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More warnings about anti smoking drug Champix

The European drugs regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is calling for warnings to be placed on the the anti smoking drug Champix (varenicline).

20 Dec 2007

Stop whole body scans says committee on radiation risk

An advisory committee to the British government has called for private health clinics to immediately stop offering whole body scans to the "worried well", because they carry too great a radiation risk.

20 Dec 2007

Microchip blood test detects cancers earlier

A new blood test which uses microchip technology may offer doctors the opportunity to detect cancers earlier and also monitor cancer treatment.

20 Dec 2007

Seniors who walk regularly lower their risk for dementia

Seniors who walk regularly and also do other forms of moderate exercise are protecting themselves against a certain form of dementia.

20 Dec 2007

Authorities in the U.S. say hold back on children's Hib vaccine

Health authorities in U.S. are advising doctors to defer giving booster shots of a childhood vaccine following suspicions that production equipment may not have been properly sterilized.

20 Dec 2007

Sex education works for teenagers and delays sexual intercourse

According to the latest research sex education in schools is effective and makes it more likely that teenagers will delay having intercourse.

20 Dec 2007

Tweaking a gene may fix Fragile X syndrome

According to new research clues to Fragile X syndrome may be connected to one single human gene.

20 Dec 2007

Yale launches study of young women with heart attacks

The largest, most comprehensive study of young women with heart attacks - VIRGO (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes in Young AMI patients) - was recently launched at Yale School of Medicine with a $9.7 million National Institutes of Health grant.

20 Dec 2007

$Osteoporosis in women - previous vertebral fracture equals increased long-term risk for new fracture$

Osteoporosis in women - previous vertebral fracture equals increased long-term risk for new fracture

Over a 15 year period, women with low bone mineral density and a previous vertebral fracture had an increased risk of a new vertebral fracture compared to women with normal bone mineral density and no previous fracture, according to a study in the December 19 issue of JAMA.

20 Dec 2007

Widespread support for nonembryonic stem cell research

The VCU Life Sciences Survey is the first poll to reflect the discovery reported internationally in November that human skin cells can be used to create stem cells or their near equivalents.

20 Dec 2007

Correctional system health care issues

That question is addressed in a special issue of Journal of Correctional Health Care (JCHC), opening up correctional system health care issues to outside evaluation and input.

20 Dec 2007

Vitamin B-12 function may be diminished by excessive folate

In a study of adults aged 20 and over, researchers at Tufts University showed that homocysteine and methylmalonic acid are at much higher levels in individuals who have a combination of vitamin B12 deficiency and high blood folate levels than in individuals who are also vitamin B12 deficient but have normal folate levels.

20 Dec 2007

Genetic link to spina bifida discovered

Researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston have discovered an association between genes regulating glucose metabolism and spina bifida.

20 Dec 2007

UT Southwestern secures $5 million grant for lupus research

The division of rheumatic diseases in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center has been awarded a five-year, $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund the Center of Research Translation, which will investigate the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

20 Dec 2007

Children given more 'rope' are more active and enjoy a richer social life

Youngsters who are allowed to leave the house without an adult are more active and enjoy a richer social life than those who are constantly supervised, according to a study conducted at UCL and reported in a special edition of the journal Built Environment (19th December).

20 Dec 2007

Advanced melanoma - new treatment

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers are participating in a multi-center research trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Allovectin-7, an investigational treatment for advanced melanoma.

20 Dec 2007

The blood-brain barrier: A misunderstood key to finding life-saving cures to brain disease

An international team of scientists that includes a Saint Louis University researcher suggest several strategies to propel research for treatments of brain diseases that include multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, obesity and stroke in the January issue of the Lancet Neurology.

20 Dec 2007

Cannabis use among university students

New information published in the Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research explores University students' motivations for using or not using cannabis and found various factors that might encourage use.

20 Dec 2007

Study finds outcomes of high-risk cancer operations in 80-year-olds worse than reported

New research published in the December issue of The Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that outcomes of high-risk cancer operations in 80-year-olds are considerably worse than reported in case studies and published survival statistics, which may lead to unrealistic expectations about the safety of these operations in the elderly.

20 Dec 2007

Study examines computed tomographic pulmonary angiography for diagnosing blood clots in the lung

New research indicates that a diagnostic strategy using computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) may be a safe alternative to conventional lungs scans (known as ventilation-perfusion scans) for excluding the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lung vessels), although CTPA may detect more clots, according to a study in the current issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

20 Dec 2007