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When it comes to economic prosperity, obesity is as damaging as malnutrition

According to a World Bank expert, obesity could damage economic output as severely as malnutrition in the poorest countries.

16 Nov 2006

Doha Declaration on life-saving drugs for poor countries not happening

Despite the fact that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) granted a special exemption five years ago, in order that poor countries could access life-saving drug, poor people in developing countries are still dying needlessly because global pharmaceutical giants continue to monopolise drugs for diseases such as cancer and AIDS.

15 Nov 2006

MSF, Oxfam call on wealthy nations to adhere to WTO guidelines to ensure drug access in developing countries

Medecins Sans Frontieres and Oxfam on Tuesday called on developed nations to adhere to the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to ensure universal access to antiretroviral drugs in developing countries, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (Higgins, AP/International Herald Tribune, 11/14).

14 Nov 2006

Lifestyle decisions that may stave off onset of cancer

Personal choices, such as smoking and consumption of fatty foods, have long been linked to increased cancer risk. During recent years, scientists have been seeking to isolate a variety of lifestyle decisions that may stave off the onset of cancer or even reduce tumor formation in their early stages.

14 Nov 2006

Food can have an impact in preventing cancer

With cancer, researchers don't believe "you are what you eat"; that disease is always a direct result of what is, or what isn't, on your dinner plate.

14 Nov 2006

FDA should return to 'science-based' agency

Congress this month likely will consider a bill to reform FDA, "but the legislation lacks the vision and depth needed for a real return to a science-based FDA," Susan Wood, a research professor for the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and former assistant commissioner for women's health at FDA, writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece.

13 Nov 2006

Congress to focus on labor-HHS, other unfinished appropriations Bills during Lame-Duck session

Congress likely will focus on the fiscal year 2007 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill and other unfinished spending bills during a lame-duck session that began on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reports.

13 Nov 2006

Faster heart attack patients treated, the better their likelihood of survival

Hospitals that provide the most rapid emergency angioplasty have specific strategies to expedite the care of patients with heart attacks, researchers at Yale School of Medicine report in the November 13 New England Journal of Medicine.

13 Nov 2006

Controlling the amount of TV kids watch crucial to healthy weight

Looking for a simple way to increase your child's physical activity level? Try turning off the television, says University of Toronto research.

13 Nov 2006

Link between common lifestyle factors, immune system and cancer

The immune system is fickle, and easily influenced by more than just viruses and bacteria. It can be swayed by the seemingly unexpected, such as by what we eat, for example, and affected by surprising sources.

13 Nov 2006

LaVeist named inaugural William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in health policy

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has named Thomas A. LaVeist, PhD, the inaugural William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in Health Policy. LaVeist, a leader in the study of minority health and the elimination of health disparities, was officially installed during a ceremony at the Bloomberg School of Public Health on November 10.

13 Nov 2006

Brits "out on the pull" urged to carry condoms by government campaign

As part of a major government sexual health campaign, young Brits will be encouraged to carry condoms when they are out "on the pull".

13 Nov 2006

FDA strengthens program for medical devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its action plan for strengthening the way it monitors the safety of medical devices after they reach the marketplace.

13 Nov 2006

Global resurgence in zoonotic viral diseases

Doctors and veterinarians need to work together to tackle the increasing global threat of zoonotic viral diseases spread by non-human vertebrate hosts - including dogs, cattle, chickens and mosquitoes - according to a review in the November issue of Journal of Internal Medicine.

8 Nov 2006

Former HCFA Administrator suggests new U.S. agency on comparative clinical effectiveness

"Developing a Center for Comparative Effectiveness Information," Health Affairs: In a Health Affairs Web exclusive, Gail Wilensky -- an economist, senior fellow at Project HOPE and former administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration -- examines the growing interest in the U.S. for unbiased, credible information on comparative clinical effectiveness by those who support competitive health care pricing and by those who support administered pricing.

8 Nov 2006