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Strong relationship of major depressive disorder to alcohol use disorders, drug disorders and other mental health conditions

Findings from the largest survey ever conducted on the co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders among U.S. adults indicates a sharper picture than previously reported of major depressive disorder (MDD) in specific population groups.

27 Oct 2005

Chiron initiates Phase I/II study of an investigational cell culture-derived influenza vaccine

Cell culture-derived influenza vaccine (commonly referred to as "flu cell culture" vaccine) represents the next generation of influenza vaccine, both for annual vaccine production and for long-term pandemic preparedness.

26 Oct 2005

Beds closed as thousands wait for surgery in Western Australia

Many West Australians could die long before they are able to undergo surgery for painful conditions, the Australian Medical Association (WA) said last week.

26 Oct 2005

Australia furthers fight against Avian Influenza in Vietnam

Australia will provide $3 million to Vietnam to help the country combat Avian Influenza and other infectious diseases, the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Bruce Billson, announced in Hanoi.

26 Oct 2005

E-Health to accelerate information, education and take-up of electronic health initiatives by Australian doctors

Australian Medical Association (AMA) President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, announced yesterday that the AMA will host an innovative high-level expert E-Health Forum in Canberra in December to accelerate information, education and take-up of electronic health initiatives by Australian doctors.

26 Oct 2005

State budget cuts lead to decline in care by private practice physicians

In a study of access to specialty healthcare by the uninsured and publicly insured in New Haven, Yale researchers found that recent state budget cuts, out-of-date provider rates and other policy changes had caused a decline in care by private practice physicians.

25 Oct 2005

Common anthrax sampling methods need improvement

A research team from the National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories has discovered that common anthrax sampling methods need improvement. The research shows that more deadly spores remain after decontamination than previously believed.

25 Oct 2005

Most communities woefully unprepared for outbreaks of killer flu

If health officials and media prognosticators are accurate, this coming winter may bring with it one of the most sweeping, deadly outbreaks of killer flu that the world has ever seen.

25 Oct 2005

Middle-age people more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine

"Midlife adults entered adulthood at a time of more widespread use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the population and when public health policy was shifting attention toward individual responsibility for health and health promotion," said Joseph G. Grzywacz, Ph.D., and his colleagues, writing in the October issue of the Journal of Aging and Health.

25 Oct 2005

New strategies to help developing countries address neglected diseases

For the health challenges facing developing countries, the numbers alone are staggering. Every day, 40,000 people - enough to fill a sports stadium - die from preventable infectious diseases and malnutrition. Entire generations of human potential are perishing.

25 Oct 2005

Growth hormone illegal for off-label anti-aging use

Because of 1988 and 1990 amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, off-label distribution or provision of human growth hormone to treat aging or age-associated illnesses is illegal in the United States, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

25 Oct 2005

Can strength-training exercises reduce or prevent lymphedema symptoms in breast cancer?

In a novel research study to begin this week at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in Epidemiology, will help to determine the extent to which a slowly progressive program of strength-training exercises is safe for breast cancer survivors with and without symptoms of lymphedema.

25 Oct 2005

Comprehensive home-based environmental intervention results in decreased asthma symptoms

Through efforts to limit exposure to environmental irritants, health workers and municipalities can cut illness generally among inner-city children with asthma and also the number of clinic visits for those young patients by at least 19 percent, a new study concludes. The cost can be as low as $1,469 per affected family.

25 Oct 2005

Twelve chickens dead from bird flu in Russia

According to a senior regional health official, another region in European Russia has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly bird flu virus H5N1.

25 Oct 2005

Identification of gene in mosquitoes that helps them to fight off infection by the Plasmodium parasite

Researchers have identified a gene in mosquitoes that helps the insects to fight off infection by the Plasmodium parasite, which causes malaria in humans. Anopheles mosquitoes transmit the malaria parasite to nearly 550 million people worldwide each year with these cases resulting in more than 2 million deaths annually.

25 Oct 2005

Depression raises disability risk

Depressed middle-aged adults are at four times greater risk for being unable to perform everyday tasks than their non-depressed peers, a Northwestern University study found.

25 Oct 2005

Hope for better return for health spending in Australia

Health leaders have called for action in reforming primary health care to tackle the 'juggernaut' of chronic disease issues about to hit the health system at a meeting in Melbourne.

25 Oct 2005

Depression alone affects approximately 1.3 million Australian women ever year

Women's health problems, depression and child abuse represented a major health crisis in Australia, a seminar focusing on women and mental health over the weekend was told.

24 Oct 2005

First study to examine chemotherapy errors in ambulatory care for cancer patients

In one of the first studies to examine chemotherapy errors in ambulatory care for cancer patients, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that about three percent of chemotherapy orders in three outpatient infusion clinics studied contained mistakes.

24 Oct 2005

Mixed carbon nanotubes and standard urban particulates suggests a risk of thrombosis from airborne pollution

Carbon nanoparticles - both those unleashed in the air by engine exhaust and the engineered structures thought to have great potential in medical applications - promote blood-clotting, scientists report in an upcoming edition of the British Journal of Pharmacology.

23 Oct 2005

Public Health News and Research

Strong relationship of major depressive disorder to alcohol use disorders, drug disorders and other mental health conditions

Chiron initiates Phase I/II study of an investigational cell culture-derived influenza vaccine

Beds closed as thousands wait for surgery in Western Australia

Australia furthers fight against Avian Influenza in Vietnam

E-Health to accelerate information, education and take-up of electronic health initiatives by Australian doctors

State budget cuts lead to decline in care by private practice physicians

Common anthrax sampling methods need improvement

Most communities woefully unprepared for outbreaks of killer flu

Middle-age people more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine

New strategies to help developing countries address neglected diseases

Growth hormone illegal for off-label anti-aging use

Can strength-training exercises reduce or prevent lymphedema symptoms in breast cancer?

Comprehensive home-based environmental intervention results in decreased asthma symptoms

Twelve chickens dead from bird flu in Russia

Identification of gene in mosquitoes that helps them to fight off infection by the Plasmodium parasite

Depression raises disability risk

Hope for better return for health spending in Australia

Depression alone affects approximately 1.3 million Australian women ever year

First study to examine chemotherapy errors in ambulatory care for cancer patients

Mixed carbon nanotubes and standard urban particulates suggests a risk of thrombosis from airborne pollution

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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