Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Is the U.S. ready for bird flu? No

A new report from the White House has revealed that the United States remains unprepared for a possible bird flu pandemic.

19 Jul 2007

Web site puts physicians and hospitals under microscope

As health consumers across the country demand better and more detailed information about their physicians and hospitals, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is stepping up to detail its own performance efforts ranging from the percentage of clinicians who clean their hands to the number of times physicians take the proper steps in treating heart attack patients.

19 Jul 2007

Vitamin C for treating the common cold

Unless you run marathons, you probably won't get much protection from common colds by taking a daily supplemental dose of vitamin C, according to an updated review of 30 studies.

18 Jul 2007

Progress in infectious disease surveillance but gaps remain

The key to control any pandemic is early identification and rapid response.

18 Jul 2007

Test of universal influenza vaccine

A universal influenza vaccine that has been pioneered by researchers from VIB and Ghent University is being tested for the first time on humans by the British-American biotech company Acambis.

18 Jul 2007

$900 million for public health emergency response

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced that the department has provided another $896.7 million to the states, territories, and four metropolitan areas to improve and sustain their ability to respond to public health emergencies.

18 Jul 2007

Vitamin C to ward off colds - don't bother!

A survey by Australian and Finnish scientists of 30 different scientific studies from around the world over the last twenty years, has reached the conclusion that taking daily doses of vitamin C to ward off colds is a waste of time.

17 Jul 2007

COPD patients taking inhaled steroids are at greater risk for severe pneumonia

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are increasingly being prescribed inhaled corticosteroids to control exacerbations of the disease, but a new study finds that the anti-inflammatory drugs increase the chances that these patients will be hospitalized for pneumonia.

17 Jul 2007

Biota and MedImmune announce clinical trial for respiratory syncytial virus antiviral drug

Biota Holdings Limited and MedImmune Inc. today announced the start of a Phase Ia clinical trial for their respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antiviral drug, BTA9881, with the goal of providing a treatment for RSV-infected infants and adults.

17 Jul 2007

Inverse relationship between mortality rates and performance in the hospital quality alliance measures

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) shows that patients who go to hospitals ranked higher according to specific quality measures have a lower chance of dying than patients treated at lower-ranked hospitals.

17 Jul 2007

Brain theory researchers to convene at University of California, San Diego

Already a global center for neuroscience research, the University of California, San Diego will host top scholars working on theoretical and quantitative approaches to issues in neurobiology during the 13th annual summer meeting of The Sloan-Swartz Centers for Theoretical Neurobiology on the UCSD campus July 28-31.

17 Jul 2007

Venous thromboembolism in the U.S.

Venous thrombosis (VTE), the formation of blood clots in a vein, is a major health problem for hospitalized patients in the United States.

16 Jul 2007

Respiratory ailments are leading reasons for hospitalized children and teens

About 3 of every 10 children and teens who are admitted to the hospital from the emergency room have asthma, pneumonia, acute bronchitis or another respiratory disorder, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

16 Jul 2007

A suntan is the body's best effort to fend off ultraviolet light

For years, the official word on tanning has been … don't. Health organizations have driven home the message that the sun exposure needed to get a tan increases your chances of getting skin cancer.

16 Jul 2007

Things that can trigger heart attacks, strokes and cardiac arrests

Heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac arrests seem like they come out of the blue, but most don't.

13 Jul 2007

First mouse model of lung transplantation

Lung transplants have been performed successfully for more than 20 years in humans but never before in mice – until now.

12 Jul 2007

Bird flu checks back in to Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has found two new outbreaks of bird flu on poultry farms near where the deadly strain of the virus was found a few weeks ago.

12 Jul 2007

Spousal concordance in health behavior change

Being a good role model can truly help a spouse to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

11 Jul 2007

Genetically engineered herpes simplex virus keeps arteries free-flowing

A genetically engineered herpes simplex virus, primarily known for causing cold sores, may help keep arteries "free-flowing" in the weeks following angioplasty or stent placement for patients, according to research published early in the online edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).

11 Jul 2007