Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Mountain dwellers live longer

People who live in mountain areas live longer than those living in lowland areas, according to research from Greece, which has the lowest death rate from heart disease of any developed country.

15 Mar 2005

Innovative computer modeling technique predicts how protein molecule behavior in response to environmental conditions

In a development that could have great significance for efforts to understand how the basic molecular machinery of life works, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have successfully applied an innovative computer modeling technique to predicting how protein molecules will behave in response to different environmental conditions.

15 Mar 2005

ID Biomedical pursues accelerated approval of influenza vaccine

ID Biomedical Corporation announced today that it has been advised by the United States Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) that the Company's injectable influenza vaccine is eligible for accelerated approval and priority review mechanisms, allowing possible licensure of the vaccine in time to manufacture product for the 2006/07 season.

15 Mar 2005

Bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with standard chemotherapy helps advanced lung cancer sufferers

Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with previously untreated advanced non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer show that those patients who received bevacizumab (AvastinTM) in combination with standard chemotherapy lived longer than patients who received the same chemotherapy without bevacizumab.

15 Mar 2005

Disparities in health care are pervasive in America

Disparities in health care are pervasive in America. These disparities adversely impact the cardiovascular health of Americans, especially African Americans, Hispanics, poor and uneducated people, according to a report in a special disparities themed issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

15 Mar 2005

Novel Australian anti-cancer therapy has begun safety testing in human subjects

An international medical conference here heard that an Australian developed anti-cancer therapy based on the use of a common cold virus to control cancer cell growth has begun safety testing in human subjects.

15 Mar 2005

Bird flu could kill 2 million Brits

A UK expert is warning that the bird flu pandemic is imminent and inevitable and two million Britons could die.

14 Mar 2005

Cough medicine may cause seizures

Canadian consumers are being advised by Health Canada not to use specific brands of a generic cough syrup that could possibly result in seizures for children under three years of age.

14 Mar 2005

Ten more cases of human bird flu in Viet Nam

Full information is desperately needed to assess the risks of a pandemic that in a worst-case scenario could claim tens of millions of lives worldwide says the United Nations health agency.

14 Mar 2005

New H5N1 avian influenza vaccine

Merial today announced the introduction of a new inactivated vaccine, GALLIMUNE Flu H5N9, developed and shown to be effective specifically for use against the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 that has caused devastating economic losses in the poultry industry in Asia, and which has been linked to the deaths of over 29 humans.

14 Mar 2005

Washing hands with soap and water best protection against disease-causing viruses

The largest, most comprehensive study ever done comparing the effectiveness of hand hygiene products shows that nothing works better in getting rid of disease-causing viruses than simply washing one's hands with good old-fashioned soap and water.

14 Mar 2005

New flu vaccine for kids hits the market

A new pediatric influenza vaccine that contains no preservatives - the only influenza vaccine approved for use in children 6 to 35 months of age - has been produced by the sanofi-aventis Group, in time for the 2005-2006 influenza season.

10 Mar 2005

Birdflu vaccine successful on monkeys

A bird flu vaccine for humans could be only months away since the success of a vaccine on monkeys in Vietnam, researchers hope to have a vaccine ready for testing in humans later this year.

10 Mar 2005

Unequal healthcare kills 80,000 black Americans

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said this week that over 80,000 black Americans die every year because of disparities in health care. Despite government and public and insurance companies knowledge of this shortchange in health care for blacks, they have done little to improve the situation.

10 Mar 2005

Vietnamese relatives have birdflu but they're not sick

The H5N1 virus has killed 34 Vietnamese, 12 Thais and a Cambodian since it swept across large parts of Asia at the end of 2003. Two elderly Vietnamese, related to family who died of bird flu have tested positive for the deadly virus despite showing no symptoms.

9 Mar 2005

World's first complete articulated Neanderthal skeleton

Anthropologists have constructed the world's first complete articulated Neanderthal skeleton to expand public and scientific understanding of the group, as well as of the differences between Neanderthals and modern humans.

9 Mar 2005

Thalidomide - new treatment for cancer

Thalidomide, famous in the 60's because of limb deformities in babies born to women who had taken it for morning sickness, was withdrawn in 1961. Now doctors say it could be used as a treatment for cancer.

8 Mar 2005

Four new cases of human avian influenza reported in Vietnam

The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday four new cases of human avian influenza have been reported in Vietnam. These include a 21-year-old man and his 14-year-old sister.

8 Mar 2005

Cigarette smoke worsens respiratory infections in infants

Studying Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to learn what puts children at risk for the most severe infections, Washington University researchers at St. Louis Children's Hospital found that a child's age at the time of infection and whether that child lives with a smoker could mean the difference between the sniffles and the intensive care unit.

8 Mar 2005

Use of herbal supplements in women is increasing

The use of herbal supplements in women is increasing. Many mothers may also be giving herbal supplements to their children to treat or prevent various illnesses, including asthma, hyperactivity, colds, and respiratory infections.

8 Mar 2005