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Polio vaccination launched despite objection from religious group

A partnership between Mali's Ministry of Health and the UN children's fund UNICEF launched a third and final phase of polio immunisation on May 13th, aiming to reach 3.6 million children. Regardless of recent opposition from religious leaders, the three day programme plans to inoculate all children five years and under.

15 May 2005

Molecule found in liver cells could explain a lot about the relationship between diet, lipid levels in blood, and atherosclerosis

A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have made a discovery that a molecule found in liver cells is important in explaining the relationship between diet, lipid levels in blood, and atherosclerosis.

15 May 2005

New drug which quickly dissolves blood clots and returns circulation to normal

Cardiovascular patients now have a greater chance of surviving heart attacks after Chinese scientists developed a new drug which quickly dissolves blood clots and returns circulation to normal.

15 May 2005

Annual flu shots to be recommended for everyone in the U.S.

Public health advocates in the U.S. are predicting that within five years, annual flu shots will be recommended by the government for every American and not just young children, the elderly and other at-risk people.

15 May 2005

75,000 children end up in hospital emergency rooms due to trampoline injuries

Linakis states quite categorically that the home environment and even the school environment are not the place for trampolines. He says though it will not be a popular idea, trampolines are only appropriate in very select, heavily supervised environments, such as a gymnastics school.

15 May 2005

Cancer can be found earlier in high-risk men if more aggressive screening criteria used

Men at high risk of developing prostate cancer should undergo aggressive screening for the disease. That is the recommendation following a Fox Chase Cancer Center study of 520 men at high-risk of developing prostate cancer in which 25 percent were diagnosed with the disease despite having a low PSA. The findings were presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 41st Annual Meeting.

15 May 2005

Tonsil swabbing is terrible - it makes people gag

Mayo Clinic ear, nose and throat surgeons hoped to find a more user-friendly test for strep throat than swabbing the tonsils directly, but instead discovered that the swab has to touch the tonsils to accurately detect the infection.

15 May 2005

Alcohol consumption increases movement of S. pneumoniae toward the lungs

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacterium that can infect the upper respiratory tract and cause pneumonia, as well as infections in other parts of the body such as the bloodstream (bacteremia), lining of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), bones (osteomyelitis), joints (arthritis), ears (otitis media) and sinuses (sinusitis).

15 May 2005

Breast cancer hormone drug might help prevent prostate cancer

A hormonal drug used to fight breast cancer might help prevent abnormal prostate growths from turning into cancers.

15 May 2005

Walking can cut craving for a cigarette

New research by scientists at Exeter University has shown that going for a walk can help smokers break the habit.

15 May 2005

Anti-nicotine vaccine to help smokers is promising

Swiss researchers say they have had some encouraging results with an experimental anti-nicotine vaccine.

15 May 2005

Unsuspected protein CD147, regulates the production of plaque-forming peptides that are the defining feature of Alzheimer's

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered an unsuspected subunit of the protein complex gamma-secretase, which plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease.

15 May 2005

Rearing sea sponges that contain substances of interest to the pharmaceutical industry

Dutch researcher Nicole de Voogd has investigated the possibilities for rearing sea sponges in Indonesia. Some of these sponges contain substances of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. As these are increasingly difficult to obtain, there is growing interest in alternative methods of exploitation, such as rearing sponges.

15 May 2005

Bevacizumab plus chemo extends survival beyond one year for large group of advanced lung cancer patients

Patients with a particular type of advanced lung cancer may have a new option based on data presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology showing that combining a drug that cuts off the cancer's blood supply with standard chemotherapy can shrink tumors and extend life.

15 May 2005

Gum disease patients ignore dentist advice

The best efforts of dentists don't always mean people will look after their teeth, British researchers have found.

15 May 2005

Sensory intervention cab help ADHD kids

Preliminary findings from a study of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show that sensory intervention - for example, deep pressure and strenuous exercise - can significantly improve problem behaviors such as restlessness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Of the children receiving occupational therapy, 95 percent improved. This is the first study of this size on sensory intervention for ADHD.

15 May 2005