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First cholera cases detected in Iraq in 2008

On 20 August 2008, cases of acute watery diarrhoea from Baghdad and Misan Province were laboratory confirmed as cholera. They constitute the first cholera cases detected in Iraq in 2008. By 28 August, seven cases had been laboratory confirmed, and a further 174 cases were suspected as cholera, bringing the total number of reported cases to 181 (128 in Missan and 53 in Baghdad).

11 Sep 2008

Newly discovered molecule promises better treatments for heart attacks, heart surgery

Scientists have discovered a compound that could lead to new treatments for heart attacks as well as methods to protect hearts during open heart surgery and other situations in which blood flow to the heart is interrupted.

11 Sep 2008

Study finds if your self esteem is low, a 'faux relationship' can give you a boost

Shira Gabriel, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo, says "parasocial relationships" -- one-sided associations in which a party knows a great deal about someone who knows nothing about them -- can have self-enhancing benefits for people with low-self esteem, benefits they do not receive in real relationships.

11 Sep 2008

Naltrexone-derived pyridomorphinan shows promise for treatment of alcoholism

Southern Research Institute and Gallo Research Center today announced that peer-reviewed results from a study testing Naltrexone-derived pyridomorphinan (SoRI-9409) will be published in the December 2008 issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry.

11 Sep 2008

Risk of breast cancer mutations underestimated for Asian women, Stanford study shows

Oncologist Allison Kurian, MD, and her colleagues at the Stanford University School of Medicine were perplexed. Computer models designed to identify women who might have dangerous genetic mutations that increase their risk of breast and ovarian cancer worked well for white women. But they seemed to be less reliable for another ethnic group.

11 Sep 2008

Drug-resistant plague - A bioterrorism concern?

The bacterium responsible for the "Black Plague," which led to the deaths of over 75 million people worldwide in the 14th century, may have other nasty tricks. Yersinia pestis can normally be treated and cured with a course of antibiotics, if caught within a few days of the symptoms.

11 Sep 2008

Spine surgery through a straw

Performing minimally invasive surgery through narrow tubes has provided great benefit for patients suffering with worn and painful spinal disc degeneration. Additional findings also show that -- following a learning curve -- minimally invasive techniques take the same amount of time for surgeons to perform as more invasive "standard" procedures.

11 Sep 2008

Expanded AIDS research consortium

A national AIDS research consortium led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has two new university partners.

11 Sep 2008

Bad teeth, bleeding gums and poor dental hygiene can lead to heart disease

Scientists are warning that bad teeth, bleeding gums and poor dental hygiene can lead to heart disease.

11 Sep 2008

Clean teeth could save your life!

The researchers from the University of Otago, Dunedin, have discovered a new link between gum disease and heart disease which adds to a substantial body of research linking gum disease with heart disease and stroke.

11 Sep 2008

Health effects of 9/11 still evident seven years later

A report on the health of New Yorkers after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 has revealed that more than 400,000 people in New York City were significantly affected.

11 Sep 2008

New York State physicians' practices influenced by insurers' guidelines, survey finds

Ninety percent of New York state physicians who responded to a survey have changed the way they treat patients because of restrictions imposed by health insurance companies, according to a survey released on Monday by the Medical Society of the State of New York, the Albany Times Union reports.

11 Sep 2008

Employers offering deals for workers who travel domestically for medical care

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how some employers "are looking to take advantage of the geographical variations in quality and cost of health care within the U.S.," and others are "leveraging deals they've struck with foreign hospitals in order to secure better rates with U.S. hospitals."

11 Sep 2008

2% of U.S. medical students plan to become primary care physicians, study says

Two percent of medical students in a survey said they planned to go into general internal medicine, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, USA Today reports.

11 Sep 2008

New study examines effect of retail clinics on overall health care costs

Retail clinics are less expensive for patients than care received in a physician's office or an urgent care clinic, but there is not yet evidence that their increased use has led to a reduction in overall health care costs, according to a study in Minnesota published on Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

11 Sep 2008

Black clergy 'committed' to addressing HIV/AIDS epidemic in community, opinion piece says

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's "recent series on HIV/AIDS accuses [black clergy] of being unaware, inert and unconcerned about the AIDS pandemic" and did not note a "very important truth: The church is changing in response to this challenge, and people of faith are making a difference," Valda Jean Combs, a local pastor who heads the FullProof HIV Ministry, writes in a Star-Telegram opinion piece.

11 Sep 2008

Starpharma, SSL International reach marketing agreement over VivaGel condoms

The Australia-based Starpharma on Tuesday announced that its VivaGel-coated condom will be sold by SSL International, the owner of the Durex condom brand, Bloomberg reports.

11 Sep 2008

Genetic mutation prevents fetal malaria transmission, study says

A genetic mutation of the fetal gene sFlt1 might protect fetuses of first-time pregnant women from contracting malaria, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ANI/Thaindian News reports.

11 Sep 2008

Nicolas Sarkozy launches international malaria campaign

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday launched an international malaria campaign during the opening of a photo exhibit on the disease in Paris, Panapress/Afriquenligne reports.

11 Sep 2008

Depression common among youth in Rwanda orphaned by AIDS, genocide, survey finds

Depression is common among teenage and young adult orphans in Rwanda who head households and provide care for younger children, according to a survey conducted by researchers at Tulane University that was published last month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the New York Times reports.

11 Sep 2008