Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Report blasts U.S. government department's treatment of HIV immigrant detainees

A new report by the Human Rights Watch has blasted the Department of Homeland Security in the United States over its record with immigrant detainees with HIV.

9 Dec 2007

Transcranial magnetic stimulation effective treatment for major depression

For the first time in a large-scale study, transcranial magnetic stimulation has been shown to be an effective, non-drug treatment for major depression.

5 Dec 2007

Research institutes from Finland and Singapore develop remote healthcare services

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and A*STAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research from Singapore have developed remote healthcare services that allow patients to be treated globally independent of time and location and irrespective of the solutions provided by hardware and data system suppliers. In Finland, the first trial services for treating cardiac patients and patients suffering from chronic illnesses have been promising.

5 Dec 2007

Immtech and BioAlliance sign agreement on Pafuramidine for African sleeping sickness

Immtech Pharmaceuticals has announced that the Company has granted an exclusive license to BioAlliance Pharma SA to commercialize Immtech's oral drug, pafuramidine maleate (pafuramidine), in Europe for the treatment of pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in AIDS patients and for the treatment of Human African trypanosomiasis, also known as African sleeping sickness.

5 Dec 2007

Quality-improvement initiatives lead to progress in diabetes care

Two major initiatives designed to improve primary care treatment of type 2 diabetes have yielded significant benefits in largely minority, disadvantaged populations, according to a pair of studies in the December issue of Medical Care.

4 Dec 2007

Cancer patients to be treated by qualified professionals

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) is calling on European politicians to voice their support for a decisive step to help ensure cancer patients receive the best possible treatment.

3 Dec 2007

Study looks at blood transfusion outcomes in women

Women die and get infections more often than men after heart surgery because they tend to receive more blood transfusions, which boost the risks of bad outcomes, according to a study published in the December Journal of Women's Health.

3 Dec 2007

Out-of-hours doctors reluctant to do home visits, say patients

Patients feel that doctors providing out-of-hours services in primary care are reluctant to do home visits, shows a small study of patients' experiences in Quality and Safety in Health Care.

3 Dec 2007

Patients with learning difficulties get a poor deal in Britain

The government's health watchdog in Britain, the Healthcare Commission says patients with learning difficulties receive standards of care which are well below what should be expected of modern healthcare services.

3 Dec 2007

The true picture of AIDS in the U.S. yet to be revealed

Despite widespread reports in the U.S. media concerning the sharp rise in the number of annual infections from HIV/AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is yet to confirm that is the case.

3 Dec 2007

Childhood sleep-disordered breathing disproportionately affects obese and African-Americans

As the obesity epidemic grows in the U.S., doctors are discovering more and more far reaching health concerns for overweight children.

2 Dec 2007

America's mental health ranked

Mental Health America has released its report, "Ranking America's Mental Health: An Analysis of Depression Across the States," a first-of-its-kind study examining state and national data for statistical associations between factors that govern access to mental health care and actual mental health outcomes, including suicide rates.

29 Nov 2007

New anti-infective drug aims to fight drug-resistant bacteria at source

Deadly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - MRSA - a bacterium that responds poorly to conventional antibiotic treatment, infects 90,000 Americans per year and causes 19,000 deaths, most in hospital settings.

29 Nov 2007

Study to look at effect of exercise and nutrition on muscle in old age

Experts at The University of Nottingham are looking to recruit men of two specific age groups to help understand the effect of exercise and nutrition on muscle in old age.

29 Nov 2007

Health professionals worry about ethnic sensitivity

Health professionals worry that a lack of knowledge about different cultures may lead to them being seen as insensitive or inappropriate to patients from different ethnic backgrounds - according to new research.

29 Nov 2007

FDA to review Champix/Chantix side effects

A drug which was designed to help people quit smoking is causing concern following a number of reports that it induces suicidal feelings and aggressive and erratic behaviour.

29 Nov 2007

JAMA reports HIV spike among gay men; AHF says routine testing, effective prevention needed

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), today expressed alarm over a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article that reported a startling 13% increase in HIV/AIDS cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States over the past four years.

27 Nov 2007

Endocrine Society urges Congress to protect patient access to dual X-ray absorptiometry

The Endocrine Society strongly urges Congress to protect patient access to DXA (dual X-ray absorptiometry) - the leading diagnostic tool for the early detection and management of osteoporosis.

27 Nov 2007

Unprecedented increase in the use of radiologic exams on pregnant women

The past decade has seen an unprecedented increase in the use of radiologic exams on pregnant women, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

27 Nov 2007

Screening for dementia red flags in primary care: Is it time?

Primary care physicians should focus on "dementia red flags" rather than routinely screen individuals with no dementia symptoms just because they've reached a certain age, according to Malaz Boustani, M.D., MPH, of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and colleagues from the University of Kent and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in a commentary published in the Nov. 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Nov 2007