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Children who are open to experimenting with herbal products may be more open to trying illicit drugs

Adolescents who have ever used herbal products are six times more likely to have tried cocaine and almost 15 times more likely to have used anabolic steroids than teens who have never used herbal products

23 Mar 2006

Study uncovers variations in service on UK's psychiatric wards

A groundbreaking study to assess the state of the nation’s acute psychiatric wards has uncovered substantial variations in service provision and delivery.

21 Mar 2006

U.S. screening for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in migratory birds

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton and Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt have moved to further ensure the protection of people, domestic poultry and wild birds by unveiling an enhanced national framework for early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild migratory birds in the United States.

21 Mar 2006

Mammography rates better with shared care

If follow-up mammography is an indicator of quality breast cancer care, then older survivors who receive shared care--provided by both a primary care physician and a cancer specialist--are better cared for than those who don't.

21 Mar 2006

Low-income patients with treatable cardiac risk factors may benefit from telemedicine

Low-income patients with treatable cardiac risk factors may benefit from regular visits with an Internet based telemedicine doctor, according to interim results of a $4 million dollar study funded by the Pennsylvania State Department of Health and headed by Alfred Bove, MD, chief of cardiology at Temple University School of Medicine and Hospital.

21 Mar 2006

Mastectomy does not necessarily affect quality of life

Most women with cancer in one breast who decide to have the unaffected breast removed along with the diseased breast don't regret the decision and have a quality of life equal to patients who didn't have a preventive mastectomy, according to a survey of breast cancer survivors.

21 Mar 2006

Atorvastatin could prove an effective therapy for multiple sclerosis

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University Medical Center are reporting compelling new evidence that the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin could prove an effective therapy for preventing the progression of, and reversing the severity of, multiple sclerosis (MS).

20 Mar 2006

No-smoking rules not common enough for asthmatic children

Urban children with persistent asthma living in homes with smokers are 10 times less likely to be protected by a smoking ban in the home and car than asthmatic children living with no smokers, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

20 Mar 2006

Religion and spiritual characteristics related to depression among young physicians

Despite recent restrictions placed on work hours for resident physicians, the prevalence of significant depressive symptoms among those new physicians has not decreased.

20 Mar 2006

Risks of cesarean delivery are under reported, benefits overstated

Unnecessary cesarean delivery constitutes a threat to the future health of mothers and babies who undergo major surgery, according to experts who spoke at a media briefing hosted by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), in Washington, D.C. today.

20 Mar 2006

Telephone support helps smokers quit

University of Minnesota Medical School and Minneapolis VA Medical Center research shows that smokers who receive support over the telephone when trying to quit are more successful in kicking the habit than those who receive help as part of routine medical care.

19 Mar 2006

Discovery of new cell type in the part of the brain that processes our sense of smell

Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have discovered a new cell type in the part of the brain that processes our sense of smell.

19 Mar 2006

A new strategy to tuberculosis

The new "Stop TB Strategy" addresses the current challenges facing countries in responding to TB - how to continue scaling-up TB control activities while also addressing the spread of TB and HIV coinfection and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

17 Mar 2006

African American women urged to confront colorectal cancer

Despite having the greatest risk of developing and dying from colorectal cancer (CRC) of any gender, race or ethnicity, an astounding 96 percent of African American women do not consider themselves to be at high risk for the disease, according to a new Harris poll.

17 Mar 2006

Price tag from Alzheimer's disease will skyrocket over the next 25 years

The study prompted a new coalition of researchers, health care providers, business leaders and senior advocates to call for an "all-out push" to find a cure.

17 Mar 2006

New model is able to accurately predict survival for patients with heart failure

A new model developed at the University of Washington provides an accurate estimate of one-, two-, and three-year survival rates and average years of survival for patients with heart failure.

15 Mar 2006

Fondaparinux significantly reduces risk of death for heart attack patients

Heart attack patients who have a certain pattern on an electrocardiogram significantly reduced their risk of death and having another heart attack at 30 days with the medication fondaparinux, without an increased risk of bleeding and strokes

15 Mar 2006

Telephone care and counseling for smoking cessation may help smokers quit

Smokers who receive telephone care and counseling for smoking cessation have higher rates of stopping smoking than those who receive routine care by health care providers, according to a study in the March 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

15 Mar 2006

Management of diabetic patients in a primary care setting can be improved by an intervention aimed at physicians

The intervention was individualized to each physician's record of action when patient glucose levels were high, and featured regular feedback on their performance.

15 Mar 2006

Hospitalized schizophrenics more likely to have complications

A Johns Hopkins study of more than 1,700 patients with schizophrenia hospitalized for medical or surgical care unrelated to their mental disorder shows they are at least twice as likely as similar patients without schizophrenia to suffer dangerous and expensive adverse events.

15 Mar 2006