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Maternal link to Alzheimer's disease found

People who have a mother with Alzheimer's disease appear to be at higher risk for getting the disease than those individuals whose fathers are afflicted, according to a new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers.

6 Nov 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon for long-term cognitive health

With National Alzheimer's Awareness Month upon us, attention continues to focus on new approaches to cognitive health in an aging population.

6 Nov 2007

Microcarrier patent to be auctioned

Sedum Laboratories, Inc., formerly of Mansfield, Mass., is auctioning its U.S. Patent #6,645,525 titled "Ionically Formulated Biomolecule Microcarriers."

6 Nov 2007

Cancer risks for overweight women

Half of all cases of womb cancer and a type of oesophageal cancer in women are caused by being overweight or obese, according to a new report published online in the British Medical Journal.

6 Nov 2007

Antibiotic that appears to control phobias may also be useful in treating addiction

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provide further evidence that a drug known as D-cycloserine could play a role in helping to extinguish the craving behaviors associated with drug addiction.

6 Nov 2007

Baltimore Sun series examines link between commercial sex work, HIV transmission in Baltimore

The Baltimore Sun this week published a two-part series examining the link between commercial sex work and HIV transmission in Baltimore.

6 Nov 2007

Zambia Medical Association calls for collaboration on HIV/AIDS research between doctors, herbalists

Conventional doctors and traditional herbalists in Zambia must collaborate on quality research for potential HIV/AIDS treatments to help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, Zambia Medical Association President Swebby Macha said recently, Xinhua News Agency reports.

6 Nov 2007

BCG vaccine causing illness, death among HIV-positive infants, report says

The BCG vaccine, which aims to prevent tuberculosis among children in developing countries, might be causing illness and death among some HIV-positive infants, researchers said on Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports.

6 Nov 2007

Botswana President says AIDS-related deaths decreasing

Botswana President Festus Mogae on Monday during his State of the Nation address to Parliament said while AIDS-related deaths have decreased in the country, huge challenges still lay ahead, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 11/6).

6 Nov 2007

Ugandan President calls for public-private partnership to fight HIV/AIDS during U.S. meeting

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni last week during a meeting in Washington, D.C., with representatives from the African Diplomatic Corps, U.S. government officials and representatives from the health care industry called for a public-private partnership to fight HIV/AIDS in Uganda, Uganda's Monitor reports.

6 Nov 2007

CMS informs some low-income Medicare drug plan beneficiaries that their coverage could change

About two million low-income beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare prescription drug plans could be moved to new plans in 2008, and millions of other beneficiaries will have to change plans if they want to avoid double-digit premium increases, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

6 Nov 2007

Proposals for health care reform face many barriers

Supporters of health care reform, each time they offered new proposals, expected "popular clamor" to "drive elected officials to end the national embarrassment of millions of uninsured and rein in health expenditures that were needlessly high and bought less than they should," but, each time, "reformers were right in their indictment and wrong in their political judgments," Henry Aaron, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece.

6 Nov 2007

Highmark, in partnership with Visa, markets new Healthcare Gift Card

Pennsylvania-based health insurer Highmark, in partnership with Visa, has begun to market a new Healthcare Gift Card in an effort to encourage the use of medical services among certain populations, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

6 Nov 2007

Group sues to obtain records on Clinton health care task force

Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit against the National Archives to obtain records on the White House task force on health care led by then-first lady Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), the group announced on Monday, the AP/Denver Post reports.

6 Nov 2007

Local United Auto Workers leaders approve tentative Ford contract

Local United Auto Workers leaders representing Ford Motor employees on Monday by voice vote unanimously approved a tentative four-year contract agreement that follows the pattern set by General Motors and Chrysler Group and includes the creation of a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Krisher/Durbin, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/6).

6 Nov 2007

Chronic kidney disease common in U.S. - obesity, diabetes, hypertension and aging population contribute to increase

There is a high prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the United States, which has risen over the past decade, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

6 Nov 2007

Scientists in Australia discover how to switch hunger on and off

Scientists in Australia have found how to switch hunger on and off and they say their discovery could be used to stop weight loss in terminally ill patients or produce weight loss in the morbidly obese.

6 Nov 2007

Common painkillers may prevent Parkinson's disease

Researchers in the U.S. are suggesting that painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen can cut the risk of Parkinson's disease by as much as 60%.

6 Nov 2007

Toxic 'Bindeez' toys put three children in hospital

A toy which won the Australian Toy of the Year award earlier this year at the Melbourne Toy and Hobby fair has sent the nation, parents and retailers into a panic.

6 Nov 2007

Discovery of new hemoglobin function

A team of researchers from Wake Forest University, the National Institutes of Health and other institutions has discovered a previously undetected chemical process within the oxygen-carrying molecule hemoglobin that could have far-reaching implications for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

6 Nov 2007