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Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly

Although national and international health organizations urge anyone over age 65 to get yearly flu shots, the vaccinations are only modestly effective in preventing flu and its complications among older adults, according to a new review of recent studies.

19 Jul 2006

Cleaning water at household is best diarrhea prevention

Clean water can prevent diarrhea and save lives, but among the world's most susceptible populations, it is cleaned best at its point of use rather than its source, researchers report in a large new review of studies.

19 Jul 2006

Highly active antiretroviral therapies associated with reduced infections in HIV-infected children

Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies, there has been a substantial reduction of opportunistic infections and other infections in HIV-infected children, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

19 Jul 2006

New research shows how 'genetic fingerprinting' can be used to track the spread of STDs

New research shows it could be possible to follow the spread of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through the population by tracking the individuals in a city infected with the same strain of the bacterium.

19 Jul 2006

Women who are overweight at the age of 18 have a higher risk of dying young

Children and adolescents in the U.S. and around the world are becoming more overweight and according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) there may be serious consequences to that trend.

18 Jul 2006

British American Tobacco and cigarette smuggling in China

New research based on the internal documents of one of the world's biggest tobacco companies, British American Tobacco (BAT), suggests that it been complicit in the smuggling of tobacco into China and has benefited from this illicit trade.

18 Jul 2006

FDA approves Atripla three-drug combination tablet for treatment of HIV-1

FDA approves Atripla Tablets, a fixed-dose combination of three widely-used antiretroviral drugs.

12 Jul 2006

Type 2 diabetes is associated with primary open angle glaucoma in women

A 20-year study of women in the Nurses' Health Study has shown that Type 2 diabetes is associated with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of glaucoma, accounting for about 60 to 70% of all glaucomas.

12 Jul 2006

Partners team up in Kenya to fights measles and malaria

The government of Kenya has launched a two-phase integrated measles vaccination campaign, targeting more than five million children between nine months and five years of age.

11 Jul 2006

Healthy living prevents ischemic stroke

Women who are non-smokers, exercise regularly, have a healthy diet, including moderate alcohol consumption, and otherwise live a healthy lifestyle may have a reduced risk of stroke, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

10 Jul 2006

One billion deaths expected from tobacco

According to the American Cancer Society, the way things are going tobacco will kill as many as 1 billion people this century.

10 Jul 2006

Older farmers are at high risk for injury when they stop taking prescribed pain medications

A case review of farmers aged 66 and older in Alberta, Canada, revealed some previously unknown relationships may exist between the use of pain medications and subsequent injury.

9 Jul 2006

Adopting multiple healthy habits may significantly lower risk of coronary heart disease in men

A prospective study of 42,847 middle-aged and older U.S. men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study has found that a healthy lifestyle is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), even among men taking antihypertensive or lipid-lowering medications.

5 Jul 2006

Small towns share big-city obesity problems

A few years ago public health researchers linked big-city attributes - like safety concerns and too few recreational facilities - to obesity.

5 Jul 2006

UK smokers most likely to cash in on cheap cigarettes

Smokers in the UK are much more likely to buy cheap cigarettes at a discount outlet than smokers in Australia, Canada and the USA

5 Jul 2006

Nuclear test study rules out radiation link

A University of Adelaide study has found that cancer rates among Australian men involved in the 1950s British nuclear tests are 23% higher than the general population, but has shown no link between the increased cancer rates and exposure to radiation.

5 Jul 2006