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The outbreak of SARS is under control in China's eastern province of Anhui

A labratory worker who was China's first SARS patient in the recent outbreak has fully recovered and has been discharged from hospital today as Chinese health officials claimed success in controlling the disease in eastern Anhui province.

10 May 2004

Researchers fast track the commercial development of a simple and inexpensive screening test for Alzheimer’s disease

The computer-based system will undergo a major trial this year, with researchers able to create a commercially ready test thanks to a grant from the Telstra Broadband Fund.

10 May 2004

New studies on the diagnosis of interstitial cystitis and the treatment of prostatitis

Antimicrobials Ineffective in Treating Chronic Prostatitis / Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/PPS): Though the traditional means of treating men with CP/PPS, use of antibiotics and alpha-adrenergic receptor blockers (tamsulosin and ciprofloxacin) did not lead to significant change after six and 12 weeks of treatment.

10 May 2004

X-rays and scans to be stored and mailed electronically across NHS

The new system will enable images such as X-rays and scans to be stored and mailed electronically rather than printed on film and filed manually – enabling doctors to provide a much faster diagnosis.

10 May 2004

More UK health professionals will be able to prescribe medicines

The proposals recommend that physiotherapists, radiographers, chiropodists and optometrists should be able to prescribe medicines, in partnership with a doctor, to help treat and manage conditions such as glaucoma, chronic back pain and the effects of multiple sclerosis, as well as providing pain relief for patients attending radiography sessions.

10 May 2004

Relationship between PSA score and prostate cancer has steadily declined

Results of a new study indicate that the relationship between PSA score and prostate cancer has steadily declined during the last 20 years, an important finding given that PSA score is often used to determine whether biopsy for prostate cancer testing is necessary.

10 May 2004

Female incontinence and sexual dysfunction questions answered

Kristene Whitmore, M.D., an AUA spokesperson and director of the Pelvic Floor Institute at the Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, will be on hand to answer reporter questions about incontinence and female sexual dysfunction on Sunday, May 9, 2004 at 3:00 p.m.

10 May 2004

Less educated people have more severe stress

While less educated people report fewer stressful days than those with more education, their stress is more severe and has a larger impact on their health, reports a researcher from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and his colleagues in the current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

10 May 2004

Europe-wide network fighting heart disease

Academic expertise at the University of Birmingham's Medical School is contributing to a Europe-wide network fighting heart disease. The European Vascular Genomics Network (EVGN) is the first European Funded network of excellence in the field of cardiovascular disease.

10 May 2004

Australia's aged population is increasing faster than the government realises

Forecasting expert Professor Rob Hyndman, from the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics, said the number of elderly people was increasing faster than official estimates and warned that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was underestimating the future number of people aged over 85.

10 May 2004

A computer-based test that detects impaired cognition has been developed

A computer-based test that detects impaired cognition has been developed by researchers from Monash University's Psychology department and could be used to identify people who are affected by drugs, chronic fatigue or even hangovers.

10 May 2004

Research finds feeding ewes well impacts on future generations

Research that has found a two-fold difference in the amount of epithelial tissue in the mammary glands of foetal lambs whose dams were well fed throughout pregnancy compared to dams fed at maintenance levels could have important implications for sheep farm management in New Zealand – and perhaps human nutrition.

10 May 2004

African American children in Los Angeles County more likely to have asthma compared to whites, Asians/Pacific Islanders, or Latinos

African American children in Los Angeles County are more likely to have asthma (16%) compared to whites (9%), Asians/Pacific Islanders (9%), or Latinos (6%), according to a recent survey sponsored by the County's Department of Health Services (DHS).

10 May 2004

Bone marrow and stem cell transplantation rejection averted by UV light exposure

One of the unfortunate side effects of bone marrow and stem cell transplantation is that the newly implanted cells often stage an internal attack against the patient they're intended to help.

10 May 2004

Fresh cherries may help people who suffer from the pain of gout or other forms of arthritic inflammation

Fresh cherries may help people who suffer from the pain of gout or other forms of arthritic inflammation. That's according to preliminary results from research at the Agricultural Research Service's Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, Calif.

10 May 2004

Identifying the addiction genes, new treatments for addiction, and the possibility of individually tailored drugs

Identifying the addiction genes, new treatments for addiction, and the possibility of individually tailored drugs are just a few of the issues a new Foresight project announced today will be investigating.

10 May 2004

50 Fortune 500 companies join forces to give four million uninsured working Americans access to affordable health insurance

More than 50 Fortune 500 companies have joined forces to give an estimated four million uninsured working Americans access to affordable health insurance coverage. The united effort is part of a broad market reform to reduce spiraling health care costs and incorporate performance standards that help consumers choose hospitals and physicians.

10 May 2004

Soybeans may reduce the risk of colon cancer

A substance found in soybeans may reduce the risk of colon cancer, the third most common form of cancer in the world according to the World Health Organization.

10 May 2004

New chink in the cellular armor of tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy

The family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy are notoriously sturdy. And although the diseases they cause have been held in check for the past 50 years by antibiotics, some strains are becoming increasingly resistant to existing therapy.

10 May 2004

Alternative vaccine to Dryvax for smallpox

Not everybody can safely be vaccinated against smallpox using the current FDA-approved vaccine. Scientists hope another study vaccine, now undergoing its first testing in the United States at Saint Louis University, will give a choice to people who can't be given the current vaccine, known as Dryvax®.

10 May 2004