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Biannual mass antibiotic treatment may help reduce contagious eye disease trachoma in Africa

Changing the administration of the antibiotic azithromycin from once to twice a year in villages in Ethiopia substantially reduced eye infections in preschool children caused by chlamydia, which causes the serious, contagious eye disease trachoma, according to a study in the February 20 issue of JAMA.

20 Feb 2008

US military should ensure careful screening prior to prescribing anti-malarial drug, mefloquine

Malaria is a constant threat to US military personnel operating in Afghanistan, but some troops may face further risk, as epidemiologists have revealed a significant prevalence of contraindications to the safe use of the anti-malarial drug, mefloquine.

20 Feb 2008

Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) versus placebo for obsessive compulsive disorder

Common antidepressant drugs such as Prozac and Zoloft can be effective treatment options for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), according to a new review of studies.

20 Feb 2008

CT scan can harm kidneys, but cheap drug can help

As more and more Americans undergo CT scans and other medical imaging scans involving intense X-rays, a new study suggests that many of them should take a pre-scan drug that could protect their kidneys from damage.

20 Feb 2008

New key finding in neurodevelopment

A longstanding puzzle in neurodevelopment may have yielded up a key secret. A team led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College says they have determined how events at the very tips of the developing neuron's long, skinny axon affect gene transcription back in the cell's distant nucleus.

20 Feb 2008

Victims less likely to survive a heart attack in hospital on the weekend

A new study has made some worrying revelations about people who have heart attacks.

20 Feb 2008

Rural doctors say 16,000 more health professionals are urgently needed in the bush

Doctors working in rural Australia have called on the government to offer better incentives to keep doctors in the bush.

20 Feb 2008

Expert says obesity is as big a threat to the planet as climate change

As the latest statistics estimate that worldwide one billion adults are overweight, and a third of those are obese, an expert has stated that the issue must be regarded with the same urgency as climate change.

19 Feb 2008

As depression symptoms improve with antidepressants, hopelessness can linger

People taking medication for depression typically see a lot of improvements in their symptoms during the first few months, but lagging behind other areas is a sense of hopefulness, according to new research from the University of Michigan Health System.

18 Feb 2008

Young women not getting enough folic acid

Despite the fact that folic acid can prevent some of the most common birth defects, young women aren't getting enough of it.

18 Feb 2008

Study offers insight into possible cause of lymphoma

The immune system's powerful cellular mutation and repair processes appear to offer important clues as to how lymphatic cancer develops, Yale School of Medicine researchers report this week in Nature.

18 Feb 2008

Using HEPA filters may improve cardiovascular health

One day doctors may recommend using high efficiency particle air (HEPA) filters along with weight loss, smoking cessation, and exercise to improve cardiovascular health, according to researchers in Denmark.

18 Feb 2008

Transplanted cells can cure hemophilia

Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have shown for the first time that transplanted cells can cure hemophilia A (the most common form of the disease) in an animal model.

18 Feb 2008

Suicide rates in young men at lowest levels since 1970s

The reasons for the steady decline in suicides among young people in the UK are explored in two studies by researchers from the University of Bristol published on bmj.com.

18 Feb 2008

New blood test six times more effective for tuberculosis control

In a landmark study electronically published today in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a blood test for detecting TB infection, QuantiFERON(R)-TB Gold (QFT), has been shown to be six times more accurate than the conventional tuberculin skin test (TST) at predicting which tuberculosis (TB)-exposed individuals will go on to develop TB disease.

18 Feb 2008

Stress may increase a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer

A woman's daily stress can reduce her ability to fight off a common sexually transmitted disease and increase her risk of developing the cancer it can cause, according to a new study.

18 Feb 2008

Researchers find protein targets for potential treatment of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is not a single condition, but an ebbing and flowing of stages affecting the body ' s central nervous system.

18 Feb 2008

Role gound for glaucoma gene and a signaling pathway

Researchers have found that a gene and a related signaling pathway play a role in the development of glaucoma, which is a common cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide.

18 Feb 2008

PSA testing predicts advanced prostate cancer

A single prostate specific antigen (PSA) test taken before the age of 50 can be used to predict advanced prostate cancer in men up to 25 years in advance of a diagnosis, according to a new study published by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and Lund University in Sweden.

18 Feb 2008

Yale procedure creates new bone tissue

A new technique that combines bone marrow removal and injection of a hormone helps promote rapid formation of new bone at targeted locations in the body, it was reported by Yale School of Medicine this month in Tissue Engineering.

17 Feb 2008