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Current methods of delivering health care to kids are woefully unable to cope with a pediatric disease pendulum

"There's a growing gap between where child health is moving and how we're attempting to deliver health care to kids," said pediatrician and health policy researcher Paul Wise, MD, MPH.

15 Sep 2004

HHS enhances Medicare drug card program to help seniors

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced new measures to help seniors get the lowest price possible for their medicines by allowing them -- for the first time -- to compare prices for similar drugs used to treat common diseases such as high cholesterol or blood pressure.

15 Sep 2004

Red Bull energy drink does not improve a person’s physical performance

Energy drinks – usually a mixture of caffeine, taurine, carbohydrates, B-complex vitamins and gluconolactone – have become very popular in recent years.

15 Sep 2004

Immunoglobulins might be promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease

Intravenous immunoglobulin might offer a promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease, suggests preliminary research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

15 Sep 2004

Early use of combination-drug treatments could improve HIV survival rates

Survival rates of HIV-positive patients could be improved if combination-drug treatment were begun earlier than current clinical guidelines now recommend, according to a new study by researchers from The New York Academy of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

14 Sep 2004

Estimates may overstate toll of sudden cardiac death

Researchers trying to get a precise picture of sudden cardiac death in Portland, Ore. found that checking with ambulance services, medical examiners and hospitals revealed the actual number of cases was only about one-third the total estimated by a commonly used method that involves reviews of death certificates, according to a new study in the Sept. 15, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

14 Sep 2004

Campaign to reduce high salt consumption in the UK

Every day at least 26 million people eat more than the recommended daily limit of 6g of salt. Men are eating the most with a daily average of 11.0g of salt while women consume an average of 8.1g a day

14 Sep 2004

German researchers are identifying lymphoma risks

Little is known about the causes of lymphoma. A case-control study conducted by Professor Nikolaus Becker and Dr. Alexandra Nieters, Division of Clinical Epidemiology at the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ), is looking closely at possible risk factors.

14 Sep 2004

Wyeth gets approval for needle-less syringe for the treatment of hemophilia

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the ReFacto Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant) R2 Kit, the first needle-less reconstitution device with a prefilled diluent syringe for hemophilia.

14 Sep 2004

Crocodile blood could help make artificial blood

Pioneering research being undertaken on crocodile blood to see if it can help in making artificial blood is revealed tomorrow in an innovative new, free, emailed, quarterly science magazine called Velocity.

14 Sep 2004

Lead poisoning in children may be a bigger public health issue in the UK than is currently appreciated

Britain's Health Protection Agency is warning that lead poisoning in children may be a bigger public health issue in the UK than is currently appreciated, and more research needs to be done to establish the exact threat.

14 Sep 2004

Micro-thin implantable films may one day allow patients to forgo daily injections and pills

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a material that may one day allow patients to forgo daily injections and pills and receive prescriptions instead through micro-thin implantable films that release medication according to changes in temperature.

14 Sep 2004

New glaucoma risk assessment principles help physicians decide who needs treatment

A new approach for assessing glaucoma risk factors could be the first step in helping ophthalmologists determine the risk of progression from ocular hypertension to glaucoma and blindness, according to an article published today in the September issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

14 Sep 2004

Molecule that may be a primary cause of high blood pressure and link to diabetes

A study published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identified the molecule that binds to a receptor (a molecule on the cell surface that triggers a reaction within the cell) in the brain that is known to regulate blood pressure and release of insulin.

14 Sep 2004

Missing link between inflammatory markers in the bloodstream and the increased risk of heart attack

The study of 386 Olmsted County, Minn., residents used transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to obtain high-quality images of the lining of the aorta, the main artery through which the heart pumps blood to the body.

14 Sep 2004

Guidelines introduce novel therapies for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis

New antithrombotic guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) introduce novel therapies for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis and, for the first time, offer specific recommendations for long-distance travelers.

14 Sep 2004

Hibiscus flowers contain antioxidants that help control cholesterol levels

Hibiscus flower extract may have the same health benefits as red wine and tea according to new research by scientists in Taiwan. Hibiscus contains antioxidants that help control cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease, says the research in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

14 Sep 2004