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Cartilage shield restores hearing in some otitis media infection patients

Inserting a “shield” of cartilage into the inner ear is a less invasive and more cost-effective alternative to membrane reconstruction when treating hearing loss in selected patients suffering from chronic middle ear infections (otitis media), according to a new study published in the June 2007 edition of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery .

1 Jun 2007

Advances in epilepsy treatment

Epilepsy and seizures affect 2.5 million Americans, 181,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed every year, and the disorder incurs an estimated $12.5 billion in annual direct and indirect costs.

1 Jun 2007

Mathematics is child's play

Children are able to solve approximate addition or subtraction problems involving large numbers even before they have been taught arithmetic, according to a study conducted by researchers from The University of Nottingham and Harvard University.

1 Jun 2007

Unique new hybrid cardiac imaging system

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center now offers patients a unique new hybrid imaging system that expands diagnostic and screening capabilities by combining nuclear cardiology with multi-slice CT imaging in one scanner.

1 Jun 2007

Complete sequencing of DNA pioneer James D. Watson

454 Life Sciences Corporation, in collaboration with scientists at the Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, announced in Houston, Texas, the completion of a project to sequence the genome of James D. Watson, Ph.D., co-discoverer of the double-helix structure of DNA.

1 Jun 2007

Man with rare TB zig-zagged his way around Europe on planes

Officials in the United States have revealed that the airline passenger infected with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis fled across Europe to avoid detection.

31 May 2007

Chocolate good for the memory!

Scientists at the Salk Institute in California say that a chemical found in chocolate improves the memory of mice.

31 May 2007

Back surgery or grin and bear it?

A couple of new studies by researchers in the U.S. and the Netherlands have found that though surgery is effective for people with a slipped or misaligned disk, it often is not necessary if patients can summon up enough patience and wait awhile.

31 May 2007

Parkinson's disease linked to pesticide exposure

Researchers in Britain have discovered that high levels of exposure to some pesticides may be bad for peoples' health.

31 May 2007

U.S. government prevents meat packer testing for mad cow disease

In what is being seen by many as a curious and in some ways surprising move, the U.S. government is trying to prevent a Kansas meat packer from testing all of their animals for Mad Cow disease.

31 May 2007

Tobacco industry cops it from the WHO

The tobacco industry has been severely criticised by the World Health Organization (WHO) for misleading the public on the dangers of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.

31 May 2007

Trans-Atlantic air traveler in quarantine with dangerous TB

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States have placed a trans-Atlantic air traveler under quarantine because he has a rare and dangerous form of tuberculosis.

31 May 2007

Coping with side effects from pelvic radiotherapy

Cancer patients about to undergo pelvic radiotherapy or who have had the treatment and are experiencing some of the potentially worrying and embarrassing side effects, now have a new free resource to turn to thanks to Cancerbackup and Cancer Research UK.

30 May 2007

English looking forward to not being exposed to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke

Over two thirds of people say going out will be more enjoyable when England goes smokefree in July, according to a Cancer Research UK survey.

30 May 2007

New hypothesis on Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are challenging current thinking on the causes and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, offering a new hypothesis that could be the key to preventing this form of dementia.

30 May 2007

Employees in the US are bullied up to 50% more often than workers in Scandinavia

However, just 9% of employees were aware that the negative acts they experienced constituted bullying, suggesting that bullying behaviour is ingrained in the culture of the US workplace.

30 May 2007

Virtual autopsy helps determine drownings

"Virtual autopsy" performed with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) can aid forensics teams in determining if a person has drowned, according to a study published in the June issue of Radiology.

30 May 2007

Better guidelines on the use of mobile phones in the provision of clinical care urgently needed

Healthcare systems are increasing looking to developments in mobile communication technology to help improve the provision of care to people with long-term conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, hypertension and coronary heart disease.

30 May 2007

Proper use of aprotinin to reduce bleeding during heart surgery does not increase the risk of heart attack or stroke

The study was prompted by recent reports suggesting an increased risk of complications including heart attacks, strokes, and kidney problems in patients who received aprotinin to reduce bleeding during heart bypass or valve replacement surgery.

30 May 2007

Stop TB Partnership aims to treat 50 million patients between 2006 and 2015

Securing its place as an indispensable defence against the development and spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), the Stop TB Partnership announced that its drug supply arm, the Global Drug Facility, has provided anti-TB drug treatments for 10 million people to 78 countries in the past six years.

30 May 2007