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Bisphosphonates appear to reduce the risk of jaw degradation

Athanasios Zavras began receiving messages from distraught patients in 2005 after case reports linked oral osteoporosis meds to bone death in the jaw.

3 Jan 2008

Obese people less likely to use seatbelts

Obese people are less likely to use their seatbelts than the rest of the population, adding to the public health risks associated with this rapidly growing problem.

3 Jan 2008

Live operators crucial factor for public health department disease-reporting hotlines

Public health departments that staff disease-reporting hotlines with live operators at all times are more likely to meet federal guidelines designed to help stop the spread of infectious diseases, according to a RAND Corporation study.

3 Jan 2008

FDA clears first rapid blood test for MRSA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it has cleared for marketing the first rapid blood test for the drug-resistant staph bacterium known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which can cause potentially deadly infections.

3 Jan 2008

Boost for Fragile X research

The 2008 Omnibus Budget, signed by President George Bush on Monday, includes $1,860,000 for the CDC Fragile X Public Health Initiative, more than double the current program funding level.

3 Jan 2008

Religion habit cuts anxiety in women

For many, religious activity changes between childhood and adulthood, and a new study finds this could affect one's mental health.

2 Jan 2008

Public policy fails to address the effects of media violence on children

Highly publicized events such as school shootings arouse public interest in the effects of media violence exposure on children, yet there is still considerable public debate about whether to take this issue seriously.

2 Jan 2008

Ensuring heart safety of non-heart drugs

Current regulatory policies should be strengthened to ensure acceptable cardiovascular safety of drugs developed primarily for non-cardiovascular medical problems, according to a recent presentation made by Dr. Jeffrey Borer, an authority in cardiovascular medicine and surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

2 Jan 2008

NIEHS awards $6.8 million DISCOVER grants

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, is awarding a total of $6.8 million for the first year of funding to three new research centers called DISCOVER - Disease Investigation Through Specialized Clinically-Oriented Ventures in Environmental Research.

28 Dec 2007

Brief intervention helps emergency patients reduce drinking

Asking emergency department patients about their alcohol use and talking with them about how to reduce harmful drinking patterns is an effective way to lower rates of risky drinking in these patients, according to a nationwide collaborative study supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

28 Dec 2007

Tax sodas to fight obesity says mayor of San Francisco

The mayor of San Francisco, in an attempt to improve the overall health of citizens, is considering a tax on sodas and other drinks which are artificially sweetened by high-fructose corn syrup.

27 Dec 2007

Yale launches study of young women with heart attacks

The largest, most comprehensive study of young women with heart attacks - VIRGO (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes in Young AMI patients) - was recently launched at Yale School of Medicine with a $9.7 million National Institutes of Health grant.

20 Dec 2007

Correctional system health care issues

That question is addressed in a special issue of Journal of Correctional Health Care (JCHC), opening up correctional system health care issues to outside evaluation and input.

20 Dec 2007

Health care savings, coverage for all could lower spending $1.5 trillion over 10 years

Guaranteed health insurance for all combined with several federal policy options to achieve health care system savings could result in $1.5 trillion in reduced spending over 10 years, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report prepared by Fund staff and the Lewin Group for study by the Fund's Commission on a High Performance Health System.

20 Dec 2007

$Bone mineral density test predicts 'silent' spinal fractures years later$

Bone mineral density test predicts 'silent' spinal fractures years later

A single bone mineral density (BMD) test given 15 years earlier predicted a woman's risk of developing fractures to her spine over time, according to the largest and longest prospective study of osteoporosis.

20 Dec 2007

Experts in Britain say give away free condoms in pubs, clubs and taxis

Experts in Britain say one way of reducing the soaring numbers of sexual transmitted infections would be to give away free condoms in pubs, clubs and taxis.

19 Dec 2007

FDA warns vaginal contraceptive offers no protection against AIDS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decreed that the over-the-counter vaginal contraceptive and spermicidal product Nonoxynol-9, or N9, must carry a warning about its use.

19 Dec 2007

WHO says Pakistan bird flu cluster no cause for alarm as yet

According to an expert at the World Health Organization, the cluster of suspected bird flu cases in Pakistan may be a combination of infections from poultry with limited person-to-person transmission.

19 Dec 2007

Where vets served affects frequency of ER visits but not hospital stays

Five years post-conflict, individuals who served in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War were 25 percent more likely to visit an emergency department than veterans of the same era who were not deployed, but were no more likely to have a hospital stay or an outpatient visit, according to a study appearing in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

18 Dec 2007

Teachers play critical role in adolescent health promotion efforts

Teachers are among the most important influences in the lives of school-aged children, yet relatively little emphasis has been placed on examining the potential role general academic teachers may play in facilitating adolescent health promotion efforts, according to a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and published in the Journal of School Health.

18 Dec 2007