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Worldwide cost of Alzheimer's disease and dementia estimated at $156 billion

The first estimate of the worldwide direct costs of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care was released at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on the Prevention of Dementia. As a result, scientists, advocates and those affected by the disease are calling for increased funding for research and support services.

21 Jun 2005

More women are choosing to becoming pregnant later in life

Although there are considerable risks to becoming pregnant later in life, more and more women are choosing to do it, a scientist told the 21st annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Tuesday 21 June 2005).

21 Jun 2005

Make friends, live longer

New research by the Centre for Ageing Studies at Flinders University suggests that a network of good friends is more helpful than close family ties in prolonging life among older people.

21 Jun 2005

Hygiene squads all set to hit dirty hospitals

In an effort to reduce infections among patients, independent investigators are to carry out random spot checks on hospital hygiene.

20 Jun 2005

Studies show Alzheimer's prevented by drinking juice daily and having the occasional alcoholic drink

At a conference in the U.S. on Alzheimer's disease on June 19, researchers said that they think brain scans and simple blood tests may offer the best ways to predict who has the highest risk of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Jun 2005

FDA approves treatment for diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium infection

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Alinia (nitazoxanide) tablets and oral suspension for treating diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum infection in adults and children 12 years and older. The product, already approved to treat the same infection in younger children, received a priority review by FDA.

19 Jun 2005

Arterial spin labeling distinguishes between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

A non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called arterial spin labeling is just as accurate as invasive scanning techniques in distinguishing Alzheimer's disease from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in the brains of elderly people, according to a new study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

19 Jun 2005

Findings may help scientists improve the existing vaccine for yellow fever

In one of the first molecular studies of the human antibody response to yellow fever, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers and their colleagues have found the crucial bit of virus that people's immune systems need to spot and quash this often-fatal re-emerging disease.

16 Jun 2005

U.S. scientists have successfully engineered blood vessels from human vascular cells in the lab

Tissue engineering has made considerable progress in the past decade, but advances have stopped short of clinical application for most tissues. For elderly patients tissue-engineered arteries could provide grafts for bypass surgery.

16 Jun 2005

Arteries bio-engineered from elderly cells

Researchers from Duke University's Medical Center and Pratt School of Engineering have demonstrated that they can grow new human blood vessels from cells taken from patients who especially need such assistance – older adults with cardiovascular disease.

14 Jun 2005

Hospital patients to be checked for MRSA infection before admission

According to a survey of hospital chief executives, released by the NHS Confederation, even though surgery is statistically more risky, patients are now more scared of catching an infection than of going under the knife.

12 Jun 2005

Ibruprofen and other commonly used painkillers for treating inflammation may increase the risk of heart attack

Patients should not stop taking the drugs involved - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) - but further investigation into these treatments is needed, say the authors.

10 Jun 2005

Commonly used painkillers for treating inflammation may increase the risk of heart attack

Patients should not stop taking the drugs involved - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) - but further investigation into these treatments is needed, say the authors.

9 Jun 2005

Healthy neighborhoods for older adults subject of study

Doctors often advise their older patients to walk more to enhance their health, but what if the sidewalks are crumbling; if they don't know a neighbor who could serve as a walking partner to help them feel safe; or if there's nothing interesting to see outside of their homes?

9 Jun 2005

Superbug possibly the same as US killer strain

Microbiologists at the Health Protection Agency suspect that the superbug which has already caused 12 deaths at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Buckinghamshire, may be the same strain that has spread in many American hospitals since 2001, and killed more than 100 patients in Quebec, Canada, last year.

8 Jun 2005

Biota makes major antiviral discovery

Biota Holdings Limited announced today that it has discovered a new class of orally-effective, potent antivirals against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) infection.

7 Jun 2005

Mental health problems in teens go untreated for decades

Researchers in the U.S. say many mental disorders afflicting millions of Americans are often evident in adolescence but usually go untreated for years.

7 Jun 2005

12 deaths creates new infection scare in UK hospitals

There have been some 300 cases of Clostridium difficile in 18 months at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Bucks, a national centre for spinal injury, and it is thought that the infection was an "actual or probable" factor in 12 deaths in that time.

6 Jun 2005

Study forecasts continuing slide in job-based health coverage

A study released Thursday, June 2 by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Working Partnerships USA, a consortium devoted to workforce issues, says that just a bare majority of adults likely will have job-based health insurance by 2010, with middle-income adults facing the sharpest coverage decline and lower-income adults being largely priced out of the market.

6 Jun 2005

Electroconvulsive therapy not damaging to memory -- early results

Severely depressed elderly Victorians are benefiting from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) -- and, contrary to popular belief, the treatment is not damaging their memories, a Monash University study has found.

6 Jun 2005