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Binge drinking amongst young Brit's on the rise

According to experts in the UK, hospitals are being forced to treat record numbers of young people admitted to hospital for drink-related diseases.

28 Dec 2005

Women suffering lupus OK to take oral contraceptives

Major study of women with either inactive or stable systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) – a disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and damages healthy tissues of the skin, joints and internal organs – were able to take oral contraceptives without increased risk of flares, or periods of increased disease activity, that characterize the disease.

22 Dec 2005

Tamiflu may not be as effective as hoped against bird flu

The stockpiles of bird flu drug Tamiflu, accumulated by governments around the world as the first line of defense against a flu pandemic, may prove to be useless.

22 Dec 2005

Micro-gyroscopes could detect, monitor and provide therapy guidance on cancer

A vibrating disc no bigger than a speck of dust could help to diagnose and monitor common types of cancer and provide specialists with information about the most appropriate therapy.

22 Dec 2005

Children could be saved from neuroblastoma using antibody therapy

Combination of T cell, antibody to neuroblastoma cells and molecule that spurs T cell growth is designed to treat low initial tumor levels or small cancer cell populations that survive initial treatment, according to St. Jude.

22 Dec 2005

2 million people carry drug-resistant bacteria in their noses

New research estimates that about 2 million people carry a strain of drug-resistant bacteria in their noses.

21 Dec 2005

Aquaporin related to obesity

Dr. Gema Fruhbeck, director of the Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of the University of Navarra, has published a commentary in the latest issue of Nature. The article presents aquaporin as a new modulator of the biology of the adipocyte.

21 Dec 2005

Brits all set to do full-face transplant

A British team has been given the green light to perform the world’s first full-face transplant.

21 Dec 2005

Experts unsurprised by level of alcohol abuse

In response to figures on alcohol abuse released this week, Dr Peter Rice, a leading consultant psychiatrist with the NHS Tayside Alcohol Problem Service, said he is not surprised as alcohol-related problems were having a detrimental effect on the lives of too many people across Tayside and Scotland.

21 Dec 2005

Smoker refused hospital treatment

A British man has been refused hospital treatment unless he gives up smoking.

19 Dec 2005

Cannabis medication linked to grandmother's death

A British grandmother who died after being given a controversial and experimental cannabis-based medicine had apparently told her family that she thought the drug was driving her mad.

19 Dec 2005

Flu kills more U.S. children than chicken pox, whooping cough, and measles combined

A new study has shown that flu killed more U.S. children than chicken pox, whooping cough, and measles combined in the 2003-2004 flu season.

19 Dec 2005

Swiss hospital to permit assisted suicide

A hospital in Switzerland has announced it will allow assisted suicide on its premises for terminally ill patients.

19 Dec 2005

Eleventh suspected bird flu death in Indonesia

According to health ministry officials in Indonesia an eight year old boy has died of bird flu in the country's capital, Jakarta.

19 Dec 2005

Online patient monitoring

Drivers know whether or not their cars are running properly by observing the dashboard. Physicians can check vital parameters such as the pulse even when their patients are at home. The data can be recorded with the wireless monitoring device VitaSENS.

15 Dec 2005

Hidden cost of teen pain in the UK almost £4 billion per year

Teenagers living with chronic pain could be costing the UK more than £3.8 billion each year, according to a new study published in the journal Pain.

15 Dec 2005

Microfluidics chips for simplifying medical imaging biomarkers of disease

A collaboration between scientists at UCLA, Caltech, Stanford, Siemens and Fluidigm have developed a new technology using integrated microfluidics chips for simplifying, lowering the cost and diversifying the types of molecules used to image the biology of disease with the medical imaging technology, Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

15 Dec 2005

Kids with specific gene variant more at risk from passive smoking

When U.S. children who possess a variant gene are exposed to second-hand smoke in their homes, they are at a substantially greater risk for developing respiratory illnesses that lead to school absences.

15 Dec 2005

Milk thistle extract treatment for liver disease found to be ineffective

Results of high-quality randomized clinical trials have determined that milk thistle extract, a widely used alternative medication, may not have any significant influence on the course of patients with alcoholic liver disease or hepatitis B or C liver disease.

15 Dec 2005

Hospital-level care can be provided at home for less money

Being hospitalized can be a traumatic experience, especially for older persons. Hospitals are noisy, disorienting, full of strangers and infections often spread among patients.

15 Dec 2005