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Dramatic drop in deaths from most common cancers

The death toll from three of the UK's most common cancers has dropped to its lowest level for almost 40 years* - according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK.

12 Jul 2009

Largest-ever study looks at safety of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)

They are a group of drugs which millions of people rely on to keep pain at bay but they can have unwanted side-effects which are sometimes more serious than the original health problem. Now scientists at The University of Nottingham are taking part in the largest-ever study on the safety of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) that has ever been performed.

12 Jul 2009

New research reveals that swearing can actually increase pain tolerance

Researchers from Keele University's School of Psychology have determined that swearing can have a 'pain-lessening effect', according to new study published in the journal NeuroReport.

12 Jul 2009

FDA approves Effient (prasugrel) for heart attack in angioplasty patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the blood-thinning drug Effient tablets (prasugrel) to reduce the risk of blood clots from forming in patients who undergo angioplasty, a common procedure to unblock a clogged coronary artery.

12 Jul 2009

Stress and depression worsen childhood asthma

Young people with asthma have nearly twice the incidence of depression compared to their peers without asthma, and studies have shown that depression is associated with increased asthma symptoms and, in some cases, death.

12 Jul 2009

Topographical brain maps are new frontier to catch early schizophrenia

John Csernansky wants to take your measurements. Not the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. No, this doctor wants to stretch a tape measure around your hippocampus, thalamus and prefrontal cortex.

9 Jul 2009

Dialysis treatments OK for patients who have had a heart attack

Dialysis treatments do not affect the heart health of kidney disease patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in kidney disease patients, the findings are good news for individuals who need the treatments.

9 Jul 2009

Medicare analysis finds too many needless deaths at hospitals

A new Medicare analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found a "double failure" at U.S. hospitals. Its release comes as the White House and Congress seek ways to reward quality over quantity of care in health care reform.

9 Jul 2009

New heart disease risk score outperforms existing test

An independent external validation of QRISK® - a new score for predicting a person's risk of heart disease - has shown that it performs better than the existing test and should be recommended for use in the United Kingdom by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

9 Jul 2009

Discovery of key gene for bone development that when mutated lead to dwarfism

Scientists have just discovered the gene behind Recessive Omodysplasia, a rare skeletal disease characterised by short-limbed dwarfism and craniofacial anomalies.

9 Jul 2009

Health reformers shy from proposals that would limit treatment options

In a story headlined 'In Retooled Health-Care System, Who Will Say No?' the Washington Post reports: "Although Obama and his advisers have held up providers' spending patterns as the crux of the crisis, proposals in Washington go only so far in addressing the thorniest questions about who gets what care."

8 Jul 2009

Costliest Medicare markets in Florida, New York, California

U.S. News & World Report examines cost, frequency, and outcomes studies on Medicare patients from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice : "The Dartmouth research is particularly relevant to older Americans because it is based to a large extent on Medicare data, involving patients ages 65 and older.

8 Jul 2009

ECOSOC's agenda should include noncommunicable disease threat in developing countries

"[E]xplicit indicators to measure progress in reducing heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases" are missing from the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agenda as it meets in Geneva this week "to focus on implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to public health," and the "omission needs to be urgently addressed if the intent is to have a major impact on reducing poverty by 2015," Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health; George Alleyne, PAHO's director emeritus; and Martin Silink, president of the International Diabetes Federation write in an opinion piece in the Hindu.

8 Jul 2009

Multaq approved for atrial fibrillation by FDA

Sanofi-aventis announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Multaq (dronedarone) 400 mg Tablets. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) soon will have a new treatment option to help improve current management of their disease. Multaq is the first drug approved in the United States that has shown a clinical benefit to reduce cardiovascular hospitalization in patients with AF/AFL.

7 Jul 2009

Family Research Council President says NIH stem cell guidelines ethically irresponsible

Today, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins responded to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines implementing President Obama's executive order for federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). President Obama's order and the NIH guidelines remove life-protecting limits on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

7 Jul 2009

Alzheimer's patients fight for quicker Medicare coverage

NPR reports on the struggle of Alzheimer's patients who don't have health insurance trying to find ways to pay for their care and lobby for greater protections for themselves.

7 Jul 2009

Developed countries must address global warming to prevent disease, hunger in developing world

Pollution from the world's wealthiest countries is spreading disease and hunger in developing countries, according to a new Oxfam International report, which calls on developed countries to address global warming when G8 leaders meet in Italy, the Globe and Mail reports.

7 Jul 2009

Treatment blood pressure targets for hypertension

Aiming for lower than standard blood pressure targets offers no known clinical benefit, according to a Cochrane Review. In a systematic review of the evidence, researchers found that using antihypertensive drugs to reduce blood pressure below the 140/90 mm Hg standard was not associated with any reduction in death rates or serious morbidity.

7 Jul 2009

Identification of cholesterol regulating genes by targeted RNAi-screening

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are regulated. In a study published today in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers identified 20 genes that are involved in this process. Besides giving scientists a better idea of where to look to uncover the mechanisms that ensure cholesterol balance is maintained, the discovery could lead to new treatments for cholesterol-related diseases.

7 Jul 2009

Heart medication errors too frequent in children

Infants and young children treated with heart drugs get the wrong dose or end up on the wrong end of medication errors more often than older children, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center to be published July 6 in Pediatrics.

7 Jul 2009