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University of Sydney to play a leading role in Chinese medicine

The University of Sydney is to take a leading role in researching and developing traditional Chinese medicines with the establishment of a new research centre and a joint chair in the discipline.

20 Nov 2007

Rushing to remove a child's tonsils not such a great idea

Dutch researchers say rushing to have a child's tonsils removed because of mild or moderate throat infections may not be such a good idea.

20 Nov 2007

Gene-based therapy successful in Parkinson's disease

Brain scans have revealed that the first gene-based therapy for Parkinson's disease was effective.

20 Nov 2007

Cannabis compound may stop breast cancer spreading

American researchers have found that a compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer spreading throughout the body.

20 Nov 2007

National UK patient database a non-starter with doctors

A scheme by the British government to put the medical records of 50 million National Health (NHS) patients on a national electronic database, is in danger of being boycotted by as many as two-thirds of family doctors.

20 Nov 2007

PSA test in obese men can produce false results

Scientists in the United States suggest a blood test widely used to screen for prostate cancer can be misleading in the case of men who are obese.

20 Nov 2007

Experimental obesity drug a success for Danish company

An experimental obesity drug manufactured by a Danish company appears to be a success.

20 Nov 2007

UN revises AIDS estimates but it remains a top killer

The United Nations group which focuses on the AIDS epidemic, UNAIDS, has revised it's original estimate of the number of people infected with the AIDS virus by more than six million.

20 Nov 2007

Pfizer wins day in court over Celebrex

Drug giant Pfizer has won a court ruling in the United States which could limit the lawsuits the company might possibly face over claims that its painkiller Celebrex caused heart attacks and strokes.

20 Nov 2007

World-famous heart transplant hospital given the all-clear

World-famous Papworth hospital in Cambridgeshire, England, has been given the all-clear to resume heart transplant surgery.

20 Nov 2007

New mums short on sleep pile on the pounds

A new study has found that mothers who only manage to get five hours or less sleep each night are three times more likely to hang on to that extra weight gained in pregnancy, while women who slept seven hours a night or more lost more weight.

20 Nov 2007

Migraine sufferers found to have brain differences

According to new research from the U.S., migraine sufferers have structural differences in the part of the brain that deals with pain.

20 Nov 2007

iPod ear - a possible future condition

Call it acoustic trauma or noise-induced hearing loss. By any name, it's the most important preventable cause of permanent hearing loss. Up to 28 million Americans have impaired hearing; for as many as a third, acoustic trauma is a significant contributor, reports the December 2007 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch .

20 Nov 2007

X-stop procedure helps relieve pain as a result of spinal stenosis

A new minimally invasive procedure is hitting its mark with certain types of low back and leg pain sufferers, significantly reducing their pain and disability.

20 Nov 2007

Project aims to deepen the medical and research community's understanding of women's health

Women's bodies and medical needs are vastly different than men's way beyond their reproductive systems.

20 Nov 2007

Dyslexia expert Dr. Bruce McCandliss awarded Presidential honor

Dr. Bruce McCandliss, a psychologist at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology and associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, has received a commendation by the President of the United States in the form of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

20 Nov 2007

Use of intraoperative MRI adds time but care-changing information to neurosurgery, study shows

Although the use of intraoperative MRI can add time to surgical procedures, it can help surgeons detect residual disease and, if needed, modify their plan for surgery while the patient is on the operating room table, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

20 Nov 2007

Housing status and HIV risk

New studies show that there is a demonstrable correlation between a person's housing status and his or her likelihood of transmitting or getting HIV.

20 Nov 2007

Tonsillectomy may increase costs without benefits in some children

A Dutch study suggests that among children with mild or moderate symptoms of throat infections, surgery to remove the tonsils may be more expensive but not necessarily more beneficial than watchful waiting, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

20 Nov 2007

Impact of sleep deprivation on postpartum weight retention

Mothers who reported sleeping five hours or less per day when their babies were six months old had a threefold higher risk for substantial weight retention (11 pounds or more) at their baby's first birthday than moms who slept seven hours per day, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente and Harvard Medical School / Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

20 Nov 2007