Public Health News and Research

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Concealment by British American tobacco industries

Leading public-health scientists writing in this week's issue of THE LANCET are calling for changes in the management of British American Tobacco's (BATs) UK information depository. This follows a detailed investigation which has highlighted how public access to industry records has been hampered by tight surveillance and inadequate search facilities at the depository in Guildford, UK.

27 May 2004

Tobacco-related illnesses costs Ilinois $6.7 billion annually

Tobacco-related illnesses take the lives of more than 16,500 Illinois residents each year and cost the state $6.7 billion annually in medical care and lost productivity, according to Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, state public health director.

27 May 2004

Bird flu vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded two contracts to support the production and clinical testing of an investigational vaccine based on a strain of avian influenza, H5N1, which might have the potential to cause pandemic influenza.

27 May 2004

FDA final ruling on Bioterrorism Act

The Food and Drug Administration today announced the final rule establishing procedures for administrative detention of food under the authority of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (Bioterrorism Act). This new authority applies to food for which the agency has credible evidence or information that it presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

27 May 2004

New target of a cancer-causing gene

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions have identified a new target of a cancer-causing gene.

27 May 2004

Obesity a priority says UK Health Secretary

Concerns over obesity will be addressed in the UK government's Public Health White Paper, Health Secretary John Reid said today following the publication of a Parliamentary report.

27 May 2004

Obesity affects women's employment success

Obesity contributes to various chronic medical problems, but new research on current and former welfare recipients indicates that obesity also affects women's employment success.

27 May 2004

Research program may provide parents the tools they need to prevent shaken baby syndrome

Crying, especially inconsolable crying, is the most common trigger for shaking and physical abuse of infants. A new research program may provide parents and other caretakers the tools they need to prevent shaken baby syndrome (SBS), a form of child abuse that can cause immediate damage to the victim's brain or be fatal.

27 May 2004

17,000 immigrant children and parents in Washington state have lost public health coverage

Since the elimination of a public medical assistance program in 2002, more than 17,000 immigrant children and parents in Washington state have lost public health coverage as of April 2004.

27 May 2004

Link between oral bacterium and premature babies

For years, scientists have noticed a particular oral bacterium can be found in the amniotic fluid of about 20 percent of women with premature babies.

27 May 2004

UK House of Commons Health Committee publishes its long-awaited Report on obesity

Obesity has grown by almost 400% in the last 25 years such that three-quarters of the adult population are now overweight or obese (around 22% are now obese). England has witnessed the fastest growth in obesity in Europe and childhood obesity has tripled in twenty years.

27 May 2004

Evidence that abnormally short telomeres play a role in the early development of cancer

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have evidence that abnormally short telomeres - the end-caps on chromosomes that normally preserve genetic integrity -appear to play a role in the early development of many types of cancer.

27 May 2004

Concerns over obesity will be addressed in the UK government's Public Health White Paper

Concerns over obesity will be addressed in the government's Public Health White Paper, Health Secretary John Reid said today following the publication of a Parliamentary report.

27 May 2004

ACE inhibitors for diabetics cut in half the risk of death

ACE inhibitors, a type of medication often used to treat high blood pressure or heart disease, can lower mortality rates for people who have diabetes -- whether they have cardiovascular disease or not, according to a study published in the June issue of Diabetes Care.

26 May 2004

Three year olds and upwards should have their blood pressure checked as part of routine examinations

Children as young as three years old should have their blood pressure checked as part of their routine pediatric examinations--according to new treatment guidelines to be presented at the American Society of Hypertension’s (ASH) Annual Scientific Meeting on Thursday, May 20, in New York City.

25 May 2004

Scientific evidence links mold in homes and buildings to people with chronic asthma symptoms

Scientific evidence links mold and other factors related to damp conditions in homes and buildings to asthma symptoms in some people with the chronic disorder, as well as to coughing, wheezing, and upper respiratory tract symptoms in otherwise healthy people, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

25 May 2004

MDA researchers find creatine helps in Duchenne dystrophy

Grip strength in the dominant hand and fat-free body mass (made mostly of muscle) increased when children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) took the dietary supplement creatine at a dose of 0.1 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for four months.

25 May 2004

$498 million to strengthen response to bioterror attacks, infectious diseases, and natural disasters

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $498 million in awards to states, territories and four major metropolitan areas to strengthen the ability of hospitals and other health care facilities to respond to bioterror attacks, infectious diseases, and natural disasters that may cause mass casualties.

25 May 2004

Women who regularly take aspirin seem to be at lower risk of the most common type of breast cancer

Women who regularly take aspirin seem to be at lower risk of the most common type of breast cancer than those who do not take aspirin, report researchers from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and College of Physicians & Surgeons, Weill Cornell Medical College, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

25 May 2004

Some smokers may be genetically predisposed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In her study, Ohar looked at more than 500 men and women age 40 and older who had smoked 20 years or more. She found that a variation of the macrophage scavenger receptor gene (MSR-1) is related to the development of airways obstruction in some patients who smoke cigarettes.

25 May 2004

Public Health News and Research

Concealment by British American tobacco industries

Tobacco-related illnesses costs Ilinois $6.7 billion annually

Bird flu vaccine

FDA final ruling on Bioterrorism Act

New target of a cancer-causing gene

Obesity a priority says UK Health Secretary

Obesity affects women's employment success

Research program may provide parents the tools they need to prevent shaken baby syndrome

17,000 immigrant children and parents in Washington state have lost public health coverage

Link between oral bacterium and premature babies

UK House of Commons Health Committee publishes its long-awaited Report on obesity

Evidence that abnormally short telomeres play a role in the early development of cancer

Concerns over obesity will be addressed in the UK government's Public Health White Paper

ACE inhibitors for diabetics cut in half the risk of death

Three year olds and upwards should have their blood pressure checked as part of routine examinations

Scientific evidence links mold in homes and buildings to people with chronic asthma symptoms

MDA researchers find creatine helps in Duchenne dystrophy

$498 million to strengthen response to bioterror attacks, infectious diseases, and natural disasters

Women who regularly take aspirin seem to be at lower risk of the most common type of breast cancer

Some smokers may be genetically predisposed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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