Medical News

RSS

Cell phones and cancer – link established

In its latest announcement the World Health Organization (WHO) said that radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer. According to the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), radiofrequency electromagnetic fields have been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (group 2B) on the basis of an increased risk for glioma that some studies have associated with the use of wireless phones.

1 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Political impact of Ryan plan; would VA health system work for all?; Calif. insurance rates

Representative Paul Ryan is rebutting critics of his plan to turn Medicare into a "premium support" program, pointing to two existing programs that he says prove his approach would be better for beneficiaries. Don't believe it. The two programs he cites as prototypes — the insurance program for members of Congress and the Medicare prescription drug program — differ in critical respects from his proposal to sharply limit federal spending. The losers will be the beneficiaries who have to pay more.

1 Jun 2011

4,000 Australians are dying each year of a disease as treatable as appendicitis

The report Bowel Cancer: One of Australia’s Most Common Diseases, being released this week by the GI CANCER Institute, says that while bowel cancer is one of the most curable diseases when diagnosed at an early stage, over 4,000 Australians continue to die of it each year.

1 Jun 2011

Energy and Sports drinks not for children

According to pediatricians, children must not be given energy drinks with potentially harmful caffeine levels. They need to understand the difference between energy drinks and sports drinks. Most kids don't need energy drinks that are heavily marketed to them, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a report published in Monday's issue of the journal Pediatrics.

31 May 2011

Increased stress not linked to multiple sclerosis

According to a new study that refutes earlier evidence, stress does not appear to increase a person's risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). The research is published in the May 31, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

31 May 2011

Increase breast feeding rates by extending maternity leave: Study

According to new research published in the journal Pediatrics if the United States wants to significantly increase its breast-feeding rates, extending women's maternity leave would be a good place to start.

31 May 2011

Latest Breast cancer screening guidelines deemed unsafe by 80% women

Nearly 80 percent of women feel the new guidelines against breast cancer are unsafe as they stated that screening for those under 50 is not mandatory. The controversy over screening mammography flared up in late 2009, when a government-funded group of independent experts decided to change its recommendations. Instead of advising annual mammograms in all women age 40 and above, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said women shouldn't routinely get screened until they hit 50, and those between 50 and 74 should only have mammograms every two years. But most of the women also seriously overestimate their risk of developing the disease, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester found.

31 May 2011

AIDS epidemic turns 30

It is 30 years since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. It was fatal then but has now become a treatable, if still incurable, chronic illness. AIDS therapy now has tools that prolong the lives of people infected with the virus and prevent others from acquiring it. They range from antiretroviral therapy (ART), to circumcision and campaigns to reduce promiscuity. On the horizon are gels and pills that protect against infection during intercourse. Even the outlook for an AIDS vaccine is no longer as bleak as it used to be.

31 May 2011

Health IT roundup: Feds monitor privacy breaches and propose changes to HIPPA records sharing

Federal health officials call it the Wall of Shame. It's a government Web page that lists nearly 300 hospitals, doctors and insurance companies that have reported significant breaches of medical privacy in the last couple of years. Such lapses, frightening to consumers, could impede the Obama administration's effort to shift the nation to electronic health care records.

31 May 2011

Enrollment complete in BioSante's LibiGel Phase III cardiovascular and breast cancer safety study

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced completion of enrollment in its ongoing LibiGel (testosterone gel) Phase III cardiovascular and breast cancer safety study. LibiGel is in development for the treatment of female sexual dysfunction (FSD), specifically, hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in menopausal women, for which there is no FDA-approved product.

31 May 2011

First Edition: May 31, 2011

Today's headlines include articles on the federal efforts to improve hospital quality, the politics of Medicare and the move by some GOP governors to set up health exchanges.

31 May 2011

Spectranetics to showcase new advanced peripheral atherectomy simulation system at New Cardiovascular Horizons

Spectranetics Corporation today announced it will showcase a new advanced peripheral atherectomy simulation system at the New Cardiovascular Horizons meeting in New Orleans.

31 May 2011

Oasis introduces touchless electronic tissue dispenser

Oasis Brands, Inc. is bringing forth the evolution of the modern washroom with the introduction of the fully-enclosed, touchless Nvi Electronic Tissue Dispenser. The industry's first standard-sized electronic tissue dispenser is designed to reduce waste and labor cost while minimizing the risk of cross-contamination, and is ideal for those with limited range of mobility.

31 May 2011

Moisturisers, hair dyes cause serious adverse effects

Permanent hair dye gives the most serious adverse effects, yet there are also many reactions to facial and body moisturisers. This comes from the first report from the National Register of Adverse Effects from Cosmetic Products published by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

31 May 2011

FDA approves Oceana's Solesta for treatment of fecal incontinence

Oceana Therapeutics, a global company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing best-in-class specialty therapeutics, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Solesta as a treatment for fecal incontinence in adult patients who have failed conservative therapy such as dietary control.

31 May 2011

Defiante, Dyax expand KALBITOR partnership to treat hereditary angioedema

Dyax Corp. and Defiante Farmaceutica S.A., an affiliate of the pharmaceutical group Sigma-Tau, announced today an expansion of their strategic partnership for KALBITOR in the treatment of hereditary angioedema and other therapeutic indications to include development and commercialization rights in Latin America, excluding Mexico and the Caribbean, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea.

31 May 2011

YM BioSciences' CYT387 receives European Commission positive opinion for Orphan Drug Designation

YM BioSciences Inc., today announced that it has received positive opinions from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Commission to grant Orphan Medicinal Product Designation to its JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, CYT387, for the treatment of primary myelofibrosis, post-polycythaemia vera myelofibrosis and post-essential thrombocythaemia myelofibrosis.

31 May 2011