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The Health Protection Agency starts surveillance programme for human cases of West Nile virus infection

The Health Protection Agency is starting its annual enhanced surveillance programme for possible human cases of West Nile virus infection. The scheme, which has been used for the last three years, operates during the summer, when there is West Nile virus activity in other countries.

27 May 2004

Cigarette smoking linked to leukemia

Cigarette smoking has been linked to acute myelogenous leukemia, according to The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, released today.

27 May 2004

Training in chronic care medicine is poor

In a national survey of practicing family physicians, pediatricians, internists and surgeons, the majority reported that their training in chronic care medicine was too thin overall to meet the demands of their practices.

27 May 2004

Weight loss medication Xenical® more effective than lifestyle changes alone in managing weight

The weight loss medication Xenical® (orlistat) has been shown to be significantly more effective than lifestyle changes alone in managing weight in overweight adolescents, according to new study results presented today at ECO2004, Prague, Czech Republic.

27 May 2004

New study challenges current thinking about varied response to hepatitis C treatment in different racial groups

Results of a new study published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine show that in patients who have chronic hepatitis C, genotype 1 -- the most common form of the disease and difficult to treat successfully -- non-Hispanic whites achieved one of the highest response rates reported to date, but response rates in African Americans were significantly lower.

27 May 2004

Link between oral bacterium and premature babies

For years, scientists have noticed a particular oral bacterium can be found in the amniotic fluid of about 20 percent of women with premature babies.

27 May 2004

Human Genome Sciences has begun dosing patients with chronic hep C drug

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. announced today that it has begun dosing patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial of Albuferon™ (albumin-interferon alpha) in patients with chronic hepatitis C who are naïve to interferon-alpha treatments.

27 May 2004

Men with low prostate specific antigen levels on screening tests can still have prostate cancer

Men with low PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels on screening tests can still have prostate cancer, according to a study* released today by scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

27 May 2004

Good evidence that genes play an important role in causing schizophrenia

There is good evidence that genes play an important role in causing schizophrenia. The disease prevalence is higher among blood relatives than non-related people and males are affected more frequently than females.

26 May 2004

ACE inhibitors for diabetics cut in half the risk of death

ACE inhibitors, a type of medication often used to treat high blood pressure or heart disease, can lower mortality rates for people who have diabetes -- whether they have cardiovascular disease or not, according to a study published in the June issue of Diabetes Care.

26 May 2004

Research may lead to elimination of surface-induced thrombus formation

A University of Missouri-Rolla researcher’s investigation into how proteins adhere to surfaces may lead the elimination of surface-induced thrombus formation, a phenomenon known to cause blood clots in artificial arteries, valves and veins.

26 May 2004

New company is developing advanced therapeutics for stroke victims

Arizona Engineered Therapeutics Inc., a new company based on the research of three Arizona State University professors, is moving its first drug candidate closer to clinical trials.

26 May 2004

Three year olds and upwards should have their blood pressure checked as part of routine examinations

Children as young as three years old should have their blood pressure checked as part of their routine pediatric examinations--according to new treatment guidelines to be presented at the American Society of Hypertension’s (ASH) Annual Scientific Meeting on Thursday, May 20, in New York City.

25 May 2004

How women would like to manage heavy periods

According to a new online survey of women with heavy periods, women have strong opinions about what they want – and what they don't want to do – to manage their heavy periods.

25 May 2004

Need to determine if black cohosh can improve the quality of people’s lives as some claim

It’s a common herb that more than 10 million American women use to ease menopausal symptoms. Its benefits are touted all over the Internet. Yet, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved it as a drug, and researchers are unsure of its effects on the human body. A University of Missouri-Columbia researcher is hoping to change that.

25 May 2004

Columbia University to study link between diabetes and early dementia

Understanding the link between diabetes and early dementia -- as well as how diabetes relates to other causes of memory loss -- is the focus of a new study at Columbia University Medical Center and approximately 40 other medical institutions nationwide.

25 May 2004

In one unusual circumstance smoking may actually be good for you

An Austrian study has found that smoking cigarettes, a habit that contributes to the development of peripheral artery disease-actually helps arteries stay open following a procedure to repair clogged blood vessels in the legs. The study found that habitual to heavy smokers who continued to smoke after angioplasty had a lower rate of restenosis, or re-narrowing of the arteries, than nonsmokers.

25 May 2004