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Swimming can cut men's risk of dying in half

A new study shows that swimming cuts men's risk of dying by about 50% compared to runners, walkers and sedentary peers.

2 Feb 2009

Inflammation may be the link between extreme sleep durations and poor health

A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that sleep duration is associated with changes in the levels of specific cytokines that are important in regulating inflammation.

2 Feb 2009

New CDC study assesses impact of genetic testing on health outcomes

Some genomic tests developed to personalize medical decisions about cancer care are beneficial, while for others the evidence is uncertain and reliance on the test might even lead to poorer medical management of cancer in some cases, according new recommendation statements from an expert panel.

2 Feb 2009

Bipolar disorders linked to increased risk of early death from medical illness

Bipolar disorders appear to increase the risk of early death from a medical illness, according to a literature review study published as the lead article this week in the journal Psychiatric Services.

2 Feb 2009

Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia

Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia, both Alzheimer's disease - the most common form of dementia - and other dementia, reveals important new data from an ongoing study of twins.

29 Jan 2009

Top hospitals have 27 percent lower mortality: Annual HealthGrades study

Medicare patients treated at top-rated hospitals nationwide across the most common Medicare diagnoses and procedures are 27 percent less likely to die, on average, than those admitted to all other hospitals, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

29 Jan 2009

Easing regulations does not mean lower quality of cardiac care

States that dropped regulations overseeing the performance of two common heart procedures showed no increase in death rates, according to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Rice University and Duke University Medical Center.

29 Jan 2009

Health IT associated with better outcomes, lower costs

Patients at Texas hospitals that have automated some aspects of their health information systems appear to have fewer complications, lower death rates and reduced costs, according to a report in the January 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Jan 2009

Drug-coated stents less risky for heart bypass patients

Coronary bypass surgery may carry less risk of serious complications if stents coated with a drug that suppresses cell growth are used in the procedure rather than bare-metal stents, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers and colleagues have found.

23 Jan 2009

Morbidity rates increased substantially after Hurricane Katrina

In the year following Hurricane Katrina, the health of survivors 65 and over declined nearly 4 times that of a national sample of older adults not affected by the disaster, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

23 Jan 2009

Study links smoking with most male cancer deaths

The association between tobacco smoke and cancer deaths - beyond lung cancer deaths - has been strengthened by a recent study from a UC Davis researcher, suggesting that increased tobacco control efforts could save more lives than previously estimated.

21 Jan 2009

Impaired kidney function raises risk of heart problems in the elderly

A study published next week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine suggests that elderly people with damaged kidneys are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart failure and stroke, and other causes of mortality.

21 Jan 2009

WHO receives funds for children's medicines research with UNICEF

WHO has received US$ 9.7 million in grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to work with UNICEF to conduct crucial research in children's medicines, with the aim of increasing the number of child-size medicines designed and formulated specifically for children.

21 Jan 2009

Combo malaria treatment dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine shows promise

The results of two new large scale trials show that the combination of dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine (DHA+PQP) not only is effective against uncomplicated malaria in a way which is comparable to other artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), but it also protects patients against new infections for at least two months after treatment.

19 Jan 2009

Study looks at hospital at-home programs

For select patients, hospital at home treatment produces similar outcomes to inpatient care at similar or lower costs, found a study by researchers from the United Kingdom and Italy to be published in CMAJ.

19 Jan 2009

Higher mortality among unscreened children

Swedish researchers have previously shown that as maternity ward stays become shorter, more and more newborns leave the hospital with undetected life-threatening congenital heart disease.

19 Jan 2009

Countries undergoing economic change urged to limit social and health costs for populations

Countries seeking to make massive changes in the way their economies are run, for example by privatising formerly state-run sectors, must take into account the potential impact of such changes on people's health, experts warn today.

19 Jan 2009

Study shows surgery provides good long-term outcomes for patients with gastrointestinal cancers

New research published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that laparoscopic removal of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) is safe and effective, with a disease-free survival rate of nearly 80 percent after an average follow-up time of three and a-half years.

15 Jan 2009

Morbidly obese patients face high risk for complications after colectomy

New research published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that morbidly obese patients are at higher risk than normal weight patients for complications after colectomy ¨C surgical removal of all or part of the colon ¨C for the treatment of cancer.

15 Jan 2009

Invatec launches drug-eluting balloon to treat atherosclerosis below the knee

Invatec, a comprehensive innovator of interventional products, today announced the European launch of a new peripheral balloon, the IN.PACT Amphirion paclitaxel-eluting PTA balloon catheter.

15 Jan 2009