Medical News

RSS

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control enters into force

On 27 February, The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control enters into force, becoming binding international law for its first 40 Contracting Parties.

23 Feb 2005

MRSA superbug on the run from Sussex scientist

A groundbreaking new treatment to combat the hospital killer bug MRSA, which is estimated to cause up to 5,000 deaths a year in Britain, is being developed by a University of Sussex scientist.

23 Feb 2005

Breast and dairy milk found to contain primary ingredient in solid rocket fuel

In a new study of breast milk and store-bought milk from across the United States, scientists at Texas Tech University found perchlorate in every sample but one. The results suggest that this thyroid-disrupting chemical may be more widespread than previously believed.

23 Feb 2005

Ways to make hypnosis a more effective therapeutic technique

Hypnosis can serve as a valuable adjunct to certain kinds of psychotherapy, says Steven Lynn, professor of psychology at Binghamton University, State University of New York. But not everyone responds to it equally well.

23 Feb 2005

Feverfew or Bachelor's Button, kills human leukemia stem cells like no other single therapy

A daisy-like plant known as Feverfew or Bachelor's Button, a traditional remedy for reducing fevers and a treatment for nervousness, hysteria and low spirits, is the source of an agent that kills human leukemia stem cells like no other single therapy

23 Feb 2005

Exercise therapy can improve muscle strength in people with multiple sclerosis

Exercise therapy also improved the mood of MS patients in exercise therapy programs, compared to patients who did not participate in the therapy. The researchers did not find any evidence that exercise therapy affected patients’ fatigue or their sense of how ill they were.

22 Feb 2005

Health insurance that pays the full cost of smoking-cessation treatments can increase quit rates

Health insurance that pays the full cost of smoking-cessation treatments can increase quit rates, compared to benefit plans that pick up only part of the tab or that offer no cessation benefits at all, according to a new review of studies.

22 Feb 2005

Association noted between certain non-lver cancers and hepatitis C

People infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a higher risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma, according to a recent study of the Swedish population.

22 Feb 2005

Short-term use of selective COX-2 inhibitors may be safe for patients with cirrhosis of the liver

Short-term use of selective COX-2 inhibitors may be safe for patients with cirrhosis of the liver, according to a recent study that compared the effects of celecoxib, naproxen, and a placebo on cirrhotic patients in a double-blind randomized controlled study.

22 Feb 2005

FDA approval of Vaccinia Immune Globulin to treat adverse reactions to smallpox vaccination

Computer Sciences Corporation today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Vaccinia Immune Globulin (VIGIV), an intravenous immune globulin, to treat rare adverse reactions to smallpox vaccination.

22 Feb 2005

People drink less alcohol as they age

A new UCLA study shows that people drink less alcohol as they age--but drinking among those who were born in earlier years showed a faster decline than among people born more recently.

22 Feb 2005

New information that may help guide design of vaccines for HIV-1

Scientists have uncovered new information that may help guide design of vaccines for HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. A new detailed structural analysis of the complex formed by an anti-HIV antibody called 4E10 and its specific target provides insight into why this particular antibody is so broadly effective, a rare characteristic for HIV discovered thus far.

22 Feb 2005

Research shows preventive effects of cannabinoids on Alzheimer's disease

New research shows that a synthetic analogue of the active component of marijuana may reduce the inflammation and prevent the mental decline associated with Alzheimer's disease.

22 Feb 2005

Antibody that neutralizes most HIV strains

A group of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and several other institutions has solved the structure of a rare human antibody that broadly neutralizes human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

22 Feb 2005

Researchers have identified a protein called HIF-2a, which is important in retina formation

Hoping to prevent blindness in premature babies, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a protein that responds to oxygen levels in cells and tissues and also affects the developing eye.

22 Feb 2005

Scientists have replicated hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the laboratory

For the first time, scientists have replicated hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the laboratory. The ability to replicate HCV in cell culture will allow researchers to better study the life cycle and biology of this virus and to test potential antiviral compounds, which may lead to new therapies for the liver disease that results from infection with HCV.

22 Feb 2005

British Medical Association comments on below-average pay rises for doctors

The whole economy average earnings index is currently rising at a rate of 4.5%. Pay rises for doctors, recommended today by the Doctors and Dentists Review Body and accepted by the government, range from 3% to 3.225%

22 Feb 2005

Update on Sudan I contamination

The Food Standards Agency has released an update on food products contaminated with the illegal dye Sudan I.

22 Feb 2005

Don’t believe everything you read on diets

In a society increasingly fixated with body image, we are bombarded with so-called scientific evidence promoting the use of a myriad of diets.

22 Feb 2005

Injections with dirty or contaminated needles are not contributing to the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

Recently, some scientists have suggested that medical injections with contaminated needles were an important, but ignored, factor in the spread of HIV across sub-Saharan Africa. However, research published today in Public Library of Science Medicine shows that injections with dirty needles are not a major source of HIV transmission in rural Zimbabwe.

22 Feb 2005