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'Unstoppable Swine flu' and how to deal with it

Health authorities worldwide are preparing for what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed the 'unstoppable' spread of the new A/H1N1 virus (swine flu) for which Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, says a vaccine will not be available for several months to come.

15 Jul 2009

U.N. calls for investing in women to ensure economic recovery, reduce 'health gap'

To mark World Population Day on July 11, U.N. officials are calling for investment in women and girls during the global financial crisis as a way to promote economic recovery and tackle poverty and inequality, afrol News reports.

15 Jul 2009

Study finds survival rates from GIST improving among African-Americans

New research published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons reveals that African Americans with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), a rare cancer that begins in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract, now have survival rates equivalent to those of Caucasians. Prior to 2000, African Americans were more likely to develop GIST and less likely to undergo surgical treatment for this type of cancer.

14 Jul 2009

IQ explains some of the difference in heart disease between people of high and low socio-economic status

A unique study looking at the difference in cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) and life expectancy between people of high and low socio-economic status has found that a person's IQ may have a role to play.

14 Jul 2009

Was SIDS the cause of infant deaths even 150 years ago?

Study suggests tragic 19th century infant deaths mislabeled as neglect and infanticide were in fact crib deaths

14 Jul 2009

Dramatic drop in deaths from most common cancers

The death toll from three of the UK's most common cancers has dropped to its lowest level for almost 40 years* - according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK.

12 Jul 2009

Dialysis treatments OK for patients who have had a heart attack

Dialysis treatments do not affect the heart health of kidney disease patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in kidney disease patients, the findings are good news for individuals who need the treatments.

9 Jul 2009

Two reproductive factors are important predictors of death from ovarian cancer

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that survival among women with ovarian cancer is influenced by age of menarche and total number of lifetime ovulatory cycles.

9 Jul 2009

Environmental manganese and cancer mortality rates

In the first ecological study of its kind in the world, a Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researcher has uncovered the unique finding that groundwater and airborne manganese in North Carolina correlates with cancer mortality at the county level.

9 Jul 2009

Health indicators in South Africa vary by district, report indicates

In South Africa - "the quality of health care, including access to HIV prevention and testing services," largely depends on which of the country's 52 districts a resident lives in - according to findings in the latest District Health Barometer (DHB), an annual report by Health Systems Trust, IRIN reports. "Some of the inequities highlighted by the [report] can be traced to differences in health spending," IRIN writes.

8 Jul 2009

Multaq approved for atrial fibrillation by FDA

Sanofi-aventis announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Multaq (dronedarone) 400 mg Tablets. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) soon will have a new treatment option to help improve current management of their disease. Multaq is the first drug approved in the United States that has shown a clinical benefit to reduce cardiovascular hospitalization in patients with AF/AFL.

7 Jul 2009

G8 Summit begins Wednesday; WFP calls for 'twin-track' approach to food security

The G8 summit is scheduled to open Wednesday in L'Aquila, Italy. The World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday issued a statement praising the G8 leaders' focus on food security and calling for support of its efforts to combat hunger among the world's poorest people, Xinhua reports. In the statement, WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran recommended leaders take a "twin-track" approach to food security, which includes supporting long-term agricultural production along with immediate hunger assistance.

7 Jul 2009

Minnesota clinics serving many more thanks to stimulus dollars

As Minnesota braces for some cuts to public health programs, the state's network of community health centers is being buoyed by money from the federal stimulus that will expand coverage to the un- and underinsured in that state, The Minnesota Post reports.

7 Jul 2009

For America's aged, surgery at any price?

When doctors decide whether or not to go ahead with an expensive surgery, "age is no longer the deciding factor, even for invasive treatment such as open-heart surgery," The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

7 Jul 2009

Communicable disease epidemics in developing world not being adequately addressed, IFRC says

The "crippling" and "growing burden" of communicable diseases such as dengue fever, polio, or meningitis is not being sufficiently addressed in developing countries, according to "The Epidemic Divide," a report released Monday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), AFP/Google.com reports. According to the report, resources to deal with existing epidemics are "scarce."

7 Jul 2009

World poverty gains reduced, countries unlikely to achieve most MDGs, U.N. report says

The global economic downturn has "reversed a 20-year decline in world poverty" and could "add up to 90 million to the ranks of the hungry in 2009, an increase of six percent over current totals," according to a U.N. report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched in Geneva on Monday, Reuters reports (Evans, 7/6).

7 Jul 2009

Amino acid commonly found in vegetable protein may lower blood pressure

Consuming an amino acid commonly found in vegetable protein may be associated with lower blood pressure, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

6 Jul 2009

Phthalates may play a role in pre-term births

A new study of expectant mothers suggests that a group of common environmental contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country's alarming rise in premature births.

6 Jul 2009

Atrial fibrillation linked to increased hospitalization in heart failure patients

Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, according to new research from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

6 Jul 2009

Deep brain stimulation for psychiatric disorders

Pioneering therapeutic trials to investigate the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in hard-to-treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette's syndrome are underway at multiple medical centers around the world, according to a review in the June 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

30 Jun 2009