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Many women diagnosed with breast cancer report no family history

More than half the women aged 40-49 diagnosed with breast cancer on screening mammography report no family history, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

In global study, U.S. ranks very low in preventing premature births

A World Health Organization/United Nations/March of Dimes report ranks countries on their premature birth rates.

4 May 2012

Positive ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy requires dissection

Contrary to a trend in treatment, breast cancer patients with suspicious lymph nodes should have an ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy, and if that biopsy is positive these patients should undergo an axillary dissection, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

Scanning the evidence for evidence in RTIs: NPS webinar

Next week NPS will host its inaugural webinar for GPs looking at medical imaging in respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Forming part of the NPS campaign on antibiotic resistance, the webinar on 10 May enables GPs to engage with imaging experts in real-time and gain insights into when imaging is appropriate for RTIs.

4 May 2012

Re-engagement of doctors is ‘critical' to success of new NHS partnership structures

Commenting on the publication of the Health Committee report on its inquiry into the integration of health and social care, Dr Brian Keighley, chairman of the BMA in Scotland said:

4 May 2012

Energy/Sports drinks damage teeth enamel raising risk of cavities: Study

Researcher Poonam Jain, associate professor and director of community dentistry at the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine said, “The big misconception is that energy drinks and sports drinks are healthier than soda for oral health. This study completely disproves that, because they erode or thin out the enamel of the teeth, leaving them more susceptible to decay and sensitivity.”

4 May 2012

Helmets a useful addition but not substitutes for shelter in tornadoes: CDC says

Tornadoes often cause death or bad injuries more often than not in the head. Many safety advocates have started telling people to wear helmets when they hunker down during tornado warnings.

4 May 2012

Jogging may add years to life: Study

According to a new study from Denmark, jogging regularly may help a person live longer. The findings show that women who regularly jogged lived 5.6 years longer than women who didn't, and men who jogged lived 6.2 years longer than those who didn't.

4 May 2012

One of the controversial avian flu studies published in full finally

After endless debates and controversies on whether two studies that demonstrated how bird flu, also known as avian H5N1 influenza, or avian flu, should be published, one of them has appeared in the latest issue of the journal Nature in its entirety. The two studies aimed for publication in journals Nature and Science show how the bird flu virus could become transmissible from mammal-to-mammal; as humans are mammals, the same would apply to humans.

4 May 2012

Aspirin versus warfarin for heart failure patients

In a new study on more than 2,000 patients, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that aspirin was as effective as the commonly prescribed drug warfarin. It said each drug had risks, but they had similar benefits overall.

4 May 2012

Scotland’s waiting times to be investigated

According to Audit Scotland it will examine whether health boards are wrongly classifying patients as “unavailable” in order to remove them from waiting lists. This practice is already uncovered at NHS Lothian.

4 May 2012

NHS hospital shows improvement three months after private firm takes over

The private sector company Circle holds on to the first £2m of any annual surplus it achieves at Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire. They will also get a proportion of any income surplus above that level with the rest going towards paying off the hospital's £40m debt. This means that Circle would need to generate a £70m surplus from the hospital - which has a £100m turnover - over a decade to bring it out of the red. Over the past 10 years, the failing hospital - which was facing closure before the deal was made - has never recorded a surplus above £600,000.

4 May 2012

SPECT/CT can change clinical management of thyroid cancer

The use of single positron emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) has been reported to change clinical management in a significant number of thyroid cancer patients according to research presented in the May issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

4 May 2012

Bionic eye helps two blind men see for the first time in 20 years

In a medical breakthrough two blind men have regained partial sight for the first time in more than 20 years after receiving a “bionic eye”. Scientists said the first clinical trials of the microchip eye implant, which measures just 3mm across and is fitted behind the eyeball, have proved successful and “exceeded expectations”.

4 May 2012

Nurses at Royal North Shore hospital urge for increased staffing

According to the nurses union, they are still waiting for a response from NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner nearly a week after they asked for her to resolve a dispute at Sydney's Royal North Shore (RNS) Hospital.

4 May 2012

Researchers identify new functions of cohesin SA1 that are relevant for cancer and CdLS

Cohesin is a ring-shaped protein complex involved in the spatial organization of the genome and in mitotic chromosome structure. Vertebrate somatic cells have two versions of cohesin that contain either SA1 or SA2, but their functional specificity has been largely ignored. Researchers of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) under the direction of Ana Losada have identified new functions of cohesin SA1 that are relevant for two human diseases, cancer and Cornelia de Lange Syndrome.

4 May 2012

Study finds unnecessary recommendations by physicians for additional PET/CT imaging

Radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians recommended additional imaging about 30% of the time in oncologic PET/CT reports, with about half of those recommendations being unnecessary, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

Removing email from workers' lives reduces stress and boosts productivity

Being cut off from work email significantly reduces stress and allows employees to focus far better, according to a new study by UC Irvine and U.S. Army researchers.

4 May 2012

CSL Behring commences C1-INH phase I/II study in hereditary angioedema

CSL Behring announced today that it has initiated an international phase I/II study of a volume-reduced, subcutaneous formulation of C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) concentrate in patients with hereditary angioedema.

4 May 2012

MSF official discusses WHO Working Group final report on R&D

The Results for Development Institute's Center for Global Health R&D Policy Assessment blog features an interview with Judit Rius Sanjuan, U.S. manager of the Access Campaign of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), who discusses the final report of the WHO Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination.

4 May 2012