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Media ignores health consequences of drink driving among celebrity DUI stories

The recent drinking and driving (DUI) arrests of celebrities - Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Michelle Rodriguez and Lindsay Lohan - yielded widespread news coverage, however, very little of it offered any public health context, according to a new report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy.

22 Apr 2009

Diabetes, obesity and hypertension increase mortality in hepatitis C patients

The specific impact of metabolic syndrome on mortality in hepatitis C patients has been revealed by new research to be presented on Sunday April 26 at EASL 2009, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Copenhagen, Denmark.

22 Apr 2009

New Dengue virus discovery could lead to development of anti-dengue drugs

Doctors have no specific drugs to treat dengue fever, a viral illness spread by mosquitoes that sickens 50 million to 100 million people worldwide each year. Instead, the only treatments they can recommend for this painful and sometimes fatal illness (20,000 deaths globally each year) are fluids, rest and non-aspirin pain and fever reducers.

22 Apr 2009

Children who witness violence show symptoms of post-traumatic stress

They also suffer physiological effects with a disruption to their normal cortisol production pattern during the day, which may have long-term negative effects on their health.

22 Apr 2009

Study finds link between a mother's height and the health of her children

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found a link between a mother's height and the health of her children in a study using national data from India.

22 Apr 2009

Exposure to combination of two pesticides increase risk of Parkinson's by 75 percent

The fertile soil of California's Central Valley has long made it famous as one of the nation's prime crop-growing regions.

22 Apr 2009

Wine may increase survival among non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients

Pre-diagnostic wine consumption may reduce the risk of death and relapse among non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, according to an epidemiology study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

22 Apr 2009

Burnt meat may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer

Meat cooked at high temperatures to the point of burning and charring may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

22 Apr 2009

Food giant Unilever on a worthy mission to reduce salt in all products

The Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever has announced plans to reduce the amount of salt in almost all its 22,000 food products - Unilever says its efforts to establish comprehensive salt reduction targets will help improve public health and are a first worldwide.

22 Apr 2009

Lid lifted on Australian alcohol industry's worst fears

The alcohol industry in Australia has been accused of engaging in what appears to be rather dubious behaviour - it seems confidential documents have lifted the lid on the alcohol industry's worst fears.

22 Apr 2009

Survey identifies factors associated with early detection of melanoma in older men

Older men whose melanoma is detected by a physician are more likely to have thinner and therefore more treatable tumors at diagnosis, according to results of a survey published in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology.

21 Apr 2009

Pregnancy hormone hCG protects against breast cancer even in short-term treatments

One of the most effective ways to prevent breast cancer is through a full-term pregnancy at an early age.

21 Apr 2009

New drug use screening tools for physicians

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, today unveiled its first comprehensive Physicians' Outreach Initiative, NIDAMED, which gives medical professionals tools and resources to screen their patients for tobacco, alcohol, illicit, and nonmedical prescription drug use.

20 Apr 2009