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Online Chinese medicine guide being developed

Chinese medicine researchers, practitioners and members of the public will have access to one of Australia’s most comprehensive Chinese medicine databases, currently under development at RMIT University.

11 May 2004

68 percent of smokers want help quitting

According to a study just published in Preventive Medicine, 68 percent of smokers who were offered free cessation treatment at their regular clinics took advantage of the invitation.

11 May 2004

Low-level personnel un-trained in decision-making end up making discretionary medical choices

With no requirement for healthcare providers to care for uninsured patients seeking routine medical attention, frontline staff -- from clerks to insurance verifiers -- are the gatekeepers, deciding who is seen by the physician and who is turned away, according to research conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

11 May 2004

Indicators identify shingles patients who have an increased risk of developing persistent pain

Researchers have recently confirmed a set of indicators that, alone and in combination, identify shingles patients who have an increased risk of developing persistent pain after the shingles rash heals. Results and implications of their study will be presented in the May 11 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 May 2004

Chronic respiratory symptoms are prominent among Alaska Native children

Chronic respiratory symptoms are prominent among Alaska Native children in the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta (YK delta) region of Alaska, with symptoms varying greatly within the geographic location.

10 May 2004

Strategy to treat obesity through molecular liposuction

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have designed a strategy to treat obesity through “molecular liposuction.” The therapy destroys blood vessels supporting fat accumulation — causing the fat to rapidly break down and disappear.

10 May 2004

Faster technique for extracting DNA

A computer scientist at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a novel technique to extract more DNA from a single sequence reaction than is normally possible, reducing both cost and time of the sequencing process.

10 May 2004

Low back pain - does it need costly scan?

A major study has been conducted to evaluate the role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) scans in the treatment of low back pain (LBP).

10 May 2004

Two serious birth defects in the U. S. are on the decline

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are serious birth defects of the spine (e.g., spina bifida) and the brain (e.g., anencephaly) that occur during early pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant.

10 May 2004

More UK health professionals will be able to prescribe medicines

The proposals recommend that physiotherapists, radiographers, chiropodists and optometrists should be able to prescribe medicines, in partnership with a doctor, to help treat and manage conditions such as glaucoma, chronic back pain and the effects of multiple sclerosis, as well as providing pain relief for patients attending radiography sessions.

10 May 2004

Less educated people have more severe stress

While less educated people report fewer stressful days than those with more education, their stress is more severe and has a larger impact on their health, reports a researcher from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and his colleagues in the current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

10 May 2004

Bone marrow and stem cell transplantation rejection averted by UV light exposure

One of the unfortunate side effects of bone marrow and stem cell transplantation is that the newly implanted cells often stage an internal attack against the patient they're intended to help.

10 May 2004

90's saw significant increase in blood pressure among children

That children are heavier on average today than children were a decade ago may now be common knowledge. The rise in weight appears to be accompanied by a significant increase in blood pressure among children between the ages of 8 and 17, say Tulane University epidemiologists in the May 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 May 2004

Support for securing health insurance for all Americans

A diverse group of local organizations has come together to demonstrate its support for securing health insurance for all Americans, including the nearly 44 million uninsured Americans, among them 400,000 in Tampa Bay.

8 May 2004

Traditional Chinese medicine contains human placenta

MHRA (Medicines) has recently become aware of a traditional Chinese medicine called Nu Bao. The product patient information leaflet lists human placenta (Placenta hominis), deer antler (Corna cervi pantotrichum) and donkey skin (Colla cori astini) as ingredients.

8 May 2004

66 percent of adults never talked to their mothers about heart disease

Just in time for Mother's Day, a national survey commissioned by GE Healthcare reveals that nearly two out of three adults have never talked to their mothers about heart disease, the number one killer of women in the United States.

8 May 2004

Belarus to collaborate with GenoMed on West Nile virus encephalitis

GenoMed, Inc. has announced that the leading experts in West Nile virus encephalitis in Belarus will collaborate with the Company in treating cases of suspected West Nile virus encephalitis this summer. Belarus, formerly part of the USSR, is now a democratic country of 10.5 million people lying between Poland and Russia; its capital is Minsk.

7 May 2004

West Nile treatment showing 100% response rate among immunocompetent patients

GenoMed, Inc. has announced that it will be limiting its treatment for West Nile virus encephalitis to immunocompetent patients only, where it has posted a 100% success rate.

7 May 2004

Afro-Americans with high blood pressure have double the risk of enlarged heart

American blacks with high blood pressure have nearly double the risk for left ventricular hypertrophy (enlarged heart) compared to hypertensive whites, researchers report in today’s rapid access issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

6 May 2004

New stent appears safe and effective for preventing arteries from reclosing in coronary heart disease patients

A new stent appears safe and effective for preventing arteries from reclosing in coronary heart disease patients, based on one-year results of the first human trial using this stent reported in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

6 May 2004