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Immune cells in brain may predict alcohol abuse effects

Adelaide University researchers say there's a growing body of evidence that alcohol triggers rapid changes in the immune system in the brain and this is behind responses like staggering and slurring. They claim that blocking part of the immune system might reduce alcohol abuse and help prevent drink driving accidents.

29 Sep 2011

Poor hospital supplies could spell danger for vulnerable patients

It was found that most hospitals operate with less than a month's supply of many essential medicines, leaving patients vulnerable if local distributors are unable to import them through fragile international supply chains.

29 Sep 2011

Powerful HIV vaccine being tested on humans

Spanish researchers have developed a prototype of a vaccine against the AIDS-causing HIV virus that is “much more powerful” than those made to date.

29 Sep 2011

Bulgaria’s decades old anti-smoking pill could be a cheap and effective answer to smoking cessation

A pill from Bulgaria during the Soviet era shows promise for helping millions of smokers cheaply and safely kick the habit, the first big clinical trial of it shows. It is unclear whether it will ever reach the market in the U.S. or Western Europe though.

29 Sep 2011

Stroke risk increases with even small rises in blood pressure

Small rises of blood pressure may greatly increase a person's risk of stroke, according to new research. The study review, published in the journal Neurology, analyzed the results of 12 studies on blood pressure and stroke incidences among a total of 518,520 adults.

29 Sep 2011

CVS Caremark, Dovetail Health partner to prevent avoidable hospital readmissions

Industry research finds that one in five seniors are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, representing a prevalent and costly issue for health plan sponsors. Moreover, it is estimated that nearly 70 percent of adverse health events that take place after hospital discharge are related to medication management issues.

29 Sep 2011

New study recommends colorectal cancer screening from age of 45 for men

Each year, around 5,000 people die from colorectal cancer in Austria, with the mortality rate being just under 50 per cent. A screening colonoscopy (bowel imaging) is recommended in Austria for people who turn 50, regardless of their gender.

29 Sep 2011

FDA CDER assigned for pre-market review of CorMedix's Neutrolin

CorMedix Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of Cardiorenal disease, today announced that on September 15, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised CorMedix, that the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has been assigned as the lead agency for the pre-market review of Neutrolin.

29 Sep 2011

Almirall seeks European approval for linaclotide to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation

Almirall, S.A. announced today that it has submitted a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for linaclotide, an investigational guanylate cyclase-C (GC-C) receptor agonist for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). Once approved, linaclotide will be marketed in Europe under the trademark Constella®.

29 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 29, 2011

In today's headlines, reports that a Supreme Court ruling on the 2010 health law is now likely before the 2012 presidential election.

29 Sep 2011

South Sudan facing chronic food shortages, U.N. agencies say

U.N. agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), are warning that South Sudan, the world's newest nation, "will face chronic food shortages next year due to internal and border insecurity, erratic rains and a huge influx of returnees from the North," IRIN reports.

29 Sep 2011

Single hallucinogen dose creates personality change lasting for a year

A single high dose of the hallucinogen psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called "magic mushrooms," was enough to bring about a measureable personality change lasting at least a year in nearly 60 percent of the 51 participants in a new study, according to the Johns Hopkins researchers who conducted it.

29 Sep 2011

Photo essay of USAID's work with women suffering from fistula in Guinea

This post in USAID's "IMPACTblog" examines the agency's work with women suffering from obstetric fistula in Guinea, where "[t]he average ... woman will have six children during her lifetime" and "due to the lack of obstetric care," many develop the "painful injury that is especially traumatic due to the stigma associated with it."

29 Sep 2011

Tobacco companies deliberately kept findings of cancer-causing radioactive particles from the public

Tobacco companies knew that cigarette smoke contained radioactive alpha particles for more than four decades and developed "deep and intimate" knowledge of these particles' cancer-causing potential, but they deliberately kept their findings from the public, according to a new study by UCLA researchers.

29 Sep 2011

Philippines health officials warn of disease risk following Typhoon Nesat

"Philippines authorities are warning of possible water-borne disease outbreaks following Typhoon Nesat," which ripped through the country on Tuesday causing widespread damage including power outages, flooding and landslides, IRIN reports (9/28). According to Reuters, at least 21 people have been killed by the storm and its consequences (Mogato, 9/28).

29 Sep 2011

Plausible way to circumvent drug resistance in breast cancer cells

Breast cancer cells that mutate to resist drug treatment survive by establishing tiny pumps on their surface that reject the drugs as they penetrate the cell membrane - making the cancer insensitive to chemotherapy drugs even after repeated use.

29 Sep 2011

IRIN examines rise in new leprosy cases in remote region of Madagascar

IRIN examines an increase in new leprosy cases in Antalaha, a once-prosperous vanilla-exporting town in a remote region of Madagascar, where a 2009 military-supported coup brought the suspension of some foreign aid and trade benefits.

29 Sep 2011

Oral tenofovir discontinued in HIV clinical trial

A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an oral tablet or vaginal gel containing antiretroviral drugs can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the study cannot show that one of the study products, oral tenofovir, marketed under the trade name Viread, is effective.

29 Sep 2011

Anti-caking agents may hasten degradation of vitamin C

Anti-caking agents in powdered products may hasten degradation of vitamin C instead of doing what they are supposed to do: protect the nutrient from moisture.

29 Sep 2011

Bill Gates arrives in Nigeria to discuss polio eradication efforts

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday, where he held talks with government officials and traditional leaders to discuss polio eradication efforts in the country's worst-hit northwestern region, Agence France-Presse reports (9/27).

29 Sep 2011