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New study shows that Australians still stand by the private health system

New research shows that 70 per cent of Australians believe that Australia’s health care system would not cope without a strong private hospitals sector, but many are unaware of the range of services provided by Australia’s private hospitals.

25 Mar 2012

57% of Australians make mistakes with their medicines

New research from NPS has found that 57% of Australians report they have made a mistake with their medicines in the past 12 months.

25 Mar 2012

Dissolvable tobacco harmless finds FDA panel but promises detailed review

An advisory panel to the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) said Thursday that people who exclusively use dissolvable tobacco products have a greatly reduced risk of cancer and respiratory illness compared with those who regularly smoke cigarettes.

25 Mar 2012

Obesity in later life linked to decreased mental faculties

The study found said out of 250 test subjects involving people over 59 years old, people between 60 and 70 who had the highest BMIs also had the lowest cognitive function. There was also a connection between visceral fat -- otherwise known as the belly fat around the torso - and poor mental abilities. The study, which was published in the British journal Age and Aging, measured the subjects fat-related measures including BMI, waist circumference and the amount of visceral - which could be close to organs - and subcutaneous -under the skin - fat using a abdominal CT scan. Cognitive ability was determined by a test called a Mini-Mental State Examination.

25 Mar 2012

National Colon Cancer Awareness Month attempts to widen screening efforts

March is the National Colon Cancer Awareness Month and to mark it Ferrell Hospital and Harrisburg Medical Center have teamed up with the American Cancer Society to provide free take-home colon cancer tests to anyone who is interested.

25 Mar 2012

More supermarkets shun “pink slime”

Supermarket chains Kroger Co. and Stop & Shop announced Thursday that they would no longer sell beef that includes an additive with the unappetizing “pink slime.” Federal regulators say the ammonia-treated filler, known in the industry as “lean, finely textured beef,” meets food safety standards. But critics say the product could be unsafe and is an unappetizing example of industrialized food production.

25 Mar 2012

Serco to provide community health services for NHS Suffolk

Serco has been selected by NHS Suffolk to provide services including district nurses and community hospitals. Serco won the contract worth around £140 million. Services are currently provided by Suffolk Community Healthcare (SCH), part of NHS Suffolk, and will transfer by this autumn.

25 Mar 2012

Alcohol linked to 25% increase in liver disease deaths

The first report from the fledgling National End of Life Care Intelligence Network warns that the victims of liver disease are getting younger, with deaths increasing among people in their forties. Deaths rose from 9,231 in 2001 to 11,575 in 2009; some 60% of these were men, and 90% of them were under 70. Deaths are more common in England's northern regions marked by high unemployment and low educational achievement.

25 Mar 2012

Victoria’s Goldfields region linked to higher risk of cancer

University of Melbourne's Dr Dora Pearce is urging for more testing of soil and water in central Victoria's Goldfields region to address the possible threat of cancer caused by arsenic. She has worked on research examining the link between elevated levels of arsenic caused by historic gold mining and cancer in the region.

25 Mar 2012

Israel says no to skinny models

The Israeli Parliament has moved to ban skinny models from appearing in that nation's media. It has won approval in Tel Aviv on Monday, and to American experts on eating disorders, the measure is a clear step toward a key goal: promoting more realistic body images among girls and women.

25 Mar 2012

Heart attack may soon be predicted by a simple blood test

Researchers have found a simple test that could predict whether a patient is about to have a heart attack. They used a blood sample to detect cells that have sloughed off of damaged blood vessel walls to predict a heart attack.

25 Mar 2012

Ibuprofen may be used effectively for altitude sickness: Study

Altitude sickness manifests by symptoms including a headache, fatigue, dizziness and sometimes nausea and vomiting. In addition, patients most likely also feel like they are working harder to breathe, like they are constantly trying to catch their breath. It normally takes days to weeks to fully acclimate to a higher altitude. It affects between 25 percent and 40 percent of the population and can be debilitating.

25 Mar 2012

New cholesterol lowering drugs on the horizon

The new drugs in development by pharmaceutical makers are injectable medications that block a protein called PCSK9. These drugs have shown promise in early clinical trials for slashing bad LDL cholesterol further than widely used statins can alone. Their biggest advocates say PCSK9 blockers have the potential to be the next multibillion-dollar class of heart drugs.

25 Mar 2012

Allergy season comes early with high pollen counts

After the end of an unusually warm winter the spring has come early and this has affected asthmatics in parts of the South and Midwest this year. The 25 to 35 percent of people who suffer from hay fever, the early arrival of warm weather meant an unusually early start to allergy season due to the abundance of pollens.

25 Mar 2012

Paul Allen pledges $300 million to better understand the brain’s inner workings

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen is donating $300 million to his Allen Institute for Brain Science to fund new projects to map and observe the human brain and, in Allen’s words, “to one day understand the essence of what makes us human.” That brings the total amount Allen has invested in the Institute to half a billion.

25 Mar 2012

Male pattern baldness causes discovered

Most men start to go bald in middle age, with about 80% of men having some hair loss by the age of 70. Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss for men, the National Institute of Health said. Symptoms include a thinning of hair at the hairline, eventually creating a U-shaped or horseshoe pattern of hair on both sides of the head. The male sex hormone testosterone plays a key role, as do genetic factors. They cause the hair follicles to shrink, eventually becoming so small that they are invisible, leading to the appearance of baldness. While treatment is not necessary, side effects including psychological stress and loss of self-esteem due to change in appearance can be experienced.

25 Mar 2012