Mortality News and Research

RSS

Million Hearts initiative strikes at leading killer of Americans

The number of Americans who report they have coronary heart disease – which includes heart attack and angina (chest pain) – continues to decline but rates vary widely from state to state and by race and ethnicity, according to a new report published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

14 Oct 2011

Malaria drops from first to third cause of infant mortality in Africa, RBM executive director says

"Over the past three years, malaria passed from first to third cause of infant mortality in Africa, Awa Coll-Seck, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership [RBM], said Tuesday in Paris," Afrique en ligne reports.

14 Oct 2011

JCO publishes Keryx's KRX-0401 Phase 1 / 2 combination study on advanced MM

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that a manuscript entitled "Perifosine Plus Bortezomib and Dexamethasone in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma Patients Previously Treated with Bortezomib: Results of a Multicenter Phase l/2 Trial" reporting Phase 1 / 2 combination activity of KRX-0401 (perifosine) in the treatment of advanced multiple myeloma (MM) patients, was selected for publication in the October 11, 2011 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

14 Oct 2011

DRC worst off among 26 countries facing 'alarming' or 'extremely alarming' hunger levels, according to new Global Hunger Index

"Twenty-six countries have 'alarming' or 'extremely alarming' hunger levels, with the situation deteriorating particularly badly in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to this year's Global Hunger Index," AlertNet reports.

14 Oct 2011

Specific MIF gene variant plays a crucial role against bacterial infections

Why are some people prone to severe infections, while others handle them with less difficulty? A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) attempts to answer this question by shedding light on the genetic differences that influence our ability to fight off bacterial infections.

13 Oct 2011

U.S. Ambassador advises Kenya to seek additional sources of funding for health programs

"U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Gration has advised Kenya to seek new sources of money to finance health programs," Kenya's the Star reports, adding, "Gration said projects initiated by donors will only be sustainable if the Kenyan government takes over."

13 Oct 2011

ESC to deliver educational programme on cardiovascular disease in Beijing

At over 40%, the mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China is amongst the highest in the world- and has been rightly described as an epidemic. Its population faces a catalogue of CVD risk factor statistics that expose high levels of obesity, diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure, and a smoking habit within males that is proving stubborn to address.

13 Oct 2011

WHO says global TB cases decline for first time ever but warns funding gap, resistant strains put progress is at risk

New data published in the WHO's 2011 Global Tuberculosis Control Report on Tuesday, "shows that the number of people who fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) dropped to 8.8 million in 2010, after peaking at 9 million in 2005," the U.N. News Centre reports.

13 Oct 2011

TB rates decline for the first time: WHO report

According to Mario Raviglione, director of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Stop TB program, for the first time, the number of people infected with tuberculosis (TB) each year is declining. He was speaking at a press conference to release Global Tuberculosis Control 2011, WHO's 16th annual report on TB, which summarizes advances made and challenges ahead. The report features data on TB in nearly 200 countries with treatment results and financing trends.

12 Oct 2011

Time examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan

Time examines the issue of maternal mortality in Afghanistan, where the Health Ministry says "about 18,000 Afghan women die during childbirth every year" writing, "According to a recent report by the NGO Save the Children, Afghanistan ranked as the worst place to give birth, followed by Niger and Chad."

12 Oct 2011

Smoking could cause 18M more cases of TB worldwide over next 40 years

Smoking could cause 18 million more cases of tuberculosis worldwide over the next 40 years and 40 million additional deaths.

12 Oct 2011

Effects of hospital competition on quality of care questioned

More research is needed before conclusions can be drawn about the effect of recent reforms on hospital quality, let alone about the merits of the coalition government's proposals to extend competition, warn experts on bmj.com today.

11 Oct 2011

CRN responds to study on dietary supplements in older women

In response to the published study, "Dietary Supplements and Mortality Rate in Older Women," published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (a publication of the American Medical Association), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement industry, issued the following two-part statement.

11 Oct 2011

PCEC opposes newly released USPSTF recommendations on PSA screening

The Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) – a national organization committed to men's health and a leader in prostate cancer screening – today announced it strongly opposes the newly released recommendations from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force.

11 Oct 2011

WHO facing shortage of funds as it works to scale up humanitarian response to Pakistan flooding

WHO representative Guido Sabatinelli has assured Pakistan health officials that the organization "will be scaling up its humanitarian response in all the flood-affected areas of Sindh to resolve health issues faced by the displaced people," News International reports.

11 Oct 2011

Dietary supplements may increase risk of mortality in older women

Consuming dietary supplements, including multivitamins, folic acid, iron and copper, among others, appears to be associated with an increased risk of death in older women, according to a report in the October 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Oct 2011

Statins hold promise against traumatic brain injury

Older patients who happened to have been taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs when admitted to the hospital with serious head injuries were 76 percent more likely to survive than those not taking the drugs, according to results of a Johns Hopkins study.

11 Oct 2011

Simple test can save lives of infants with undiagnosed critical heart defects

The US Secretary of Health recently supported a recommendation that all babies born in the US are to be screened for critical heart defects, before leaving hospital. Behind this decision is a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, and the West Götaland Region's maternity units in Sweden which shows that a simple test can save the lives of newborns with these heart defects.

11 Oct 2011

Case Western Reserve wins NCI grant to study genetic determinants of esophageal cancer

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center are proud to announce the receipt of a highly competitive $5.4 million grant to study genetic determinants of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

11 Oct 2011

NCI selects UT Southwestern, Parkland to improve colorectal cancer screening

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has selected UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health & Hospital System as a national site to improve screening for colorectal cancer, the nation's No. 3 cancer killer.

10 Oct 2011