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Obese patients have a significantly higher risk of complications following surgery

The study, appearing in the March issue of the World Journal of Surgery, also found that morbidly obese patients had a death rate nearly twice as high as that of all other patients, as well as a higher rate of cardiac arrest.

13 Mar 2007

Health disparities in prostate cancer care

Decreasing the rates of prostate cancer among black men may require improving access to routine health care, rather than increased education about the disease, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine suggests.

12 Mar 2007

Patients need doctors to advise them on health care decisions

"Sick people need to be able to rely on their doctors not just for an expert recital of choices" when it comes to medical treatment, "but also for advice about what to do, and doctors should accept responsibility for the outcome," Marcia Angell, a senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School and guest columnist for the Boston Globe, writes in an opinion piece.

5 Mar 2007

Call for decent, sanitary housing for recuperating soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center

The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) has called upon Defense Secretary Robert Gates to take immediate action to provide decent, sanitary housing for recuperating soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and to consider moving them to Department of Veterans Affairs facilities closer to their homes.

5 Mar 2007

Sleep apnea linked to heart disease

New research in the U.S. suggests that people who suffer from sleep apnea have an increased risk of heart disease.

5 Mar 2007

Severe stress can damage a child's brain

According to researchers in the U.S. children who suffer severe stress may also suffer damage to their brains.

5 Mar 2007

Reduce your heart attack risk by eating whole-grain breakfast cereals

The health benefits of whole-grain breakfast cereals have been lauded yet again by the medical profession.

5 Mar 2007

Campaign seeks to counter influence of pharma sales reps

The Boston Globe on Monday examined the Independent Drug Service project, a $1 million campaign in Pennsylvania that sends consultants to inform physicians about the effectiveness of different medications based on scientific evidence to "combat the sales pitches" of pharmaceutical companies.

28 Feb 2007

Stanford student is visionary behind global fight againts blindness

Six years ago, as a 19-year-old college sophomore, Jennifer Staple decided to battle preventable blindness so she started the nonprofit "Unite for Sight" with a staff of one: herself.

27 Feb 2007

Garlic does not lower LDL cholesterol

Three forms of garlic - including raw garlic and two types of commercial garlic supplements - did not significantly reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol during a six-month trial, according to results published in the February 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

27 Feb 2007

Aspirin offers help for Barrett's esophagus

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that people with the most-aggressive form of Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition that can lead to esophageal cancer, may benefit the most from preventive therapy with aspirin, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.

27 Feb 2007

Usefulness of C-reactive protein test questioned

Researchers with Dartmouth Medical School and the Veterans Affairs Outcomes Group at the White River Junction (Vt.) VA Medical Center are questioning the usefulness of the C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test for guiding decisions about the use of cholesterol-lowering medication.

27 Feb 2007

Diet rich in black soya beans could help control weight, lower fat and cholesterol levels

Yellow soya has already been hailed for its cholesterol lowering capabilities; this is one of the reasons why frozen food manufacturer Birds Eye has added the beans to its range. However, a team of Korean researchers has shown that black soya may be even more potent in rats, and also prevents weight gain.

26 Feb 2007

Anorexia nervosa may be genetic

A researcher in the United States says a ten year study into the eating disorder anorexia nervosa suggests that sufferers may have a genetic predisposition for it.

21 Feb 2007

Injections with "dermal fillers" containing hyaluronic acid may partially restore sun-damaged skin

Injectable skin fillers have become increasingly popular for correcting the lines and wrinkles associated with aging, as well as acne scars and other skin conditions, according to background information in the article.

20 Feb 2007

Chocolate is brain food!

It's news we love to hear, if the latest research is to be believed, chocolate is brain food!

19 Feb 2007

Mechanism driving iron overload in thalassemia identified

Led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, an international group of scientists has pinpointed a specific genetic relationship as the cause of dangerous iron overload in persons with a form of the inherited blood disease, beta-thalassemia.

14 Feb 2007