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Scientists to test if chocolate cuts diabetes heart disease risk in women

Scientists in Britain are calling for volunteers to test whether chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease in women with diabetes.

29 Apr 2008

Enterovirus 71 in Chinese province kills 20 children

A virus in China has which has killed 20 children and made 1,179 others ill is causing alarm.

29 Apr 2008

African Americans have five times higher rate of lower limb amputations

The overall amputation rate in northern Illinois is declining due to improved care for diabetes and peripheral vascular disease, new research shows.

28 Apr 2008

Specialists create center to help patients with pediatric diseases transition to adulthood

Growing pains can mean one thing for a typical adolescent and quite another to an older teen with cerebral palsy attempting independence in an adult world. A unique program, the Indiana University School of Medicine Center for Youth and Adults with Conditions of Childhood (CYACC) is helping these youths spread their wings and live more independently.

28 Apr 2008

Hospitals increasingly requiring upfront payment for services to reduce bad debt

The Wall Street Journal on Monday examined how some hospitals are "adopting a policy to improve their finances: making medical care contingent on upfront payments."

28 Apr 2008

Researchers identify new genes that help predict breast cancer outcomes

Not a day goes by without a new story about the environment. Although we often consider the environment on a global scale, cells in our body also have to contend with environmental factors.

28 Apr 2008

Hormone therapy in postmenopausal women associated with increased risk of stroke

Postmenopausal women taking hormone therapy appear to have an increased risk of stroke regardless of when they started treatment, according to a report in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

28 Apr 2008

Abmormal behaviour of osteoglycin gene linked to heart and kidney problems

A gene that can cause the heart to become enlarged, greatly increasing the risk of heart attacks and heart failure, is identified today in a new study.

28 Apr 2008

Cell-based therapy shows promise in patients with Parkinson's disease

Rush University Medical Center neurosurgeon Dr. Roy A. E. Bakay and colleagues from Emory University, Atlanta found the therapy Spheramine was well-tolerated and patients experienced improvement in Parkinsonian symptoms (tremor, rigidity, slowness of movements, and impaired balance and coordination.)

28 Apr 2008

UCLA study identifies factors leading to hospital admission for heart failure

Nearly two out of three patients have one or more precipitating factors that may contribute to hospital admissions nationwide for heart failure, according to a new UCLA study. Pneumonia, irregular heart beats, and obstructed blood flow to the heart are the most frequent factors.

28 Apr 2008

Thiazolidinediones may slow bone formation and speed bone loss

A widely used class of diabetes medications appears to be associated with an increased risk for fractures, according to a report in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

28 Apr 2008

Soaring rates of pregnant women with diabetes

According to the latest research from the U.S. the number of pregnant women with diabetes has more than doubled in the last six years.

28 Apr 2008

Man's sight restored by gene therapy

Eye specialists at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital in Britain have restored a man's sight by using gene therapy.

28 Apr 2008

Gene therapy restores vision in patients with rare congenital blindness

In a clinical trial at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, researchers from The University of Pennsylvania have used gene therapy to safely restore vision in three young adults with a rare form of congenital blindness.

27 Apr 2008

Minimally invasive heart bypass surgery using a DaVinci robot provides health and economic benefits

Minimally invasive heart bypass surgery using a DaVinci robot means a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery for patients, as well as fewer complications and a better chance that the new bypass vessels will stay open.

27 Apr 2008

USA Today examines stand-alone emergency departments

USA Today on Friday examined the increasing number of stand-alone emergency departments, which have "spurred questions about their limited services, their ability to decrease the overall burden for area hospitals and their impact on health care spending."

26 Apr 2008

Cancer immunotherapy shows long-term promise in lung cancer

New, long-term results from a clinical trial presented at the 1st European Lung Cancer Conference jointly organized by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the International Association of the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) show that MAGE-A3 ASCI (Antigen-Specific Cancer Immunotherapeutic), an immune-boosting treatment for lung cancer patients, reduces the risk of relapse after surgery -- to the same extent as chemotherapy but without the side-effects of chemotherapy.

26 Apr 2008

Mutation database helps personalized treatment of lung cancer

A groundbreaking free tool to help oncologists choose the best therapies for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer has been launched this week by scientists at the 1st European Lung Cancer Conference jointly organized by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

26 Apr 2008

Put patients before profit says UNISON

UNISON is calling for the sterilisation of surgical instruments to be brought back within hospital control.

26 Apr 2008

House votes 349-62 to approve legislation that would block new Medicaid regulations

Despite a veto threat from the White House, the House on Wednesday voted 349-62 to approve legislation (HR 5613) that would place a one-year moratorium on seven new Medicaid regulations, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Abrams, AP/Houston Chronicle, 4/24).

24 Apr 2008