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Gambian President claims three day HIV/AIDS cure

Leading South African HIV/AIDS experts are shocked and dismayed by a claim by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh that he can cure AIDS in three days.

6 Feb 2007

Childhood psychiatric disorders on the rise

The incidence of three childhood neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism, increased among Danish children between 1990 and 2004, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

6 Feb 2007

New guidelines on the treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular and valvular heart diseases published

The first, pan-European guidelines to be published on the treatment of valvular heart disease, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have made a series of new recommendations which experts hope will contribute to improving the outcome of patients with these diseases.

6 Feb 2007

Rutgers Food Policy Institute looks at U.S. food recall system

Every year, the Food and Drug Administration issues dozens of food-related recalls, withdrawals and advisories. But few receive the attention that the advisory regarding E.coli-contaminated spinach received in September 2006.

6 Feb 2007

Spring births increase likelihood of preterm birth

Women who become pregnant in spring are more vulnerable to preterm birth than those who conceive in other seasons, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh.

5 Feb 2007

Can non-medical use of ultrasound be justified?

Expectant parent' desire to see images of their unborn children has given rise to commercial companies offering keepsake ultrasound scans without medical supervision, often referred to as "boutique ultrasonography."

5 Feb 2007

TV + teenagers = high blood pressure

Teenagers who spend a lot of time planted in front of the TV are more likely to have higher blood pressure, regardless of whether they are overweight.

5 Feb 2007

Cryo-Save announces public storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells

Cryo-Save, the largest private stem cell bank in Europe, has announced today that on 30th January agreement was reached with Osidea, an Italian non-profit making organization promoting the public storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells.

5 Feb 2007

British experts baffled by bird flu outbreak

Although more than 150,000 turkeys have been slaughtered at a farm in Suffolk in England in order to curb the spread of the deadly bird flu virus, officials remain baffled as to the source of the outbreak.

5 Feb 2007

Brits on high alert as bird flu kills thousands of turkeys

British health officials have confirmed that the avian flu virus which killed 2,600 turkeys at a farm in Lowestoft, Suffolk was indeed the H5N1 virus.

4 Feb 2007

Poor mums more likely to become obese

A new study in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, reveals how women from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds are most at risk of developing maternal obesity.

4 Feb 2007

Health effects of passive somking studied in first-of-a-kind clinical study

Until bans on in-flight smoking took effect, beginning in 1988, flight attendants were regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

1 Feb 2007

Rift Valley Fever - 411 suspected cases

As of 30 January 2007, 411 suspected cases, including 121 deaths (case-fatality rate, 29%) have been reported in North Eastern Province, Coast Province, Eastern Province and Central Province. One hundred and thirty-one cases have been laboratory confirmed.

31 Jan 2007

Institute of Materia Medica and TB Alliance partner to tackle tuberculosis

The Institute of Materia Medica (IMM), a member of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), a not-for-profit, product development partnership accelerating the discovery and development of new TB drugs, today announced plans to pursue a joint research partnership to develop promising, novel anti-tuberculosis agents.

31 Jan 2007

Investment level in HIV prevention related to HIV incidence in U.S.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health conducted a historical analysis to examine the relationship between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) HIV prevention budget and HIV incidence in the U.S. from 1978 to 2006.

31 Jan 2007

FDA and VA to share information on safe use of medical products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to share information and expertise related to the review and use of FDA-regulated drugs, biologics and medical devices (medical products).

30 Jan 2007

FDA commits to safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today outlined a comprehensive commitment to the safety of drugs and other medical products.

30 Jan 2007

Home safety education could improve public health

Home safety education, especially with free or low-cost equipment such as smoke detectors thrown in, can make a family's home significantly safer, according to a new review of recent studies.

30 Jan 2007

Merck lobbying States to mandate Gardasil for school girls

Merck recently has been providing lobbyists throughout the country with information about its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil in an effort to encourage states to mandate that middle-school age girls receive it, the Baltimore Sun reports.

30 Jan 2007

Public reporting and pay for performance in hospital quality improvement

A Medicare pay-for-performance pilot project that rewards hospitals based on quality measures contributes to "modest" improvements in quality of care, according to a study published online Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Wall Street Journal reports .

30 Jan 2007