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U.S. health inequalities cause 84,000 extra deaths every year

Research estimates that health inequalities between white and black Americans cause 84,000 extra deaths every year – equating to a virtual hurricane Katrina every week, says an editorial in this week’s British Medical Journal.

20 Oct 2005

US Congress has wasted an opportunity to tackle the rising numbers of chronically hungry people in the world

On World Food Day, Oct 16, the World Food Programme (WFP) delivered some disquieting news: the number of chronically hungry people is rising again after decades of decline. Almost 6·5 million people have died so far this year from hunger and related diseases, which claim more lives than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

20 Oct 2005

Comparison of the risks and benefits of fish consumption

A comparison of the risks and benefits of fish consumption suggests that government advisories warning women of childbearing age about mercury exposure should be issued with caution.

19 Oct 2005

New drug safety officer for FDA will have more clout

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a new director to its Office of Drug Safety.

19 Oct 2005

Patents no problem say Roche when it comes to speeding up production of Tamiflu

High profile Swiss drug maker Roche says it will not let patents stand in the way of getting its Tamiflu drug to patients in the event of a bird flu pandemic.

19 Oct 2005

Northern Ireland bans smoking in pubs and restaurants

Northern Ireland has become the first region in the UK to introduce a smoking ban in pubs and restaurants.

19 Oct 2005

When it comes to keeping clean, old fashioned soap and water may be best

Over the last decade the popularity of soaps and cleaning products claiming to have anti-bacterial properties has mushroomed as consumers are persuaded, by clever marketing, that they offer a defense against household illnesses.

19 Oct 2005

FDA warns against acid-reflux treatment Enteryx

Doctors in the United States have been instructed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to stop using Enteryx, a device used to treat acid-reflux disease.

19 Oct 2005

Fertility treatment most successful in summer

When it comes to considering fertility treatment, scientists say that women who have the treatment during the summer are twice as likely to become pregnant as those who have it in the winter.

19 Oct 2005

Surgery to treat obesity far more risky for men

Researchers say that using stomach-shrinking surgery to treat severe obesity is riskier than previously thought for men, the elderly and people with conditions such as hypertension.

19 Oct 2005

Conjugated linoleic acid prevents inflammatory damage resulting from immune response

One of the isomers of conjugated linoleic acid, a group of fatty acids found in milk, is a natural regulator of the COX-2 protein, which plays a significant role in inflammatory disease such as arthritis and cancer, according to a study published by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

18 Oct 2005

Evidence is mounting to link toxoplasmosis with schizophrenia

Keep pet cats inside, stop feeding strays, cook meat sufficiently and reconsider the way the veterinary profession and public health agencies think - and teach - about the zoonotic pathogen Toxoplasma gondii.

18 Oct 2005

Atypical antipsychotic drugs slightly increase risk for death when used in people with dementia

Atypical antipsychotic drugs seem to confer a small increased risk for death when used in people with dementia, concludes a team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in a meta-analysis of 15 clinical trials published in the October 19 issue of the JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Oct 2005

Drug company warns of risk of liver problems with antidepressant

The warning about possible liver-related problems with the depression drug, Cymbalta, has been expanded and doctors are being cautioned against its use in chronic liver disease patients.

18 Oct 2005

Brain injury can cause detrimental functional changes in brain regions far from the site of the actual injury

A study of patients who have difficulty paying attention to the left side of their environment has provided some of the first direct evidence that brain injury can cause detrimental functional changes in brain regions far from the site of the actual injury.

17 Oct 2005

New type of silicone gel breast implant

A new type of silicone breast implant, currently available to women who agree to be part of a clinical study, offers breast augmentation and reconstruction patients more natural looking breasts with a low complication rate, according to a recent study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

17 Oct 2005