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Initiative to improve heart failure care at nation's hospitals makes major gains

A national initiative designed to improve heart-failure patient care in hospitals proved effective at increasing hospital adherence to key quality-of-care performance measures and reducing the length of hospital stays for patients.

24 Jul 2007

Being elderly and illiterate means a significantly higher mortality rate

Researchers in the U.S. have found that being elderly and being unable to read and understand basic health information is a bad combination.

24 Jul 2007

New Yorkers warned on mercury in fish

The results of a new survey have revealed that one in four New Yorkers have elevated levels of mercury in their blood which are higher than others both locally and nationally.

24 Jul 2007

Call for renewed efforts to develop standard definitions and terminology for anesthesia

The absence of standardized definitions for events and outcomes during and after anesthesia for surgery has major implications for anesthesiology research and practice, as well as for public perceptions of anesthesia care, according to an editorial by two leading anesthesiology researchers.

24 Jul 2007

Hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier shows promise as treatment for sickle cell disease

Studies in mice suggest that a red blood cell substitute based on human hemoglobin could be a promising new treatment for sickle cell disease in humans.

24 Jul 2007

Cancer Research UK predicts 20,000 fewer deaths from bowel cancer

Cancer Research UK today predicts a huge drop in deaths from bowel cancer if people use the self testing kit that is being sent to men and women in their sixties throughout the country.

24 Jul 2007

Effects of aging hematopoietic stem cells

There is little disagreement that the body's maintenance and repair systems deteriorate with age, even as there is plenty of disagreement as to why.

24 Jul 2007

Don't drink the fizzy stuff!

Drinking more than one soft drink daily whether it's regular or diet may be associated with an increase in the risk factors for heart disease, Framingham researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

24 Jul 2007

A quarter of adult New Yorkers have elevated blood mercury levels

A quarter of adult New Yorkers have elevated blood mercury levels, according to survey results released today by the Health Department, and the elevations are closely tied to fish consumption.

24 Jul 2007

Cut out the sodas - cut down the metabolic syndrome risk!

According to a large U.S. study, soda drinks, whether they be diet or regular, are linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome among middle-age adults.

23 Jul 2007

FDA panel will help decide fate of drug Evista for preventing breast cancer

Before the osteoporosis drug Evista is approved for breast cancer in the U.S. the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will take the advice of an advisory panel.

23 Jul 2007

Older tipplers need aged based drinking guidelines

A British expert says alcohol drinking guidelines need to be introduced which are based on age, in order to protect consumers' health.

23 Jul 2007

Discovery of novel 'molecular dictator with a conscience'

University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have uncovered an important naturally occurring mechanism in the body where "bad" cells that cause blockages in our blood vessels are kept under strict growth control, while "good" cells that keep our blood vessels free of clots and growths are left unaffected.

23 Jul 2007

New hope for common form of childhood cancer

Dr. Richard Lock, Head of the Leukaemia Biology Program at the Children's Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research, Sydney, along with collaborators from the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and University of Southern California, USA, recently published their findings in the prestigious scientific journal Blood.

23 Jul 2007

Study looks at cancer incidence among recipients of blood from donors

Individuals who receive blood transfusions from donors with undiagnosed cancers are at no higher risk of developing malignant disease than people who receive blood from donors without cancer, according to the results of a retrospective study published in The Lancet last month.

23 Jul 2007

Blood transfusions not likely to spread cancer

23 Jul 2007

Adverse effects of using prescription drugs with natural health products under-reported

The adverse effects of using prescription drugs side by side with natural health products (NHP) are being under-reported, so the potential risks may be underestimated by health-care professionals and the public, a study from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada shows.

23 Jul 2007