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Big British problem with booze

A newly-formed group in Britain called the 'Alcohol Health Alliance' is calling for better alcohol prevention and treatment strategies to deal with the escalating alcohol problem.

14 Nov 2007

Ageing exhibition reveals scientists' plans for lifelong health

The UK population is rapidly getting older: a predicted 1 in 4 people will be over the age of 65 by 2031. Ensuring that an increasingly ageing population stays healthy and mobile is a challenge for both the Government and the scientific research community.

13 Nov 2007

Former Chair of Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS Hitt passes away

R. Scott Hitt -- a former HIV/AIDS physician and former chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS during the Clinton administration -- died Thursday of colon cancer at his home in West Hollywood, Calif., according to Hitt's friend and West Hollywood Mayor John Duran, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

12 Nov 2007

Preventing, detecting, and treating coronary artery disease

A woman who has heart disease is 50% more likely to die from it than a man who has it.

6 Nov 2007

United States, Canada and Mexico agree to mutual assistance during public health emergencies

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Ministry of Health of the United Mexican States today agreed to strengthen cross-border coordination and cooperation in the surveillance, prevention, and control of infectious diseases for the protection of the health, well-being, and quality of life of their peoples.

5 Nov 2007

Scientists challenge the underlying scientific premise behind folic acid fortification

Scientists at the Institute of Food Research have highlighted possible consequences of fortifying flour with folic acid due to new evidence of how it is absorbed by the body.

5 Nov 2007

Food fortification with folic acid linked to increased cancer rate

Two recent commentaries appearing in the November issue of Nutrition Reviews find that the introduction of flour fortified with folic acid into common foods was followed by an increase in colon cancer diagnoses in the U.S. and Canada.

5 Nov 2007

Drug rehab - a waste of public money?

Despite millions being spent on drug rehabilitation programmes in the UK it seems success stories are few and far between.

4 Nov 2007

Sleeping pill rouses woman from six year coma

Following a heroin overdose 23 year old Amy Pickard has been in a coma for the last 6 years, unable to eat or breathe for herself since falling unconscious in 2001.

4 Nov 2007

Substance abuse practitioners ask 'what is recovery?'

Abstinence from alcohol and drugs is just the starting point in defining "recovery" for people with substance abuse disorders, according to a paper in the October issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (JSAT).

2 Nov 2007

Report shows red and processed meat convincingly cause colorectal cancer

A new report published by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) will show how much our diet needs to change if we are to reduce the risk of cancer.

2 Nov 2007

Alexander Litvinenko poisoning caused limited public concern

The fatal poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210 in London in 2006 caused limited public concern about potential health risks, according to a study published on bmj.com.

2 Nov 2007

Supplements do not reduce cancer risk

Most experts agree that supplements add little, if anything, to a well-balanced diet.

2 Nov 2007

New approach to medical nondisclosure

When family members ask physicians not to disclose bad news to ill loved ones, clinicians often struggle to balance their obligation to be truthful to the patient with the family's belief that the information would be harmful.

2 Nov 2007

Acupuncture and Western-style medicine

Acupuncture, one of the oldest medical therapies in the world, is steadily gaining popularity in the United States.

2 Nov 2007

Mental health review of Katrina victims

According to the most comprehensive survey of people affected by Hurricane Katrina, results of which are being presented today to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery, the percentage of pre-hurricane residents of the affected areas in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi who have mental disorders has increased significantly compared to the situation five to eight months after the hurricane.

1 Nov 2007