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Women are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of excessive drinking

A brain-scan study in Germany has found evidence that women are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of excessive drinking.

17 May 2005

Vaccine may prevent cigarette addiction

Clinical trials on a new vaccine against smoking has given hope to those trying to quit. The vaccine could also prevent cigarette addiction.

17 May 2005

Hospital managers could face criminal charges if patients catch superbugs

Ms Hewitt has promised a "much stronger" legal framework in the National Health Service (NHS) to help hospitals reduce the rate of antibiotic-resistant MRSA and other hospital acquired infections.

17 May 2005

Lower doses of chemo just as effective in childhood cancers

In the latest research into treating a common childhood cancer, paediatric oncologist Allen Chauvenet, is optimistic that the long-term side effects that survivors experience as they grow into adulthood can be reduced.

17 May 2005

Big pharma gets the desired results from medical journals

“Medical journals are an extension of the marketing arm of pharmaceutical companies,” argues Richard Smith, former editor of the BMJ and now Chief Executive of UnitedHealth Europe, in a provocative essay published in the open access international health journal PLoS Medicine.

17 May 2005

Sensor warns of gastrointestinal problems

Dutch researcher Sebastiaan Herber has developed a sensor which can detect poor blood circulation in the stomach. A high level of carbon dioxide in the stomach is a characteristic of this so-called gastrointestinal ischaemia. By measuring this concentration the sensor can indicate how good or bad the circulation in the stomach wall is.

17 May 2005

New discovery sparks hope of safer dosage of Warfarin

The blood-thinning drug Warfarin tops the list of drug side-effects in Sweden. Patient sensitivity to Warfarin varies, which can lead to over-dosage and in certain cases to death.

17 May 2005

More research needed into access to emergency contraception

Experts at The University of Nottingham have called for more research into whether systems for accessing emergency contraception are meeting the needs of younger women and those from poorer backgrounds.

17 May 2005

New drug combination prevents breast cancer growth pre-surgery

A new type of drug originally developed for lung cancer can reduce the size of breast cancer tumours when taken in combination with other drugs.

17 May 2005

Safety belts in police cars may be life threatening

The hypothesis that the personal equipment or the uniform might affect the function of the seat belt in a collision was put to test. The study points out that an alternative, professional use of vehicles ought to be more generally considered in relation to the crash safety aspects.

17 May 2005

Gefitinib (Iressa) could reduce the size of breast cancer tumours

Giving women with early breast cancer a drug called gefitinib (Iressa) before surgery could reduce the size of their tumours, suggests a randomised trial published online today by The Lancet Oncology.

17 May 2005

The brain damage wrought by a minor stroke can alter the way artists paint

The study reports on two professional painters, both of whom had a stroke, located in the left occipital lobe of the brain and limbic thalamus, respectively.

17 May 2005

No serious health risk for commuters on London's Underground

Commuters and workers on the London’s Tube network, gearing up for another potentially suffocating summer below ground, can at least take some comfort from research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

17 May 2005

Using a mobile phone in rural areas seems to pose a greater risk of developing brain tumours than it does in urban areas

The findings are based on a sample of over 1400 adults aged between 20 and 80, living in the centre of Sweden. All of them had been diagnosed with a malignant or benign brain tumour between January 1997 and June 2000.

17 May 2005

Rifaximin is effective in preventing attacks of diarrhea

An antibiotic can be safely used to prevent attacks of diarrhea that plague millions of globe-trotting vacationers and business travelers, a Houston research team reports this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

17 May 2005

Vitamin D, taxotere combination promising for advanced prostate cancer

Results of a new study strongly suggest that DN-101, a new high-dose calcitriol pill designed specifically as a cancer therapy, given in combination with docetaxel (Taxotere) extends the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer.

17 May 2005

Six out of ten first-time mothers who had a prolonged labour say that the experience will affect them for life

A team of Swedish researchers, led by Astrid Nystedt from Umea University, studied 84 women who had experienced prolonged labour with assisted vaginal or caesarean delivery. They then compared their experiences with 171 women who had had normal deliveries.

17 May 2005

Routinely reformatting computed tomography (CT) scans to view organs from several different directions may help radiologists improve diagnosis

"You can see things in one view that you might miss in another," said Craig Barnes, M.D., section head of pediatric radiology at Wake Forest Baptist's Brenner Children's Hospital. "It costs no more as relates to scan time or radiation exposure, and we believe it provides added value in diagnosis."

17 May 2005

Use of a common type of antidepressant may increase gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding

In fact, the study suggests that the increase is similar to that associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, known as pain relievers). DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians, academics and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

17 May 2005

Chronic exposure to noise and carbon monoxide in the workplace induces hearing loss

Those findings are the result of a study conducted with over 8,600 workers exposed to both noise and carbon monoxide in the workplace. Among the riskier professions are welders, firefighters, garage mechanics, truckers, forklift operators and miners.

17 May 2005