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The Australian Government response to Senate inquiry into hepatitis C and blood supply

Although the Inquiry found that decision makers had made reasonable decisions in the 80s, based on the evidence available, medically acquired hepatitis C has hurt many people.

30 Aug 2004

High blood pressure combined with elevated LDL cholesterol more than triples risk of heart attack

High blood pressure and high LDL-cholesterol add up to more than just double trouble for heart health, a Penn State College of Medicine study reports.

30 Aug 2004

Rabies case in South-West France

The Health Protection Agency has today become aware of a case of confirmed rabies, diagnosed in a dog in South-West France. The dog, which has died, had been imported illegally into the European Union through Spain from Morocco and then onto France.

29 Aug 2004

Does estrogen help perception, intuition or reasoning?

Now, a new study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests that the stress of any given task at least partially determines if hormones will help the mind.

29 Aug 2004

New guidelines today to diagnose and treat acromegaly

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) released new guidelines today to diagnose and treat acromegaly, a rare and debilitating endocrine disorder. The guidelines are published in the May/June 2004 issue of AACE's peer-reviewed journal Endocrine Practice.

29 Aug 2004

Preschoolers' still getting too much added sugar and juice and not enough fruits and vegetables

Preschoolers' diet quality improved marginally between 1977 and 1998 but they are still getting too much added sugar and juice and not enough fruits and vegetables a recent study shows.

29 Aug 2004

The proper use of drugs to treat heart disease reduces the need for hospital interventions

Regular attacks of chest pain induced by exercise (angina pectoris) is a common condition caused by blockages of the blood vessels that supply the heart (coronary heart disease).

29 Aug 2004

Vast majority of heart attacks may be predicted by nine easily measurable factors

A major Canadian-led global study has found that the vast majority of heart attacks may be predicted by nine easily measurable factors and that these factors are the same in virtually every region and ethnic group worldwide.

29 Aug 2004

New study confirms benefits of rimonabant in weight loss

Phase III clinical study comparing placebo to rimonabant, the first agent in a new therapeutic class known as selective cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) blockers, showed that overweight or obese people taking rimonabant 20mg once daily benefited from a significant reduction in their body weight

29 Aug 2004

No benefit from early PCI/CABG in high risk unstable angina patients

Patients with chest pain are recognized as being at high risk of subsequent adverse cardiac events when their plasma levels of cardiac troponin are elevated as evidence of myocardial damage.

29 Aug 2004

Dronedarone is effective and well-tolerated in the prevention of atrial fibrillation

New anti-arrhythmic agent, dronedarone, is highly effective in the prevention of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter recurrence, serious disorders of cardiac rhythm, and is well-tolerated by patients.

29 Aug 2004

Atrial fibrillation patients often receive needless treatment

Results of the Euro Heart Survey on atrial fibrillation (AF), demonstrate that many AF patients receive clot-preventing drugs while not at risk for stroke.

29 Aug 2004

U.S. FDA study shows Canadian drugs to be more expensive

If you think all drugs from Canada are cheaper than U.S. drugs, think again. In the United States, generic drugs - roughly half of all prescriptions - are often cheaper than both Canadian brand-name drugs and Canadian generic drugs, according to a study by the Food and Drug Administration.

29 Aug 2004

Streptococcal bacteria disrupts blood clotting to infect humans

University of Michigan researchers have captured a glimpse of the endless arms race between infectious agents and the human immune system in a bacterium that uses a mimic of a human blood-clotting enzyme to advance its infection.

27 Aug 2004

Black women may not be getting mammograms as often as white women

Black women may not be getting mammograms as often as white women, despite a widespread belief that this particular racial disparity has been overcome, a University of Rochester Medical Center study shows.

27 Aug 2004

Tomato juice may help type 2 diabetics

Tomato juice may be the key to decreasing hyperactive platelet aggregation, which can lead to heart disease, according to the latest nutrition and dietetics study by HMRI researchers based at the University of Newcastle.

27 Aug 2004

Solid evidence that best treatment for multiple sclerosis is pregnancy

For years, doctors have suggested the best treatment for multiple sclerosis is pregnancy. Now, an Oregon study is delivering solid evidence to support the theory.

27 Aug 2004

High tech implants to aid facial reconstruction

Loughborough University researchers have been awarded more than £200,000 to develop state-of-the-art tailor made implants for people requiring facial reconstructive surgery.

27 Aug 2004

More women are surviving advanced breast cancer

Writing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, (Vol. 22, No. 16: 3302-3308), doctors from 3 French hospitals reported on 724 women whose first diagnosis was breast cancer that had spread to other parts of the body (stage 4). It is rare for women to be diagnosed with such late stage disease.

27 Aug 2004

Stress won't cause stomach ulcers, but it can make them worse

“Stress won't cause stomach ulcers, but it can make them worse,” says Dr. David Graham, professor of medicine and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. “Stress causes the body to produce higher amounts of acid, which can irritate preexisting ulcers.”

27 Aug 2004