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Ethanol vehicles pose a significant risk to human health

Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel.

19 Apr 2007

Emergency contraception does not reduce unintended pregnancy rate

The morning after pill, may be a good option for individual women in crisis, but advance access to emergency contraception is no antidote for the national problem of unintended pregnancy.

19 Apr 2007

Drains increase harm without providing any benefit for patients undergoing open cholecystectomy

Cholecystectomy is the term used to describe the surgical removal of a gallbladder. It is performed mainly as a treatment for chronic gallstones. Although many operations are now carried out by laparoscopy, some are still done by open surgery. In these operations there is an ongoing debate about whether drains should be used.

19 Apr 2007

Study evaluates whether dipyrone is effective and safe for acute primary headaches

The controversial drug dipyrone can treat acute headaches, but patients should be warned of the risk of potentially serious blood disorders (or "dyscrasias"), concluded a Cochrane Review team.

19 Apr 2007

New discoveries about stem cells in leukemia, breast and colon cancer

Recent discoveries about the role of stem cells in cancer have altered the landscape of cancer research. With each new study, scientists are learning more about cancer-initiating properties of stem cells at organ sites and throughout the body.

19 Apr 2007

Obese women 3.5 times more likely to require a Caesarean

Liverpool scientists have uncovered the reason why overweight women have more Caesarean sections; they are at significant risk of their uterus contracting poorly in childbirth.

19 Apr 2007

New hope for people with therapy-resistant depression

A study at the University Clinics of Bonn and Cologne gives people with therapy-resistant depression reason for hope.

19 Apr 2007

Psychological interventions to improve adherence to oral hygiene instructions in adults with periodontal diseases

Even when they have gum disease, many people don't bother to brush or floss properly.

19 Apr 2007

Decrease in breast cancer incidence linked to drop in HRT

A special report in the April 19, 2007 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine concludes that the sharp decline in breast-cancer incidence in 2003, followed by a relative stabilization at a lower rater in 2004, is most likely related to the first report of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).

19 Apr 2007

Cup-feeding versus breast-feeding

Newborn infants who are cup-fed as at least part of their feeding regime, are more likely to be exclusively breast-fed when they leave hospital, but are no more likely to be breast-fed three or six months later, a team of Cochrane researchers have found.

19 Apr 2007

Method of mass-producing disease-fighting antibodies entirely within bacteria

The group led by Dr. George Georgiou developed the new antibody-production approach to improve upon processes used previously to identify new drugs.

19 Apr 2007

Grey literature in meta-analyses of randomized trials of health care interventions

Flooded with new health information every week, patients and their doctors look for ways to sort the best from the rest.

19 Apr 2007

Scientists find genes involved in memory and learning

Researchers have long recognized that for learning and memory to take place, certain genes must be activated to alter neuron activity inside the brain.

19 Apr 2007

Short and simple interventions can reduce drinking in the general population

Five minutes of straight talk between doctors and problem drinkers could help reduce the toll of alcohol-related injuries, violence and accidents.

19 Apr 2007

Vaccines to prevent or slow the growth of cancerous tumors

Mayo Clinic researchers have designed a new strategy in the promising field of cancer vaccine research that's proven to be successful in boosting T cells - the immune builders akin to a super defense force against cancer cells.

19 Apr 2007

Breast cancer incidence continues to trend low in 2004

An extended analysis of cancer rates reinforces a strong association between use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and increased breast cancer incidence, according to research led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 Apr 2007