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Robotic surgery dramatically reduces physical trauma for head & neck cancer patients

For patients with cancer of the mouth and throat, surgery is a frequent course of treatment, often leading to speech and swallowing dysfunction and external scarring.

15 May 2005

Humans more prone to cancer than chimpanzees

Chimpanzees and humans share a common ancestor, and even today 99 percent of the two species' DNA is identical. But since the paths of man and chimp diverged 5 million years ago, that one percent of genetic difference appears to have changed humans in an unexpected way: It could have made people more prone to cancer.

15 May 2005

Hispanics have worse lung cancer survival rate

In a national population-based study of 16,036 lung cancer patients, Hispanics with curable stage I lung cancer had poorer lung cancer specific survival rates, as well as worse all-cause mortality, than a much larger group of white persons. Study results will appear in the second issue for May 2005 of the American Thoracic Society's peer-reviewed American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

15 May 2005

BMA calls for clarity on plans to increase private health provision

Commenting on plans to increase private sector activity in the NHS, announced by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, Mr James Johnson, chairman of the British Medical Association, said:

15 May 2005

First advance in pancreatic cancer treatment in a decade offers new hope

The first advance in pancreatic cancer treatment in a decade has been achieved by researchers in a Canadian-led study, and at last gives some encouragement to scientists and invigorates a field that has experienced more than its share of disheartening failures.

15 May 2005

Prostate cancer drug, Omnitarg by Genentech falls short

Research into an experimental prostate cancer drug being developed by Genentech Inc. will probably be abandoned after scientists found that the drug failed to prove effective in a mid-stage trial.

15 May 2005

Parents of new born convicted of reckless homicide

A newborn baby girl died unnecessarily because her parents rejected medical intervention for their ailing daughter.

15 May 2005

Neighbourhoods with more fast food outlets are also neighbourhoods with more heart disease

A new study has found that neighbourhoods with more fast food outlets are also neighbourhoods with more heart disease and death, and, it has nothing to do with how rich or poor a neighbourhood might be.

15 May 2005

Miserable mumps makes a comeback

There is concern in the UK at the growing number of outbreaks of mumps among children and young people.

12 May 2005

No link between MMR jab and Crohn's disease

A research paper published in 1998, which claimed the MMR jab was in some way linked to autism and Crohn's disease, the inflammatory bowel disease, caused MMR vaccination numbers to fall across the country.

12 May 2005

Third of NHS hospitals - clinical waste was not being stored safely

Inspectors have found that in a third of NHS hospitals, clinical waste was not being stored safely out of patients' reach, and hospitals are putting patients' lives at risk by not getting rid of clinical waste properly.

12 May 2005

Mystery respiratory disease sweeping through greyhound population

Dozens of dogs in the U.S. are dying from a mysterious respiratory disease which is sweeping greyhound tracks across the country, and race track owners are being forced to halt racing as researchers hunt for a vaccine to control the outbreak.

12 May 2005

Great news for breast cancer patients

In encouraging new study results researchers say that modern treatments have significantly boosted the 15-year survival rate for breast cancer, and even better news is that they have also found that drug and hormonal therapies effectively cure many women, rather than simply delaying the recurrence of disease.

12 May 2005

Month/season of birth can effect the length of a woman's fertile life

Research by Italian experts on the menopause has found that that the month and the season in which a woman is born influence the age at which she reaches menopause.

12 May 2005

New treatment for retained placenta

An important new study has been launched by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Women’s Hospital (LWH), to test a new treatment for ‘retained placenta’- a condition where the placenta does not come out naturally after childbirth.

12 May 2005

Work fatigue and working overtime are associated with weight gain

Based on a recent study, work fatigue, working overtime, job demands and dissatisfaction in combining paid work and family life are associated with weight gain.

12 May 2005

Statin therapy is cost-effective for a wider range of individuals with vascular disease or diabetes than previously recognised

Current guidelines generally recommend the initiation of statin therapy when the estimated 10-year risk of a non-fatal heart attack or coronary death is at least 15-20%.

12 May 2005

If you want to avoid smoke-filled pubs you will be better off in the south of England

If you want to avoid smoke-filled pubs you will be better off in the south of England than in the north according to a snapshot survey published today by the British Medical Association (BMA). In an attempt to establish just how many pubs will be exempt from laws banning smoking in enclosed workplaces, the BMA found wide regional differences with a strong north-south divide.

12 May 2005

Fertility clinics across the United States already ensure that donated sperm is safe, regardless of the sexual orientation of the donor

The American Fertility Association (AFA) disagrees with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) sperm donation guidelines, which take effect on May 25, 2005.

12 May 2005

New trend in treating heart disease in diabetics - angioplasty using the Cypher Sirolimus-eluting coronary stent

The World Health Organisation has predicted an increase in the worldwide prevalence of diabetes of epidemic proportions . Eighty percent of people with diabetes will die from cardiovascular complications -- stroke and/or coronary heart disease (CHD).

12 May 2005