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Doctors continue to prescribe dangerous nifedipine drug to elderly patients

Despite the fact that nifedipine increases the risk of heart attacks and death, doctors still prescribe this immediate-release blood pressure drug to elderly patients. The Cologne-based research group led by Ingrid Schubert has now published the results of their investigation in the current issue of Deutsches -rzteblatt International.

6 Apr 2012

Label-Free Technologies Conference to be held in Amsterdam

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announces the Label-Free Technologies Conference to be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1-3 November 2012.

6 Apr 2012

Political cartoon: 'Vegetable Tale'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Vegetable Tale" by Jen Sorensen.

6 Apr 2012

Dentists to screen for too much alcohol intake

The UK Government is proposing that dentists should question their patients on alcohol consumption, or that dental receptionists hand out drinking questionnaires to patients to be filled in while they wait for appointments. The plans have been drawn up by dentists at Cardiff University to try to combat excessive drinking. Patients who are deemed to drink too much would be referred on to sessions with dental nurses or hygienists for advice on cutting down.

5 Apr 2012

Socioeconomic factors can account for 80% of racial differences in life expectancy

Differences in factors such as income, education and marital status could contribute overwhelmingly to the gap in life expectancy between blacks and whites in the United States, according to one of the first studies to put a number on how much of the divide can be attributed to disparities in socioeconomic characteristics.

5 Apr 2012

Traditional mud stoves may emit less pollution than some 'improved cookstoves'

The first real-world, head-to-head comparison of "improved cookstoves" (ICs) and traditional mud stoves has found that some ICs may at times emit more of the worrisome "black carbon," or soot, particles that are linked to serious health and environmental concerns than traditional mud stoves or open-cook fires.

5 Apr 2012

Large number of laws offer important opportunities to improve Americans' health

A report released today finds that a wide variety of existing laws offer important opportunities to improve Americans' health. The first comprehensive study of its kind found an unexpectedly large number of laws that facilitate the consideration of health effects, in fields such as transportation, energy, and agriculture.

5 Apr 2012

New AACN program to empower bedside nurses as clinician leaders

A new hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) aims to empower bedside nurses as clinician leaders and change agents whose initiatives measurably improve patient outcomes with bottom-line impact to the hospital.

5 Apr 2012

The 31st ESTRO congress and the World Congress of Brachytherapy

ESTRO 31 and the World Congress of Brachytherapy will combine to feature new research results in clinical and basic radiobiology, physics and brachytherapy, presented by top doctors and scientists from all over the world working together for the benefit of cancer patients.

5 Apr 2012

Understanding how key decision makers assess prescription drugs for health plan coverage

As medical advancements and an expanding pharmaceutical industry bring new prescription drugs into the market, deciding which ones to cover is becoming an even more difficult choice for health plans to make. How those decisions are made - and what information is used in the process - was the focus of a recent study by researchers at RTI International.

5 Apr 2012

Hearing date set for injunction request on Express Scripts-Medco merger

The judge overseeing a private antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX)'s acquisition of Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) set a hearing for April 10 on a request for an injunction to undo the deal.

5 Apr 2012

Financial incentives for purchasing a healthier food option

The aging baby boomers and subsequent generations will be looking to the food industry to provide products that can help them live longer, healthier and more active lives than previous generations, according to research presented at the Institute of Food Technologists' Wellness 12 meeting.

5 Apr 2012

GOP plans for health law replacement; Obama softens court rhetoric

Republican lawmakers say they are beginning to pull together a health care package that could replace the 2010 law if the Supreme Court overturns it.

5 Apr 2012

Hospital news: Officials plan new building in Colo.; Mich. facility is shutting down

In hospital news: Denver hospital officials plan an expansion, a Michigan hospital says it's shutting down, and in Massachusetts, Steward Health Care plans to buy a hospital.

5 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 5, 2012

In today's headlines, reports about how the budget debate is mixing into presidential poiltics.

5 Apr 2012

Recycled glasses costs twice as much as ready-made glasses

You might feel good sending your old reading glasses to a developing country. But a recent international study, led by the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE), a collaborating partner in the Vision CRC, in Sydney, suggests it is far better to give $10 for an eye examination and a new pair of glasses if you want to help someone in desperate need, and it is far better for building capacity in these communities.

5 Apr 2012

U.N. reports increase in cholera cases in Haiti as rains begin

In a monthly bulletin on the humanitarian response in Haiti, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that an increase of new cholera cases has been recorded in the western and northern parts of the country and "that Haitian health officials recorded 77 new cases a day for the whole country in early March, when the rains began," the Associated Press/USA Today reports.

5 Apr 2012

Jakarta Globe examines maternal mortality in Indonesia

The Jakarta Globe examines maternal mortality in Indonesia, writing, "Indonesia may be progressing slowly and steadily toward fulfilling its targets under the Millennium Development Goals, but the issue of maternal health continues to present many challenges."

5 Apr 2012

Phenomenex, AB SCIEX announce new solution to ensure food safety in India

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, and Phenomenex, a global leader in separation science techniques, today announced a new workflow solution specifically tailored for laboratories in India to ensure the safety of spices, teas, fruits, vegetables and other food products for domestic and export markets.

5 Apr 2012

New NewYork-Presbyterian autism center to open in early 2013

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, along with its affiliated medical schools Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, today celebrated the start of construction on the new Center for Autism and the Developing Brain at the Hospital's Westchester campus in White Plains.

5 Apr 2012