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Two-thirds of nations on track to meet poverty, hunger MDGs by 2015, WB-IMF report says

Two-thirds of developing countries are on track or close to reaching the U.N. Millennium Development Goal targets to reduce extreme poverty and hunger, according to a World Bank-IMF report released Friday to coincide with a meeting of the groups in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, Agence France-Presse/Edmonton Journal reports.

19 Apr 2011

Vancouver's supervised injection site reduces overdose mortality rates to 35%

Illicit drug overdose deaths in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside dropped by 35 per cent after the establishment of Insite, North America's first supervised injection facility, according a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

19 Apr 2011

Binge drinking can alter body's immune system response to orthopaedic injury

A Loyola University Health System study has found another reason to not binge drink alcohol.

19 Apr 2011

Well-controlled blood sugar levels linked to low risk of diabetic complications

A new study of older diabetes patients has found that well-controlled blood sugar levels were associated with a lower risk of major complications such as heart attacks, amputation and kidney disease, but the very lowest blood sugar levels were associated with a small but significant increased risk of death.

19 Apr 2011

Single antibody injection limits tissue and organ destruction after ischaemic events

Medical researchers today held out promise that a simple injection is being developed to limit the devastating consequences of heart attacks and strokes.

19 Apr 2011

LCA-NE calls on entire delegation to show support for lung cancer community

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance-New England thanked Senator John Kerry (D-MA) for being an original sponsor of the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act (S. 752), authorizing legislation that establishes a multi-agency, comprehensive research program addressing all aspects of lung cancer, and called on the entire delegation of Massachusetts to show their support for the lung cancer community.

16 Apr 2011

Analysis calls for experimental evidence to determine best way to disclose information to patients

Giving patients data about the risks and benefits of a medical intervention is not always helpful and may even lead them to irrational decisions, according to an article in the Hastings Center Report. That finding calls into question whether it is essential to disclose quantitative data to patients to help them make informed decisions.

16 Apr 2011

Seniors living in supportive neighborhoods have better stroke survival rates

The odds of surviving stroke appear to be much better for seniors living in neighborhoods where they interact more often with their neighbors and count on them for help, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

16 Apr 2011

Hospital patients with AUDs are at increased risk of developing HAIs: Study

Hospital patients with alcohol use disorders are at an increased risk of developing healthcare-associated infections, which affect 1.7 million patients annually in the United States. HAIs are infections that patients acquire during their hospitalization and that were not present at the time of admission to the hospital.

16 Apr 2011

New results from largest multicenter clinical trial for heart transplant patients be released at ISHLT 2011

New results from the largest multicenter clinical trial for heart transplant patients will be released this week at the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation 31st Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions in San Diego. Results show clinical benefit for the use of Everolimus in heart transplant patients.

16 Apr 2011

Patients with COPD can benefit from ICS use

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are hospitalized for pneumonia and treated with inhaled corticosteroids have decreased mortality when compared to those who are not treated with ICS, according to a retrospective analysis of almost 16,000 COPD patients admitted to VA hospitals.

15 Apr 2011

Adhering to cancer prevention guidelines reduces risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease

A study of more than 100,000 men and women over 14 years finds nonsmokers who followed recommendations for cancer prevention had a lower risk of death from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-causes. The study appears early online in Cancer Biomarkers, Epidemiology, and Prevention, and was led by American Cancer Society epidemiologists.

15 Apr 2011

U.N. report highlights concerns about population-related activities funding

Financial support for population-related activities worldwide has not significantly increased since 2008, according to a report (.pdf) from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the U.N. Commission on Population and Development (CPD), Inter Press Service reports. The CPD is meeting this week.

15 Apr 2011

Mortality rates increase 800% when epilepsy and autism occur together

A comprehensive investigation of brain tissue donated to the Autism Speaks Autism Tissue Program (ATP), a postmortem brain tissue donation program, determined that one-third of the brain donors with autism also had epilepsy, and co-morbidity data from the California State Department of Developmental Services revealed a higher than expected rate of mortality in individuals with both autism and epilepsy than for individuals with autism alone.

15 Apr 2011

Nearly all 2.6 million stillbirths worldwide occur in low-, middle-income countries, Lancet series says

Approximately 2.6 million pregnancies worldwide end in stillbirth - most commonly defined as death in the final trimester - each year, "with the poorest nations worst affected," according to a series of articles published Thursday in the Lancet, BBC reports.

15 Apr 2011

Study finds difference in intensive care services in the U.K. and U.S.

Patients who receive intensive care services are very different in the United States than in the United Kingdom, according to a new study that compared admission and mortality statistics from ICUs in each country.

15 Apr 2011

Good neighbors increase stroke survival

A new U.S. study has shown that seniors who are able to count on their neighbors for help and conversation have better odds of surviving a stroke than those living in less sociable neighborhoods. Study author Cari Jo Clark, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota said social isolation is unhealthy on many levels.

15 Apr 2011

Plasma biomarkers can predict risk of metastasis in patients with melanoma

Scientists at Yale University have identified a set of plasma biomarkers that could reasonably predict the risk of metastasis among patients with melanoma, according to findings published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Apr 2011

Experts to discuss about intracranial haemorrhage at EANS-4th WORLD ICH 2011

Brain haemorrhage is the most devastating form of stroke with 40% mortality and 50% serious morbidity rates. Few patients make a good recovery. Surgical removal of the clot has not been confirmed as effective despite the fact that there are thousands of neurosurgeons who believe that there is a role for operation.

15 Apr 2011

Study: Significant variation found in results of bowel cancer surgery across English NHS hospitals

There is worrying variation in the results of bowel cancer surgery across NHS hospitals in England with some having many more patient deaths immediately after surgery than others, according to new research funded by Cancer Research UK and published today in Gut.

12 Apr 2011