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Physical barriers may be more effective than drugs to prevent pandemics

Physical barriers, such as regular handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns may be more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses like influenza and SARS, concludes a study published on bmj.com.

27 Nov 2007

The association of registered nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes

If hospitals added one more full-time registered nurse on staff to care for patients, the number of hospital-related deaths in the United States could decrease significantly, according to a new review.

27 Nov 2007

$Factors identified to predict hip fracture in postmenopausal women$

Factors identified to predict hip fracture in postmenopausal women

A clinical model that includes 11 factors has been developed to help predict the 5-year risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women, according to a study in the November 28 issue of JAMA.

27 Nov 2007

Alcohol and tobacco use doesn't boost HPV-related cancer risk

Heavy smoking and drinking are known to cause head and neck cancer. Infection with human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16), a common strain of the sexually-transmitted HPV virus, is another known risk factor for head and neck cancer, which affects about 500,000 people each year worldwide.

27 Nov 2007

Industry has a key responsibility in fighting obesity

... by improving food products and helping consumers to identify the healthy choice. Credibility and measuring effectiveness are crucial

27 Nov 2007

Health officials should consider mass vaccination in their efforts to control endemic cholera

A vaccine used to protect travelers from cholera, an infection characterized by diarrhea and severe dehydration, could also be used effectively among those living in cholera-prone (endemic) areas, according to a research study by Ira Longini and colleagues published in PLoS Medicine.

27 Nov 2007

FDA extends comment period for proposed sunscreen regulation

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it will be extending the comment period on the agency's proposed sunscreen regulation to Dec. 26, 2007.

27 Nov 2007

Cholera can be controlled with oral vaccines

Endemic cholera, a potentially fatal diarrheal disease found in the world's most impoverished countries, could be effectively controlled by orally vaccinating half of the affected populations once every two years for only pennies per dose, according to new findings by an international team of researchers led by Ira M. Longini Jr., Ph.D., a biostatistician in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Longini and colleagues will report their findings online Nov. 27 in PLoS Medicine.

27 Nov 2007

$Model provides risk factors for hip fractures in older women$

Model provides risk factors for hip fractures in older women

Experts say there are around 329,000 hip fractures in postmenopausal women in the United States each year and up to 24% of hip fracture patients over 50 die within one year of the injury because of complications related to the injury itself or the extended recovery period.

27 Nov 2007

Smoking and depression often go hand-in-hand for new mothers

Smoking and depression often go hand-in-hand for new mothers, according to a study in the November 2007 issue of Preventive Medicine by Temple University researcher Dr. Robert Whitaker.

27 Nov 2007

Secondhand smoke does damage lungs

It's not a smoking gun, but it's smoking-related, and it's there in bright medical images: evidence of microscopic structural damage deep in the lungs, caused by secondhand cigarette smoke.

27 Nov 2007

Patient knowledge of heart risk profile may help improve cholesterol management

Patients who discuss their coronary risk profiles with their physicians may respond better to treatment for cholesterol disorders, according to a report in the November 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

27 Nov 2007

Do rural and non-rural single, young adults differ in their risk and protective HIV/STD behaviors?

Single young adults living in rural areas are no more inclined to engage in safe sex behaviors than their non-rural peers, according to a new analysis by Indiana University sexual health experts of a nationally representative survey.

27 Nov 2007

High-glycemic index carbs linked to greater type 2 diabetes risk in Chinese and African-American women

Eating foods high on the glycemic index, which measures the effect of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels, may be associated with the risk for developing type 2 diabetes in Chinese women and in African-American women, according to two studies in the November 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Nov 2007

GlaxoSmithKline obtains U.S. OTC marketing rights to MEVACOR (lovastatin) from Merck

GlaxoSmithKline, Philadelphia, PA, USA (GSK) and Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA (Merck), announced today that they have entered into an agreement for over-the-counter (OTC) marketing rights for MEVACOR (lovastatin).

27 Nov 2007

Less drugs may be best for treating malaria

The current dosage of drugs used in treating malaria may be helping the parasites become resistant to the drugs faster, without improving the long-term outcome in patients.

27 Nov 2007

New strategic relationship between PAHO and the Canadian government

The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Mirta Roses, and the Permanent Representative of Canada to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Graeme C. Clark, have signed a master framework document that represents an important step forward in the strategic relationship between PAHO and the Canadian government Ambassador Graeme C. Clark and Dr. Mirta Roses sign the strategic cooperation framework.

27 Nov 2007

Problematic drinking and alcohol dependence linked to high number of sex partners

Previous studies have linked heavy drinking and conduct disorder to high-risk sexual behaviors that can, in turn, lead to unintended pregnancies, infection, and damage to reproductive health.

27 Nov 2007

Major clinical trial of osteoporosis screening begins

Researchers are looking for local women in the Weston/North Somerset area over the age of 70 to take part in the second phase of a major clinical trial to find out if screening older women for osteoporosis can help to reduce the numbers who suffer bone fractures.

26 Nov 2007

TB appears again in the U.S.

Officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment in the U.S. say a Nepalese student at Colorado State University-Pueblo who died of tuberculosis in June, probably infected 17 other people.

26 Nov 2007