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Cancer and tobacco are growing health concerns in Africa

In an unprecedented meeting between the media, cancer and tobacco control nongovernmental organizations, and the health care sector, African journalists gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday to discuss Africa?s growing cancer and tobacco crisis. This first ever summit was convened in order to address ways in which journalists can communicate lifesaving messaging about cancer, and tobacco-related deaths.

25 Jun 2008

NIAID creates HIV vaccine discovery branch

To accelerate the translation of basic discoveries about HIV into advances in vaccine design and evaluation, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has formed a new Vaccine Discovery Branch within the Vaccine Research Program in the Division of AIDS (DAIDS).

25 Jun 2008

Home-based cognitive behavioral therapy relieves irritable bowel syndrome symptoms

Persons with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can relieve their symptoms as effectively by following a self-administered, at-home cognitive behavioral program as they can by undergoing a 10-week in-office program administered by a trained therapist, a new pilot study has shown.

25 Jun 2008

Harbor House to assist transplant and critical care patients, families

A dream of local heart transplant patients and volunteers is coming true much earlier than expected thanks to a generous gift provided by a local nonprofit organization.

25 Jun 2008

Women have not adapted to casual sex, shows research

The sexual and feminist revolutions were supposed to free women to enjoy casual sex just as men always had. Yet according to Professor Anne Campbell from Durham University in the UK, the negative feelings reported by women after one-night stands suggest that they are not well adapted to fleeting sexual encounters. Her findings are published online in the June issue of Springer's journal, Human Nature.

25 Jun 2008

Prostate cancer deaths double in men with BRCA2

Men with prostate cancer caused by a faulty BRCA2 gene are more than twice as likely to die from the disease than those carrying the faulty BRCA1 gene - reveals a study published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Tuesday).

25 Jun 2008

WHO's checklist for surgical teams will make operations safer

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new safety checklist for surgical teams to use in operating theatres.

25 Jun 2008

Traumatic brain injuries in seniors often missed or misdiagnosed

According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2005 there were almost 8,000 deaths and 56,000 hospitalizations among Americans age 65 and older due to traumatic brain injuries because of falls.

25 Jun 2008

An implantable sensor to revolutionise the management of heart disease

An implantable sensor providing 24 hour monitoring for patients with chronic heart problems will be developed thanks to a new grant, scientists announce today.

25 Jun 2008

Technique for analyzing the function of microRNAs wins Barenholz Prize for Hebrew University student

A unique technique for analyzing the function of microRNAs developed by a Hebrew University of Jerusalem doctoral student has led to the discovery of a new mechanism by which viruses evade the human immune system. This discovery has important implications for human intervention in the battle between viruses and humans.

25 Jun 2008

Oregano helps against Inflammations

Oregano doesn't only give a Pizza its typical taste. Researchers at Bonn University and the ETH Zurich have discovered that this spice also contains a substance which, amongst other qualities, appears to help cure inflammations.

25 Jun 2008

Identity tags can cause life saving medical equipment to malfunction

Dutch scientists are suggesting that radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) could cause critical care medical equipment to malfunction.

25 Jun 2008

Queensland ambulance officers save lives with clot busting drug treatment

In February this year paramedics in Queensland became the first in Australia to provide potentially lifesaving drugs to heart attack victims as part of a research project funded by the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS).

25 Jun 2008

First comprehensive report on colorectal cancer care in Europe and Australia reveals need for action

The first cross-country report on the management and funding of colorectal cancer (CRC) reveals an urgent need for action to improve the survival of patients diagnosed with this common cancer in Europe and Australia.

25 Jun 2008

Scholarships for stem-cell research

The NSW Government has named two new scholarships for stem-cell research in honour of Paul Brock, an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney and a leading figure in Australia's education community.

25 Jun 2008

Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell says state could save $95 million annually by purchasing Medicaid drugs

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) says the state could save $95 million annually under a plan to centralize Medicaid prescription drug purchasing within the state Department of Public Welfare, but state Republicans say those savings would be offset by hidden expenses in the plan, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

25 Jun 2008

Few employers addressing employees' obesity despite increasing costs

Obesity rates in the U.S. are driving up costs for employers that provide health insurance to workers, but few companies have introduced programs intended to curb the trend, the New York Times reports.

25 Jun 2008

CBO Director Orszag says health IT holds promise, but no panacea for health care costs

Health information technology could improve health care quality, but it is not the cure-all solution to reducing U.S. health care costs, Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag said at a forum on Friday, CQ HealthBeat reports. The forum was hosted by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

24 Jun 2008

Future of Medicare at stake in Presidential election, opinion piece states

"At stake in the presidential election is whether we will all need to consult lobbyists to have our medical issues heard by a remote, bureaucratic Medicare program," Scott Gottlieb, a former CMS official and an American Enterprise Institute fellow, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

24 Jun 2008

Reps. Barton, Dingell to introduce legislation that aims to spur nationwide adoption of electronic health records

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) and ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) on Tuesday plan to introduce a bill that would promote the adoption of a nationwide electronic health record system, CongressDaily reports.

24 Jun 2008