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Men who never smoke live longer, better lives than heavy smokers

Health-related quality of life appears to deteriorate as the number of cigarettes smoked per day increases, even in individuals who subsequently quit smoking, according to a report in the October 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Oct 2008

Caffeine not associated with overall breast cancer risk

Caffeine consumption does not appear to be associated with overall breast cancer risk, according to a report in the October 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, there is a possibility of increased risk for women with benign breast disease or for tumors that are hormone-receptor negative or larger than 2 centimeters.

14 Oct 2008

Best treatment determined for convergence insufficiency in children

Mayo Clinic researchers, as part of a nine-site study, helped discover the best of three currently-used treatments for convergence insufficiency in children. Convergence refers to the natural ability of the eyes to focus and align while viewing objects up close.

14 Oct 2008

Why sufferers from Alzheimer's disease might have lower blood pressure

A new study published in Bioscience Hypotheses, a recently launched Elsevier journal, proposes that some people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease experience a reduction in their high blood pressure because of cognitive decline.

14 Oct 2008

Easier to quit smoking after a heart attack if there is a hospital-based stop smoking program

Researchers in the U.S. say they have found that hospital-based stop smoking programs initiated after a heart attack have more chance of success.

14 Oct 2008

Vioxx heart risks confirmed in long-term study

The study, an analysis of people who took the arthritis drug carried out by Dr. Robert Bresalier of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, has found Vioxx doubles the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

14 Oct 2008

Diabetics more likely to lose their vision

Experts in the United States have found that vision loss is more common in people with diabetes than those without the disease.

14 Oct 2008

Low levels of vitamin D linked to Parkinson's

Scientists in the U.S. have found that many people suffering from Parkinson's disease have inadequate levels of vitamin D compared to healthy people.

14 Oct 2008

Experts say double the daily dose of vitamin D for children

The American Academy of Pediatrics says children - from newborns up to teenagers - should be given double the current recommended amount of vitamin D because research has shown it may help prevent serious diseases.

14 Oct 2008

Walking the dog - the way to curb childhood obesity

A study by researchers at Deakin University has found that young children who have a dog were 50% less likely to be overweight or obese than those without a pet dog in the family home.

14 Oct 2008

TB Alliance enters into collaboration with sanofi-aventis to fight tuberculosis

The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) and sanofi-aventis announced today that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to accelerate the discovery, development and clinical use of drugs against tuberculosis (TB). The TB Alliance is a not-for-profit, product development partnership, whose goal is the development of new TB drugs.

14 Oct 2008

Marked increase in the use of herbal medicines by Australians

Australian researchers have found that the most popular herbal medicines used by Australians are aloe vera, garlic and green tea.

13 Oct 2008

Probiotics unlikely to relieve eczema symptoms

Australian scientists say they have found no evidence that probiotics can relieve the irritating symptoms of eczema and what is more they suggest they may sometimes cause infections and gut problems.

13 Oct 2008

Brits get tough on alcohol

A proposed code of behaviour regarding the sale of alcohol in the United Kingdom could see offers of free drinks for women banned and restrictions introduced on pub "happy hours".

13 Oct 2008

Visual impairment more common in people with diabetes

Visual impairment appears to be more common in people with diabetes than in those without the disease, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

13 Oct 2008

Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in patients with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease

A majority of Parkinson's disease patients had insufficient levels of vitamin D in a new study from Emory University School of Medicine.

13 Oct 2008

OncoGenex achieves key regulatory milestone for lead product candidate

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that it concluded a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 7, 2008, and that the FDA agreed that "durable pain palliation is an acceptable and desirable study endpoint" to support a product marketing approval for OGX-011 as a treatment for hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC).

13 Oct 2008

People lacking vital antioxidants and exposed to sunlight more likely to develop eye disease later in life

People who lack essential antioxidants, and who have high levels of sunlight exposure, have a higher risk of developing advanced macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study published today in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology. AMD is the leading cause of poor vision in the UK.

13 Oct 2008

Seeds of optimism in Iraq's mental health provision

University of Leicester psychiatrist Dr Mohammed Al-Uzri flies to Iraq on 15th October for the third National Conference on Mental Health which aims to help to develop mental health strategy for the next five years.

13 Oct 2008

Unpicking the complexity of human disease

Impressive advances in our understanding of the genetic basis of disease were outlined at the 3rd ESF Functional Genomics Conference in Innsbruck, Austria.

13 Oct 2008