced an increase in taxes by 25% on cigarettes to discourage smoking and generate funds for more antismoking measures. In a new development Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott announced that the Coalition will support this move.

29 Apr 2010

Health care providers now have access to free toolkit to improve youth smoking cessation programs

Health care providers and educators nationwide who run youth smoking cessation programs now have access to a free toolkit to improve their programs.

29 Apr 2010

Preventing HPV infection could slow HIV epidemic, say researchers

Men infected with human papillomavirus are at greater risk of becoming infected with human immunodeficiency virus than men who are not HPV positive, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

29 Apr 2010

Injection drug use contributes to transmission of syphilis

A binational team of researchers led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that active syphilis infections are significantly greater in female sex workers who inject drugs and share needles than those who don't. The findings suggest that injection drug use may play as big a role as risky sexual behavior in the transmission of syphilis. It may also exacerbate the spread of both HIV and syphilis, as syphilis is frequently a co-factor for HIV infection.

29 Apr 2010

Cambodia closes 64.9 percent of illegal pharmacies

In a major crackdown, Cambodia has forced nearly 65 percent of illegal pharmacies operating in the country to close within the past five months. Led by an Inter-Ministerial Committee to Fight against Counterfeit & Substandard Medicines (IMC), the shops were targeted because of evidence that they were among the primary sources of substandard and counterfeit medicines in the country.

29 Apr 2010

Study finds WIC program has moderate effect on birth outcomes, but more research is needed

A new study that looked at the effect of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to determine the effect on various birth outcomes found that the overall effects were only moderate.

29 Apr 2010

Elderly and whites seek alternative therapies for pain relief: Study

29 Apr 2010

Healthy food programs in grocery stores may help reduce diet-related illnesses

Bringing healthy food programs to corner grocery stores in the inner city might be a step toward improving residents' diet and reducing diet-related illnesses, a new study suggests.

29 Apr 2010

New study reinforces urgent need for life-saving vaccines in Africa

A new study released this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases finds that African children who contract pneumococcus - a bacterial infection that causes pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis - are 36 times as likely to have sickle-cell disease, a blood disorder prevalent in African children that increases the risk for infectious diseases and early death.

29 Apr 2010

Report: Conditions in Zambian prisons fueling spread of HIV, TB

"Conditions in Zambia's prisons are so overcrowded and medical care so inadequate that they are breeding grounds for disease and pose a serious threat to public health, says a new report by Human Rights Watch, produced in association with the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa and the Prisons Care and Counselling Association," BMJ News reports.

29 Apr 2010

More taxes and drab packages for cigarettes to deter the young from smoking

From 1st July 2012 companies making cigarettes will be allowed only to have a brand name and a graphic health warning on their cigarette packs. There has been a huge debate over this issue. Trade experts believe that this move could mean that the Federal Government may have to cough up more than $3 billion a year to cigarette companies. Tim Wilson from the Institute of Public Affairs also believes that this would cost taxpayers $3.4 billion a year in compensation to tobacco companies. However Australia will be the first country to introduce such a measure.

28 Apr 2010

Advertising codes failing NZ children

A study conducted at Otago University’s Wellington campus in New Zealand by Louise Thornley and her colleagues has found that the self regulating Advertising Standards Authority is failing to protect children. As per the advertising codes, advertisements are not supposed to target children to encourage consumption of junk food.

28 Apr 2010

New statewide WIC nutrition education curriculum encourages healthful eating

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, about half of U.S. children between birth and age 5 receive services from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

28 Apr 2010

Study examines potential health benefits of DCT

Imagine your delight while enjoying your favorite Mexican food - perhaps a fully loaded bean burrito topped with an ample supply of thinly sliced jalepeño peppers. What happens when you bite into a few more peppers than you bargained for? Does this thought conjure up the thought of a little heat? Perhaps even a bit of sweat on the brow? Indeed, food scientists can tell you that hot peppers contain a substance called capsaicin that not only adds spice to our foods but can actually cause your body to heat up.

28 Apr 2010

AAP testimony asks CDC DOH to include periodontal surveillance as part of strategic priorities

The American Academy of Periodontology was recently invited to provide testimony to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Oral Health as part of the strategic planning process for 2011 through 2014.

28 Apr 2010

Researchers develop new diagnostic approach to fight against Chagas disease

Chagas disease is one of the most deadly parasitic diseases in the world. It affects more than 10 million people, primarily in the Americas. In South America alone it kills 50 000 people each year. A reliable and rapid diagnosis is the key in the battle against infection but until now, this has been next to impossible.

28 Apr 2010

Researchers receive $5.7M in funding to investigate new ways to treat uterine fibroids

As many as 75 percent of women have uterine fibroids (leiomyomas), and approximately one-third to one-half of those women become symptomatic at some point during their reproductive lives - experiencing irregular uterine bleeding, anemia, pelvic pain or recurrent pregnancy loss.

28 Apr 2010

Dietary MSC can help reset cell's biological clock to prevent development of breast cancer: Study

Usually when all else fails with a technical device, a "reset" button can be pressed, preventing a glitch from going any further. What if that could be done with threats to a person's health? Investigators from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute which is jointly administered by UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have discovered that a form of a dietary trace element known as selenium can help reset a cell's "biological clock" when it is disrupted by a chemical cancer-causing agent (carcinogen).

28 Apr 2010