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Unhealthy outdoor zones for secondhand smoke

With the growing number of smoking bans in restaurants and bars driving smokers outside, researchers in Athens, Georgia, are hoping to find out whether secondhand smoke from smokers clustered outside these establishments is posing a health hazard of its own.

24 May 2007

Diagnostic tests for Malaria are often underused in Zambia

Despite improvements in the ability to diagnose malaria, these diagnostic tests are often underused in Zambia, and patients with negative test results are often prescribed anti-malaria medications, according to a study in the May 23/30 issue of JAMA , a theme issue on malaria.

24 May 2007

Yoga shows promise in improving symptoms associated with depression, anxiety and epilepsy

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital have found that practicing yoga may elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels, the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter.

23 May 2007

U.S. food safety policies must involve all stakeholders

In order to manage the inherent complexity of the U.S. food safety system that's affected on the global scale, the Institute of Food Technologists recommends food safety policies be developed as part of a national initiative with input from all stakeholders.

23 May 2007

Vitamin A Retinol lotion helps reduce wrinkles associated with aging

Applying vitamin A to the skin appears to improve the wrinkles associated with natural aging and may help to promote the production of skin-building compounds, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 May 2007

Smoking and depression

Based on a Finnish study, persistent smokers may have higher risk to become depressed in comparison to never smokers.

22 May 2007

Child obesity boom in China

Childhood obesity is widely recognised as a major contributor towards cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, sleep disorders, and psychological and social problems.

22 May 2007

Weill Cornell Medical College students help change global health policy

In a move to improve global public health, Weill Cornell Medical College students have helped place a lifesaving heart disease drug onto the World Health Organization's (WHO) list of essential medicines.

22 May 2007

Marijuana worsens breathing problems in current smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

"This study suggests an interaction between cigarettes and marijuana smoking. These findings have not been reported before, and they have a big public health implication," Dr. Tan says.

22 May 2007

Flash-heating breast milk infected with HIV successfully deactivates virus

A simple method of flash-heating breast milk infected with HIV successfully inactivated the free-floating virus, according to a new study led by researchers at the Berkeley and Davis campuses of the University of California.

22 May 2007

Discovery of chemical profiles for infectious diarrhoea

Academics from the Universities of the West of England and Bristol have found that faeces from healthy people and those with infectious diarrhoea differ significantly in their chemical composition and could be used to diagnose quickly diseases such as Clostridium difficile (C. Diff.).

22 May 2007

New strategy to inoculate medical staff in a pandemic situation

Community preparedness for a bioterrorism attack or influenza outbreak has been the focus of much interest and effort in recent years.

22 May 2007

Cigarette use may explain asthma epidemic in children

The rise in cigarette use by adults over the past century may explain the asthma epidemic in children according to a study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health.

22 May 2007

Care received in chain-owned nursing homes generally not on par with care received in nonprofit and singly-owned nursing homes

Standard marketing and strategic planning practices can hurt patient care throughout a nursing home chain, but only if too much emphasis is placed on such administrative standards to the detriment of clinical and facility standards, a new study indicates.

22 May 2007