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Isotopes for society

The nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons. However, some atoms of the same chemical element can have varying numbers of neutrons, giving so-called isotopes of that element.

27 Apr 2005

Drug adverts are a haphazard approach to health promotion

As California State Assembly Bill 95 (Koretz, D-West Hollywood), designed to reign in drug marketing costs in California by requiring manufacturers of drugs for life-threatening chronic conditions to pay the state a rebate equal to the drug marketing cost, moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) -- cites a study and accompanying editorial published today in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) that demonstrates the influence that Direct to Consumer Advertising (DTCA) has on physicians' prescribing decisions.

26 Apr 2005

Abnormal liver tests in a Mediterranean population

recent population-based study in a small town in Southern Italy found that one in eight residents had abnormal liver tests.

26 Apr 2005

EU Commission provides further 1.5 million Euro to help tackle Marburg outbreak in Angola

The European Commission has approved a second emergency decision in response to the Marburg epidemic in northern Angola. The outbreak of this rare viral haemorrhagic fever has by now become the worst ever recorded of the disease. It is also the first time that cases have been diagnosed in an urban environment.

25 Apr 2005

Significant fall in serious violence in England and Wales

There has been a significant fall in serious violence in England (13%) and Wales (20%) over the last five years, according to a major study into trends in serious violence by Cardiff University.

25 Apr 2005

Few US adults report having a healthy lifestyle

Despite clear evidence of the health benefits, few U.S. adults conform to four common healthy behaviors that together characterize a healthy lifestyle, according to the April 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Apr 2005

Risk scores may identify young individuals with atherosclerosis

Young people with atherosclerotic lesions may be identified by a risk score calculated from coronary heart disease factors like obesity, sex, age, cholesterol, and smoking, according to an article in the April 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Apr 2005

As syphilis rates increase in Los Angeles County, new study suggests the disease is increasing HIV rates

The syphilis epidemic among men who have sex with men in Los Angeles County may be contributing to rates of HIV in this population, according to a new report published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

23 Apr 2005

How Ebola virus infects cells - discovery

Ebola virus reproduction in laboratory-grown cells is severely hampered by enzyme-inhibiting chemicals, and these chemicals deserve further study as possible treatments for Ebola virus infections in humans, report scientists supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

23 Apr 2005

Wide variation in access to HIV medications across states

Twenty-one State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) report limiting access to their programs in some way, including 11 with waiting lists, despite an increase in the national ADAP budget, according to the ninth annual National ADAP Monitoring Project Report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Alliance of State AIDS Directors (NASTAD).

23 Apr 2005

Launching of Vaccination Week in the Americas

The Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, together with the governments of the United States, Mexico and Canada, will hold a press conference Monday, April 25 at 10 a.m. at the National Press Club to launch Vaccination Week in the Americas, a multi-country immunization campaign.

23 Apr 2005

Fatness, despite fitness, is linked with cardiovascular risk factors

Body fatness was associated with more cardiovascular disease risk factors even among healthy, aerobically fit men, according to a report today in an obesity-themed issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

23 Apr 2005

UK plan for influenza pandemic

The HPA Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan outlines the Health Protection Agency’s plan for responding to an influenza pandemic. It replaces the Public Health Laboratory Service Pandemic Influenza Plan of July 2001.

23 Apr 2005

International internet drug ring shattered

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Karen P. Tandy has announced the results of Operation “Cyber Chase”, a year-long Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that targeted international Internet pharmaceutical traffickers operating in the United States, India, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. These e-traffickers distributed drugs world-wide using “rogue” Internet pharmacies.

23 Apr 2005

Exposure to air pollutants increases the risk of fatal myocardial infarction

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death in Sweden and other Western European countries. Known risk factors include age, gender, hereditariness, smoking, hypertension and high blood lipid levels.

22 Apr 2005

Almost all killer flu bug kits destroyed

99 percent of the kits containing a killer flu bug that mistakenly ended up in thousands of laboratories around the world, sparking fears of a pandemic, have been destroyed, according to top U.S. health official Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

22 Apr 2005

Counting the human cost of international trade

International trade is creating a global road safety crisis that only serves to inhibit development and perpetuate poverty, argues an expert in this week's BMJ.

21 Apr 2005

Global Health Service needed to fight AIDS

A report by the non-partisan Institute of Medicine is calling for the creation of a U.S. Global Health Service comprised of doctors, nurses and other health care workers to help combat HIV/AIDS in the world's hardest hit countries.

20 Apr 2005

CDC playing politics over obesity

Leaders at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were criticized by The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) today for playing politics over obesity.

20 Apr 2005

Meat Institute defends hot dogs in recent pancreatic cancer study

In response to the report released today at the American Association for Cancer Research in Anaheim, California, attempting to link processed meats to pancreatic cancer, James L. Hodges, President of the American Meat Institute Foundation made the following comment:

20 Apr 2005