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Children being set up for heart disease later on in life

A new study by Canadian researchers says that clogged arteries show up in children, and fatty diets and a lack of exercise are setting children up for heart problems later on in life.

13 Nov 2006

Dr. Google the latest tool to help doctors diagnose unusual cases

In a really interesting study a team of Australian doctors went to the Internet to test the effectiveness and accuracy of the search engine Google when it was presented with a number of symptoms.

13 Nov 2006

New cancer treatments use body's own immune system to kill melanoma tumours

Scientists are claiming that the body's own immune system could be used to fight the most serious form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma.

13 Nov 2006

Sugar and fizzy drinks linked to pancreatic cancer

Swedish research has linked the risk of developing cancer of the pancreas to the consumption of sugar and fizzy drinks.

13 Nov 2006

Safety of t-PA clot-busting therapy questioned

Across the world, emergency medical teams often administer a powerful clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to help patients stricken by heart attack.

13 Nov 2006

Researchers use gene therapy to reduce the development of epileptic seizures

For the first time, researchers have inhibited the development of epilepsy after a brain insult in animals. By using gene therapy to modify signaling pathways in the brain, neurology researchers found that they could significantly reduce the development of epileptic seizures in rats.

8 Nov 2006

Global resurgence in zoonotic viral diseases

Doctors and veterinarians need to work together to tackle the increasing global threat of zoonotic viral diseases spread by non-human vertebrate hosts - including dogs, cattle, chickens and mosquitoes - according to a review in the November issue of Journal of Internal Medicine.

8 Nov 2006

Former HCFA Administrator suggests new U.S. agency on comparative clinical effectiveness

"Developing a Center for Comparative Effectiveness Information," Health Affairs: In a Health Affairs Web exclusive, Gail Wilensky -- an economist, senior fellow at Project HOPE and former administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration -- examines the growing interest in the U.S. for unbiased, credible information on comparative clinical effectiveness by those who support competitive health care pricing and by those who support administered pricing.

8 Nov 2006

Diets and heart health - no difference between low carb and low fat

A new study has shown that when it comes to diet programs and heart health, there is little to choose between low carbohydrate diets such as the popular Atkins plan and typical low-fat diets.

8 Nov 2006

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus tricks cells to become tumors

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) subverts a normal cell process in order to promote tumor growth.

8 Nov 2006

Phase I clinical trial of experimental gene therapy to treat HIV shows encouraging results

The results of a Phase I clinical trial of an experimental gene therapy aimed at treating HIV indicate that the therapy is safe and effective and also might sustain viral loads, according to a study published on Monday in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the AP/Washington Post reports.

8 Nov 2006

Cardiologists say a dramatic change is needed in treating some heart patients

According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the U.S. a dramatic change is needed in the way hundreds of thousands of Americans with a form of heart failure should be treated.

8 Nov 2006

Toxic chemicals affecting childrens brains

According to a new report toxic chemicals may be causing a pandemic of brain disorders because of inadequate regulation.

8 Nov 2006

Arthritis drugs not as risky as first thought

Researchers now say that two biotech drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Humira (Abbott Laboratories) and Remicade (Johnson & Johnson), may not raise the risk of cancer and infections as much as was initially feared.

8 Nov 2006

UIC study evaluates two medications for ADHD

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers are comparing two drugs commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to determine if genetic factors predict which children will respond to either or both drugs.

7 Nov 2006

Survey reveals Americans disagree with Bush's abstinence-only sex education programs

A new survey in the United States has revealed that the majority of American adults, regardless of their political affiliation, support a more balanced approach to sex education in schools.

7 Nov 2006

WHO to tackle counterfeit medical products

On 15 November, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners will officially launch the first ever International Medical Products Anti-counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) and unveil the global plan to combat counterfeit medical products.

6 Nov 2006

PSA blood tests for prostate cancer should start earlier in life

A study has found that measuring prostate specific antigen (PSA) in the blood may be the best way of identifying men with life-threatening prostate cancer.

2 Nov 2006

Study suggests colonoscopy guidelines need to be revised

According to a new study the polyps in the colon which are often a precursor to colon cancer are 73 percent more common in men than in women.

2 Nov 2006

The lifetime cost of current HIV care in the United States

"The Lifetime Cost of Current HIV Care in the United States," a major study appearing in the November 2006 issue of Medical Care, projects the cost of treatment for HIV-infected adults using current standards of care.

1 Nov 2006