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FDA wants warnings put on antipsychotic drugs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public health advisory to health care providers, patients, and caregivers to alert them to new safety information about the use of certain unapproved or off label drugs which come under the category of “atypical antipsychotic drugs.”

11 Apr 2005

Keyboards harbour nasty bugs

A new study has shown that some nasty bacteria can survive and grow for at least 24 hours on computer keyboards and electronic recordkeeping in hospitals and other health care settings and may be spreading more than just information.

11 Apr 2005

Study predicted cardiovascular risk of Cox-2 inhibitors

Amid the recent controversy and confusion over serious side effects from pain medications, a new UCLA and Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System study demonstrates that for arthritis sufferers at high risk for gastrointestinal problems who traditionally may have used a drug like Vioxx, the most cost-effective and safest treatment is actually a common painkiller combined with an acid-reducing drug.

11 Apr 2005

Smokers who receive abnormal results using computed tomography to screen for lung cancer are more likely to quit

According to a new study, smokers who receive multiple abnormal results using computed tomography (CT) to screen for lung cancer are more likely to quit, suggesting an opportunity for doctors to motivate smokers to quit smoking.

11 Apr 2005

No link between silicone implants and systemic disease

Silicone breast implants have been scrutinized more than any medical device, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has stated.

10 Apr 2005

Three out of every four adults over age 50 use some kind of alternative medicine

This study found that 71 percent of older adults used some form of alternative medicine in 2000. A study done in 2002, found a lower rate -- about 62 percent – among all adults.

10 Apr 2005

Millions of mothers and children are dying unnecessarily

The millions of seemingly preventable deaths of women and children each year has prompted the United Nations to devote this year’s World Health Day to highlighting their plight.

7 Apr 2005

Make room for daddy, say University of Florida autism experts

Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is characterized by problems interacting and communicating with others. Caring for an autistic child can be a relentless and labor-intensive task — one that is overwhelmingly performed by mothers, says UF nursing researcher Jennifer Elder.

7 Apr 2005

Competition in health care may not result in better quality

For several decades, competition within the health care industry has been touted as the way to curb rising prices by reducing inefficient practices and improving quality and safety. But a study of 341 HMOs suggests that more competition may not automatically solve price and quality-of-care problems as hoped for by legislators, regulators and employers.

7 Apr 2005

Congress must act now to avert crisis and keep Medicare program strong

A survey of physicians released by the American Medical Association (AMA) indicates that steep Medicare payment cuts to physicians, nurses and other health professionals will hurt access to care for America's seniors and disabled.

5 Apr 2005

Cryoablation may be safer alternative for stopping abnormal electrical patterns

Freezing abnormal electrical pathways in the hearts of young patients may be a safer alternative to zapping them with powerful radiofrequency probes in order to treat tachycardias and other arrhythmias, according to a new study in the April 5, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Apr 2005

Modest triglyceride elevations linked to coronary artery disease risk

Even modest increases in blood levels of triglycerides, as well as a type of high cholesterol known as type III hyperlipidemia, are strongly associated with coronary artery disease in people with a family history of the disease, according to a new study in the April 5, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Apr 2005

Gene therapy shows effect in heart patients

The first double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial of VEGF gene injections into the heart muscle of patients with coronary artery disease with the intention of spurring growth of new blood vessels showed significant effects on heart wall motion, although blood flow was not significantly better in treated patients, according to a new study in the April 5, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Apr 2005

E.Sakazakii Meningitis to become a notifiable disease

A potentially fatal form of meningitis in premature babies linked to contaminated milk powder should be made a notifiable disease according to a report released today.

5 Apr 2005

Canadians spend over $21 billion on drugs

Drugs continue to be the fastest-growing category of health care spending in Canada and a new report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the Drug Expenditure in Canada 1985-2004 report, shows that total spending on drugs is expected to have reached $21.8 billion in 2004, five times the amount spent on drugs in 1985.

5 Apr 2005

Obesity costs California $21.7 billion a year

California businesses are feeling the financial pinch from employees with obesity-related health conditions, State Public Health Officer Dr. Richard J. Jackson announced today. The combined cost of physical inactivity, obesity and overweight totaled $21.7 billion in 2000, according to a new report, The Economic Costs of Physical Inactivity, Obesity and Overweight in California Adults, the first such research conducted for California.

5 Apr 2005

Hospital Compare gives the rundown on US hospital services

Hospital Compare, a new service, will give Americans the ability to compare the quality of care in nearly all of the nation’s hospitals using quality information available from the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA).

5 Apr 2005

International commitment to reduce maternal and child deaths by 2015 will not be met

An international commitment to reduce maternal and child deaths by 2015 will not be met at the current pace unless rapid and coordinated action is taken now, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

5 Apr 2005

HIV/AIDS impacts on population dynamics and economic growth

Top officials at the United Nations Commission on Population and Development, at its yearly meeting are focussing on the negative effects of HIV/AIDS on population dynamics, including population losses and decreased life expectancy, as well as the pandemic's links to increased extreme poverty, stalled economic growth and poor reproductive health in many parts of the world.

5 Apr 2005

Young people believe oral sex less likely to have negative social and emotional consequences

Young people believe that oral sex is less risky to their health and emotions than vaginal sex, more prevalent among teens their age and more acceptable among their peers. They are also more likely to try oral sex, according to a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study published in the April 2005 issue of Pediatrics.

4 Apr 2005