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Study reveals consistent correlation between adult diabetes and particulate air pollution

A national epidemiologic study finds a strong, consistent correlation between adult diabetes and particulate air pollution that persists after adjustment for other risk factors like obesity and ethnicity, report researchers from Children's Hospital Boston. The relationship was seen even at exposure levels below the current EPA safety limit.

30 Sep 2010

Increase in sales of new antidepressants not linked to decline in suicide rate

Many researchers have studied the relationship between the increase in sales of new antidepressants in recent decades and a simultaneous decline in the suicide rate. In a study based on figures from the Nordic countries, researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health found no evidence that increased sales of the new medicines could be linked to a lower suicide rate. The researchers also did not find any relationship between reduced sales of the older and more toxic antidepressants and a reduction in suicide rates.

30 Sep 2010

U.N. agencies' report examines global progress in fight against HIV/AIDS

"A record 1.2 million people in low- and middle-income countries started antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS in 2009" - a 30 percent increase from the previous year and a 13-fold increase in six years, according to a joint report released Tuesday by the WHO, UNICEF and UNAIDS, Reuters reports. In total, the report found that 5.25 million people received antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2009, three-quarters of them living in Africa (Migiro, 9/28).

30 Sep 2010

NABP seeks to educate public about rogue Internet drug outlets, counterfeit medications

Earlier this year, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) was introduced to the AWARxE campaign, which was created and implemented by the Minnesota Pharmacists Foundation in 2007. Moved by the power of the campaign, NABP obtained the AWARxE program so that its message could be shared on a national level.

30 Sep 2010

Mammogram for women over 40: Debate continues

A report this Wednesday showed that routine screenings for breast cancer called mammograms cut the breast cancer death rate by 26 percent for women in their 40s. The results have been received in a mixed way by experts.

30 Sep 2010

Researchers discover genes that influence human height

An international team of researchers, including a number from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill schools of medicine and public health, have discovered hundreds of genes that influence human height.

30 Sep 2010

Austrian AGES approves Baxter's PREFLUCEL vaccine for seasonal influenza

Baxter International Inc. today announced the first approval of PREFLUCEL by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). The vaccine was shown to be effective in preventing seasonal influenza and is indicated for prophylaxis of influenza in adults and the elderly. PREFLUCEL is manufactured using Baxter's proprietary advanced Vero cell technology.

From Baxter International Inc. 30 Sep 2010

School blood test breached guidelines: Investigation report

According to a report by an Education Department, a Tasmanian teacher who conducted blood tests on 19 high school students breached guidelines. The incident happened last month when a teacher at the Dover District High School took blood samples from the students using just two lancets for a science class experiment. These lancets were cleaned between pricks using methylated spirits. These spirits are inadequate when preventing blood borne viral disease like HIV and Hepatitis say experts.

29 Sep 2010

Significant progress made universally in increasing access to HIV/AIDS services: Report

Significant progress has been made in several low- and middle-income countries in increasing access to HIV/AIDS services, according to a new report released today. The report Towards universal access by WHO, the United Nations Children's Fund and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS is the fourth annual report for tracking progress made in achieving the 2010 target of providing universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care.

29 Sep 2010

Patients' right to be involved in own medical care

Twelve years ago, then 28-year-old graduate student Brian Zikmund-Fisher was forced into the toughest choice of his life: Die from a blood disorder within a few years or endure a bone marrow transplant that could cure him or kill him in weeks.

29 Sep 2010

Individuals who do not speak English at home less likely to receive CRC: Researchers

Researchers from Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Public Health have found that individuals who do not speak English at home are less likely to receive colorectal cancer screenings as compared to those who do speak English at home. The findings, which currently appear on-line in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, suggest that patient-provider language barriers play a role in health-care disparities, and that providers should promote the importance of CRC screening to non-English speaking patients.

29 Sep 2010

Medical team uses LeadCare II blood-lead test to examine people exposed to lead poisoning in Nigeria

As part of the international response to the lead-poisoning crisis linked to small-scale gold-mining activities in this northwestern region of Nigeria, a medical crisis team is deploying Magellan's three-minute LeadCare II blood-lead test in the triage, assessment, and clinical follow-up of thousands of villagers who have been exposed to extremely high levels of lead in the soil and water.

29 Sep 2010

Outbreak of whooping cough mirrors challenges in developing world, global health official says

The outbreak of whooping cough in Texas, California, and other states this year underscores the critical importance of widespread vaccination coverage, both locally as well as around the world, said a leading global health official attending conferences on world affairs and immunization in Fort Worth this week.

29 Sep 2010

HHS Secretary announces $320M ACA grants to strengthen health care workforce

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced $320 million in grants under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to strengthen the health care workforce. Of those grants, $253 million will go to improve and expand the primary care workforce under the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the Affordable Care Act.

29 Sep 2010

Most men unaware of breast cancer risk

A study, published in the October issue of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), revealed that nearly 80% of men are unaware of their breast cancer risk despite having a family history of the disease. One hundred percent of respondents also reported that their healthcare provider did not discuss the disease with them.

29 Sep 2010

Brain cells outside damaged area in stroke patients take on new roles

The world's largest study using neuroimaging of stroke patients struggling to regain ability to communicate finds that brain cells outside the damaged area can take on new roles.

29 Sep 2010

Misperceptions about flavored and sports beverages

Children who practice healthy lifestyle habits such as eating fruits and vegetables and engaging in physical activity may be negatively impacting their health because they tend to consume large amounts of flavored and sports beverages containing sugar, according to research at The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

29 Sep 2010

Loss of INPP5A gene can predict cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma progression

The loss of a gene known as INPP5A could predict the onset, and track the progression, of an aggressive type of skin cancer, according to a study published today by the Mayo Clinic, Arizona Cancer Center, and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

29 Sep 2010

Early weaning and separation from mothers promotes long-lasting hyperactivity and anxiety in children

In mice, early weaning and separation from their mothers promotes long-lasting hyperactivity and anxiety. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience describe the development of this new behavioral model, which they hope to use to investigate the long-term effects of early childhood neglect in people.

29 Sep 2010

$IOF report reveals poor state of post-fracture care in Russian Federation$

IOF report reveals poor state of post-fracture care in Russian Federation

Preliminary findings from an upcoming new report by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) show alarming projections and reveal the poor state of post-fracture care in the Russian Federation and many other countries in the region. The findings were announced today at a press conference in St. Petersburg at the IOF Summit of Eastern European and Central Asian Osteoporosis Patient Societies.

28 Sep 2010