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Drug company sales visits influenced doctors

Almost half of sales visits by pharmaceutical company representatives advocating the use of the drug gabapentin led to doctors stating that they intended to increase their prescription of the drug or recommend it to colleagues, according to an analysis of a survey completed by the doctors shortly after the visits.

25 Apr 2007

Injuries and deaths caused by All-TerrainVehicles increase

Nationally, the number of All-TerrainVehicle (ATV)-related emergency department visits has more than doubled in recent years, from 52,800 in 1997 to 136,100 in 2004.

25 Apr 2007

Primary school children should not be routinely screened for obesity

Primary school children should not be routinely screened for obesity and overweight in the absence of effective treatment, finds research in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

25 Apr 2007

Examination of execution by lethal injection

Execution by lethal injection may cause death by asphyxiation, and prisoners being executed may be conscious and may experience pain, claim the authors of a new study published this week in PLoS Medicine.

25 Apr 2007

Costs of treating heart disease and cancer have increased substantially

The costs of treating heart disease and cancer rose markedly between 2000 and 2004, from $62 billion to $90 billion and $42 billion to $62 billion, respectively, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

25 Apr 2007

Did drug reps encourage doctors to prescribe gabapentin for nonapproved uses?

A new study published in PLoS Medicine suggests that so-called "detail" visits to doctors made by drug company representatives can involve promotion of drugs for non-approved, "off-label" uses.

25 Apr 2007

Humans should try to increase melatonin consumption through food

The Spanish Ageing Research Network (Red Nacional de Investigaci'n del Envejecimiento), funded by Carlos III Health Institute and headed by professor Dario Acuna Castroviejo, from the University of Granada, is very near to achieving one of today's Science greatest goals: allowing humans to age in the best possible health conditions.

25 Apr 2007

Variations of two common genes associated with progression to more advanced forms of age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD; when the center of the inner lining of the eye suffers thinning, atrophy, and in some cases bleeding), which can lead to visual impairment and legal blindness, is associated with variations in the genes CFH and LOC387715.

25 Apr 2007

No evidence that antioxidant supplements interfere with therapeutic effects of chemotherapy agents

There is no evidence that antioxidant supplements interfere with the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy agents, according to a recent systematic review of the use of antioxidants during chemotherapy, available in the May, 2007 issue of the journal Cancer Treatment Reviews.

25 Apr 2007

Can a taste for poison drive speciation?

The endless struggle for survival in nature inevitably boils down to finding food and eluding predators.

25 Apr 2007

Ranolazine safe but not effective in reducing major cardiac events in ACS patients

The anti-anginal medication ranolazine was shown to be safe in regard to certain outcomes but did not reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack or recurrent ischemia following acute coronary syndromes, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA.

25 Apr 2007

Age when a woman's periods start may affect her children's growth rate

Researchers from the Medical Research Council and University of Cambridge, led by Dr Ken Ong, studied the association between mother's age at first menstruation, mother's adult body size and obesity risk, and children's growth and obesity risk in 6,009 children from the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in Bristol.

25 Apr 2007

Why yearly checkups are important for women

Even women who are healthy need regular preventive services like breast exams, Pap tests, immunizations, and (starting at age 50) fecal occult blood testing, along with periodic measurements of weight, height, and blood pressure.

25 Apr 2007

Chronically ill prisoners can face great healthcare problems, but others inmates enjoy improved health

People with chronic illnesses can experience great difficulties in prison, but people such as drug addicts and the homeless may find their healthcare improves, according to a study in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.

25 Apr 2007

Swedish Big Brother behind lobotomies in the 1940s and 1950s

Sweden was more accepting than the U.S. in its attitude toward lobotomy in the 1940s and 1950s. A possible explanation for this may be the strength of paternalism in Sweden, that is, a greater tendency to make decisions on behalf of the patient in Swedish medical culture than in its American counterpart. This is according to Kenneth Ogren from Umea University in Sweden.

25 Apr 2007

WHO facilitates influenza vaccine technology transfer to developing countries

As part of a concerted effort to ensure more equitable access to a potential pandemic influenza vaccine, six developing countries are being awarded grants to establish in-country manufacturing capacity for influenza vaccine. The countries are Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand and Viet Nam.

25 Apr 2007