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Scientists cure mice of muscle disease that causes a Floppy Baby Syndrome

In a world first, West Australian scientists have cured mice of a devastating muscle disease that causes a Floppy Baby Syndrome - a breakthrough that could ultimately help thousands of families across the globe.

25 May 2009

Researchers unlock mystery of potentially fatal reaction to smallpox vaccine

Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have pinpointed the cellular defect that increases the likelihood, among eczema sufferers, of developing eczema vaccinatum, a severe and potentially fatal reaction to the smallpox vaccine.

25 May 2009

Extreme caffeinated soft drink diet leaves woman with serious health issues

Reports in the media of a New Zealand woman's extreme Red Bull diet where her weight plummeted from 105kg to 60kg by drinking 10 to 14 cans of the 'energy' drink each day say she has been left with serious health issues.

24 May 2009

Australian Government shies away from election promise to takeover control of hospitals

Kevin Rudd's Government appears to be backing out of another of its election promises - the financial takeover of public hospitals if they fail to come up to scratch.

24 May 2009

New device for coagulating and killing unwanted tissue during surgery

Acculis Limited, the UK based specialist microwave ablation company based in Denmead, England, has announced the clearance of its latest device for coagulating and killing unwanted tissue during surgery.

24 May 2009

New understanding on how superbugs manipulate the immune system

It appears that some superbugs have evolved to develop the ability to manipulate the immune system to everyone's advantage.

24 May 2009

Pregnant women should steer clear of advice to "eat for two"

Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, reviewed data for more than 1,300 women and found that those who consumed extra calories, as well as fried foods and dairy products, were more likely to gain more than is recommended during pregnancy - that's 35 pounds or more for a woman with a normal body mass index, or BMI.

22 May 2009

Zyflamend, herb-based therapeutic shows promise for high risk of prostate cancer

Results of a phase I clinical trial of a novel herb-based therapeutic called Zyflamend have demonstrated that the therapy is associated with minimal toxicity and no serious adverse events in men at high-risk for developing prostate cancer.

22 May 2009

Scientists pinpoint molecular cause of Alzheimer's disease

A discovery made by researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Research Institute for Medical Research at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital offers new hope for the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

22 May 2009

Canadian men reluctant to consult mental health services

Between 20 and 70 percent of Canadians affected by mental illness shun medical treatment. Such avoidance of services provided by doctors and psychologists is particularly acute among men, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research.

22 May 2009

Indian Health Service releases $500 million in stimulus funding to improve health care for American Indian, Alaska native communities

The Indian Health Service on Wednesday announced it will release $500 million in federal economic stimulus funding to improve health care for American Indian and Alaska Native communities, Health Data Management reports.

22 May 2009

Reducing medical residents' hours would cost $2.5 billion annually, study says

Implementing proposed reductions in the number of hours medical residents work could cost as much as $2.5 billion annually, according to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Baltimore Sun reports.

22 May 2009

Vaginal ring could protect against HIV

A researcher with Weill Cornell Medical College has developed a vaginal ring that releases microbicides and could prevent HIV and unplanned pregnancies, ANI/Times of India reports.

22 May 2009

London Health Service begins offering rapid HIV tests

Barts and the London NHS Trust has become the first National Health Service provider in the United Kingdom to offer rapid, oral HIV tests, BBC News reports.

22 May 2009

WA Health workers stood down because of scam

According to reports a number of people working for the West Australian Health Department have been suspended because of suspect behaviour.

22 May 2009

Life is tough for IVF twins early on

Australian researchers have found that twins conceived as a result of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) do it tough, especially early in life.

22 May 2009

Scientists shed new light on why pancreatic cancer drugs can fail

Cancer Research UK scientists led an international team of investigators who have discovered a new mechanism that may explain why pancreatic cancer patients are often resistant to a common chemotherapy treatment called gemcitabine, according to a study published in Science.

22 May 2009

FDA approves Samsca (tolvaptan) to treat hyponatremia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Samsca tablets (tolvaptan) to treat hyponatremia, an abnormally low concentration of sodium in the blood.

22 May 2009

AIDS treatment activists push UNAIDS and WHO to meet commitments to reduce HIV in women and newborns

In a dramatic meeting today at the UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, members of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) and AIDS-Free World met with the leaders and approximately 100 staff members of UNAIDS and WHO to present ITPC's latest Missing the Target report, Failing Women, Failing Children: HIV, Vertical Transmission and Women's Health, which identifies the failure of the international community in preventing vertical transmission (also known as prevention of mother-to-child transmission or PMTCT).

22 May 2009

Genetic testing for breast or ovarian cancer risk may be greatly underutilized

Although a test for gene mutations known to significantly increase the risk of hereditary breast or ovarian cancer has been available for more than a decade, a new study finds that few women with family histories of these cancers are even discussing genetic testing with their physicians or other health care providers.

22 May 2009