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The risk of death by age, sex, and smoking status in the U.S.

Researchers have updated charts that show an American's risk of dying from a given cause over the next ten years, based on age, sex, and smoking status. The charts will be published online June 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

11 Jun 2008

Computed tomography lung cancer screening no cure-all for smokers

Screening for lung cancer with computed tomography (CT) may help reduce lung cancer deaths in current and former smokers, but it won't protect them from other causes of death associated with smoking, according to a new study published in the July issue of the journal Radiology.

11 Jun 2008

St. John's wort not effective for treating ADHD

Children and teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were treated with the herb St. John's wort did not have any greater improvement in ADHD symptoms compared to those who received placebo, according to a study in the June 11 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

11 Jun 2008

Quick responses to influenza outbreaks reduces illness and death

Influenza outbreaks were shorter and resulted in fewer cases and fewer deaths at long-term care facilities that started residents on preventive antiviral medications within five days of the first case, compared to those that started later, according to a new study in the July 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online.

11 Jun 2008

Gender affects reaction to HIV-prevention brochures

Various intervention strategies have been implemented to curb the rise of HIV, and a factor that might affect exposure to interventionsis gender.

11 Jun 2008

Coated gold nanoparticles for drug delivery

In work that could at the same time impact the delivery of drugs and explain a biological mystery, MIT engineers have created the first synthetic nanoparticles that can penetrate a cell without poking a hole in its protective membrane and killing it.

11 Jun 2008

Prenatal drug exposure associated with greater sleep problems in children

In the first study across time into late childhood of the effects of prenatal drug exposure on sleep, prenatal drug exposure is associated with greater sleep problems in children.

11 Jun 2008

Memory loss linked to sleep apnea

For the first time, UCLA researchers have discovered that people with sleep apnea show tissue loss in brain regions that help store memory.

11 Jun 2008

The 'Big Apple' - not the place to be sassy and single!

According to official statistics, living in New York City is risky in more ways than one.

11 Jun 2008

Chinese red food colouring beats heart disease and cancer

According to a large study carried out in China, a red food colouring ingredient widely used in Chinese cooking protects against cancer and heart disease.

11 Jun 2008

Measles making a comeback in the U.S.

The rise in the number of measles cases in the U.S. is concerning health authorities who fear the disease is making a comeback after a decade of being eradicated.

11 Jun 2008

Horse industry let off the hook over horse flu debt

The horse industry in Australia has been let off the hook over last year's equine influenza (EI) outbreak.

11 Jun 2008

Turn up the lights and slow down dementia!

A team of Dutch scientists are suggesting that the progression of dementia can be significantly slowed down by treatments which reset the body's natural clock.

11 Jun 2008

Man presumed dead recovers during surgery to remove his organs for donation

The revelation that a man whose heart had stopped beating, woke up just as surgeons were about to remove his organs for donation, is disconcerting to say the least.

11 Jun 2008

Government and nurses call for a major shake-up of Australia's health system

Plans by the federal government to address the dire shortage of general practitioners by making better use of other health professionals is in some ways in line with calls from the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) for a major reform to the way health services are funded and delivered.

11 Jun 2008

The Politico examines prospects for U.S. health care system overhaul

The Politico on Tuesday examined how "the skyrocketing cost of health care is putting everyone in a much more chatty and cooperative mood" about overhauling the U.S. health care system.

11 Jun 2008

Bush Administration requests $275 million increase for FDA in FY 2009 budget

The Bush Administration on Monday requested that Congress allocate an additional $275 million in fiscal year 2009 for FDA, the New York Times reports. The funds would be used to improve drug and food safety in the U.S. (Harris, New York Times, 6/10).

11 Jun 2008

Bill 'best way to ensure' transparency of possible conflicts of interest, editorial states

A report published last week that found three researchers from Harvard Medical School were "vastly underreporting their income from drug companies" offers "striking proof that today's requirements for reporting payments from industry -- essentially an honor system in which researchers are supposed to reveal their outside income to their institutions" -- must "be strengthened," a New York Times editorial states.

11 Jun 2008

Utah Medicaid program to launch initiative to reduce unnecessary ED visits

The Bureau of Managed Health Care at the Utah Department of Health will launch a program geared toward state Medicaid beneficiaries that will "reroute patients to personal physicians who can provide better continual care at a lower cost," the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

11 Jun 2008

Obama launches economic tour, promotes health care proposal

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) on Monday began a two-week economic tour in Raleigh, N.C., where he discussed his proposals to address the economy, health care and other issues, the AP/Philadelphia Daily News reports (Babington, AP/Philadelphia Daily News, 6/10).

11 Jun 2008