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Chronic constipation is uncomfortable, but not dangerous

There are a lot of common myths about constipation treatment. An article in the January issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology dispels those myths and clears numerous misconceptions regarding chronic constipation.

4 Jan 2005

Tobacco smoke exposure affects children and adolescents in many ways

A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with decreases in certain cognitive skills, including reading, math, and logic and reasoning, in children and adolescents.

4 Jan 2005

Give all workers the right to a smoke-free environment

As civil servants throughout Northern Ireland head back to work today to completely smoke-free offices, the BMA is again calling for this public health benefit to be extended to all workers here.

4 Jan 2005

Study shows women with invasive lobular carcinoma may not need chemotherapy before surgery

Women with a rare type of advanced breast cancer who do not benefit from primary (pre-surgical) chemotherapy still have been found to do better in the long run than patients with a more common advanced breast cancer who do respond to chemotherapy.

3 Jan 2005

For uncomplicated colds antibiotics are not necessary

If a runny nose and congested chest have you thinking of antibiotics, think again.

3 Jan 2005

Link between fast food, weight gain, and insulin resistance

Researchers have shown a correlation between fast food, weight gain, and insulin resistance in what appears to be the first long-term study on this subject.

3 Jan 2005

Least forceful way to deliver a baby whose shoulders are stuck in the birth canal

Johns Hopkins researchers, using a novel birthing simulator designed by biomedical engineering faculty, staff and students at the University, have identified what may be the least forceful way to deliver a baby whose shoulders are stuck in the birth canal.

3 Jan 2005

Physicians remain negative in communicating a diagnosis of Down syndrome in newborn infants

A survey of mothers in the January issue of Pediatrics found that physicians remain overwhelmingly negative in communicating a diagnosis of Down syndrome in newborn infants.

3 Jan 2005

Minimally invasive surgery to alleviate the pain and pressure of sinusitis is a safe

Minimally invasive surgery to alleviate the pain and pressure of sinusitis is a safe, effective therapy for geriatric patients who can't be helped by medication alone, according to new research.

3 Jan 2005

Medicare: Incompetence-Based Bureaucracy

In 2002, the General Accounting Office (GAO), now known as the Government Accountability Office, published a study revealing that 85 percent of the time Medicare customer service representatives (CSRs) gave the wrong answer to questions posed by physicians regarding the proper way to bill Medicare so as to obtain payment.

3 Jan 2005

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women, produces a wide variety of body changes with both physical and emotional implications for sufferers.

3 Jan 2005

Extremely shy children have distinct facial expressions

Children who appear to have higher levels of shyness, or a particular gene, appear to have a different pattern of processing the signals of interpersonal hostility, according to a study in the January issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry.

3 Jan 2005

FDA clearance for laser contact bone removal

Lumenis Ltd., and OpusDent Ltd., its dental laser division, announced the FDA clearance of the OpusDuo™ Er:YAG laser system for contact bone removal during oral surgical and periodontal procedures.

From Lumenis Inc. 3 Jan 2005

The rise in over the counter drugs, why?

Switching of prescription drugs to over the counter availability is increasingly common, but what are the motives behind this trend, ask US researchers in this week's BMJ?

3 Jan 2005

Eli Lilly aware in the 1980s that fluoxetine had troubling side effects

The BMJ has turned over confidential drug company documents that went missing from a 10 year old murder case to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for review.

3 Jan 2005

New painkiller was discovered in natural form in venomous snails in 1979

The natural form of Prialt – a new drug for severe pain approved this week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – was discovered at the University of Utah in 1979 by an incoming freshman studying toxins produced by cone snails.

30 Dec 2004

Conduct disorder and alcoholism in teens

While teenagers who drink also tend to have behavior problems, there is more of a genetic basis to their conduct than there is to the lure of alcohol, a new study on 14-year-old Finnish twins reports.

30 Dec 2004

Who's to blame for obese kids?

Most Americans endorse public efforts to reduce childhood obesity but don't want to do so through taxes or regulation, a new survey reveals.

30 Dec 2004

Pegaptanib (Macugen) is an effective treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Results from two concurrent, prospective, double-blind, multi-center clinical trials show that pegaptanib (Macugen), an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, is an effective treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a paper in the Dec. 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Macugen was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 17.

30 Dec 2004

Link between body-mass index and oral-contraceptive failure

Overweight and obese women who take oral contraceptives are 60 percent to 70 percent more likely to get pregnant while on the birth-control pill, respectively, than women of lower weight, according to new findings from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that will be published in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

30 Dec 2004