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Non-communicable diseases responsible for more than half of deaths worldwide, WHO report says

Chronic and non-communicable illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease, are at epidemic proportions and cause more deaths worldwide than all other diseases combined, the WHO said in a report released Wednesday, Reuters reports.

28 Apr 2011

ASTRO develops new thoracic radiotherapy guideline

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has developed a guideline for the use of external beam radiation therapy, endobronchial brachytherapy and concurrent chemotherapy to palliate thoracic symptoms caused by advanced lung cancer. The guideline will be published in Practical Radiation Oncology, an official journal of ASTRO.

28 Apr 2011

Frailty increases exponentially with age throughout adult life span

The prevalence of frailty, which is linked to earlier death, increases throughout adulthood as people age and not just after age 65, found an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Relatively good fitness levels at all ages were predictive of lower mortality and less reliance on health care services.

28 Apr 2011

IAHF, Global Bridges launch tobacco treatment training for Mexico health care providers

Global Bridges, a healthcare alliance for tobacco dependence treatment based at Mayo Clinic, and its regional partner, the InterAmerican Heart Foundation in Dallas, Texas, announced today the first of a series of training courses for health care providers in Latin America on how to successfully treat tobacco users.

28 Apr 2011

Scientists weaken long-term memory

Could veterans of war, rape victims and other people who have seen horrific crimes someday have the traumatic memories that haunt them weakened in their brains? In a new study, UCLA life scientists report a discovery that may make the reduction of such memories a reality.

28 Apr 2011

Nursing environment linked to improved patient outcomes

Better working conditions and better staffing of nurses can significantly improve the care of patients with serious conditions, according to the latest nurse labor study by the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

28 Apr 2011

Tsetse fly mapping distribution model may help solve sleeping sickness mystery

Since before the 1300s, people living in many parts of Africa have been dying from a disease known as sleeping sickness. Despite public health campaigns that explain ways to stop infection—primarily by killing the disease-spreading tsetse fly—successful eradication has remained out of reach. That's partly because epidemiologists can't predict where cases will emerge next.

28 Apr 2011

Blueberries can protect against heart disease and cancer

The first analysis of the healthful antioxidant content of blueberries that grow wild in Mexico, Central and South America concludes that some of these fruits have even more healthful antioxidants than the blueberries - already renowned as "super fruits" - sold throughout the United States.

28 Apr 2011

Scientists identify new risk gene variant for depression

Max Planck scientists uncover surprising genetic links. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich have compared the genomes of a total of 4,088 patients and 11,001 healthy control subjects from all over the world and identified a new risk gene variant for depression.

28 Apr 2011

The Lancet publishes phase 3 clinical study data on VIVITROL for treatment of opioid dependence

Alkermes, Inc. today announced that results from the phase 3 clinical study of VIVITROL® (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) in opioid dependence have been published by The Lancet. The six-month, phase 3 trial met its primary endpoint and showed significantly greater opioid-free weeks among patients treated with VIVITROL, compared to placebo.

28 Apr 2011

Resection arthroplasty more effective for patients with diabetic foot ulcers

A recent study published in the March issue of Foot & Ankle International, the official scientific journal of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society describes a possible amputation alternative for patients with neuropathic ulceration of the first metatarsophalangeal or big toe joint.

28 Apr 2011

Women more likely to develop kidney damage after coronary angiogram

Women are at higher risk than men of developing kidney damage after undergoing a coronary angiogram, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

28 Apr 2011

New device can reduce pain during colon cancer screening

Colonoscopy is regarded as the most thorough way to screen for colon cancer but the potentially life-saving procedure can also be painful.

28 Apr 2011

Deep Breeze launches telehealth Breeze@home system for COPD patients

Deep Breeze Ltd, the leader in Vibration Response Imaging technology, today announced that it is introducing its telehealth Breeze@homeT system, the first in-home quantitative approach to COPD lung monitoring.

28 Apr 2011

New study sheds light on how sleep-deprived lifestyles might impair brain function

A new study in rats is shedding light on how sleep-deprived lifestyles might impair functioning without people realizing it.

28 Apr 2011

Baby doll can serve as effective therapy for geriatric patients

What parent hasn't watched their young child in amazement as they pick up a baby doll, tenderly cradling and stroking it as though the child were mimicking the way their own parent held them? As quintessential as these toys are for young children, research has found that baby dolls are also effective tools in soothing geriatric patients.

28 Apr 2011

Five-minute screening program can help track children with autism

A five-minute checklist that parents can fill out in pediatrician waiting rooms may someday help in the early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

28 Apr 2011

New screening marker can detect pancreatic cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein that shows distinct changes in structure between pancreatic cancer, non-cancerous diseases and normal blood serum. The protein also changes from early stage pancreatic cancer to advanced disease.

28 Apr 2011

Novel strategy for physicians to detect Autism Syndrome Disorder in babies

A novel strategy developed by autism researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, called "The One-Year Well-Baby Check Up Approach," shows promise as a simple way for physicians to detect cases of Autism Syndrome Disorder, language or developmental delays in babies at an early age.

28 Apr 2011

Arthritis poses significant health and economic burden in U.S. adults

A new study reports that the health-related quality of life for U.S. adults with arthritis is much worse than for those without this condition. Both physical and mental health are affected by arthritis, which poses a significant health and economic burden as the number of those diagnosed continues to climb.

28 Apr 2011