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Convictions in $45 million illegal blood diversion scheme

Florida pharmaceutical wholesale distributor, convicted on March 29, 2006, of more than two hundred and forty-seven criminal counts as the result of an extensive OCI investigation of an illegal medical products diversion scheme which defrauded the Medicaid and Medicare programs of more than $45,000,000.

19 Apr 2006

Calcium supplements may be little help for healthy kids

There's little question that most kids get too little calcium, but a new review of evidence casts doubt on the value of supplements and calcium-fortified foods to build stronger bones.

19 Apr 2006

Calcium supplementation for improving bone mineral density in children

There's little question that most kids get too little calcium, but a new review of evidence casts doubt on the value of supplements and calcium-fortified foods to build stronger bones.

18 Apr 2006

In a bird flu pandemic 40% will take a sickie

According to new research in the U.S. in the event the world is subjected to a bird flu pandemic, four in every ten health professionals will stay away from work.

18 Apr 2006

Smoking causes far more cancer deaths in Asian-Americans than previously thought

Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese American males living in California die of cancer at three times the rate of South Asian females in California, whose cancer mortality rate is one of the lowest in the world.

18 Apr 2006

Common gene variation associated with an increased risk for obesity

A pioneering statistical technique developed at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has helped identify a common gene variation associated with an increased risk for obesity.

18 Apr 2006

Only 43 percent of older people with diabetes receive medicines that could protect their heart and kidneys

...despite the fact that virtually all of them could benefit from those drugs, a new University of Michigan study finds. And even among those with the most to gain from the medicines, the rate of use barely reaches 53 percent.

18 Apr 2006

Breakthrough in fight against childhood obesity

What children eat has a greater influence than physical activity on their body weight, a Deakin University study has found.

18 Apr 2006

Federal monitoring system underestimates work-related injury and illness

The current national surveillance system may miss two-thirds of the total number of occupational injuries and illnesses, suggests a study in the April Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

17 Apr 2006

Almost half of elderly Beijing residents have metabolic syndrome

As more people in China adopt Western diets and lifestyles, many are developing a cluster of cardiovascular disease risk factors, according to a new study in the April 18, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

17 Apr 2006

Mass vaccination in Bangladesh to halt the spread of Polio

The recent re-emergence of polio in Bangladesh has prompted a vaccination campaign aimed at as many as 18 million children the age of 5.

17 Apr 2006

Egon Ronay says putting warnings on wine is a joke

Plans in the UK to place warnings on bottles and cans which contain alcohol have been deemed ridiculous by a world famous food and wine critic.

17 Apr 2006

Prevalence of obesity in the United States

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents and obesity among men increased significantly between 1999 and 2004, according to a study in JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association.

16 Apr 2006

Do the obese know they are obese?

Obese men and women are reasonably accurate when it comes to reporting their own weight, says researchers, but they are much more likely than normal weight persons to misjudge what weight falls into the obese category and therefore do not consider themselves to be obese.

16 Apr 2006

Diabetes: Translating the chronic care model into the community

Educating people with diabetes in a primary-care setting with sustained, comprehensive intervention resulted in significant improvement in disease management and overall health, according to a study published in the current issue of Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

16 Apr 2006

Proteomic mass spectrometry helps identify viruses

Scientists have used mass spectrometry for decades to determine the chemical composition of samples but rarely has it been used to identify viruses, and never in complex environmental samples.

13 Apr 2006

Single dose of stem cells produce robust behavioral recovery in animal models for stroke, cerebral palsy

A single dose of adult donor stem cells given to animals that have neurological damage similar to that experienced by adults with a stroke or newborns with cerebral palsy can significantly enhance recovery from these types of injuries, researchers say.

11 Apr 2006

Losartan can prevent progression of Marfan syndrome

A commonly prescribed blood pressure medication may provide the first ray of hope in preventing potentially deadly complications of Marfan syndrome, a genetic disease that weakens the structural meshwork of blood vessels.

11 Apr 2006

Evaluation of an inactivated subunit H5N1 influenza virus vaccine in humans

Results from a clinical trial demonstrate that high doses of an experimental H5N1 avian influenza vaccine can induce immune responses in healthy adults.

11 Apr 2006

Exposure to arsenic in utero and early childhood tied to lung disease and cancer in adults

Children who are exposed to high levels of arsenic in their drinking water are seven to 12 times more likely to die of lung cancer and other lung diseases in young adulthood, a new study by University of California, Berkeley, and Chilean researchers suggests.

11 Apr 2006