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Bush Administration pressures Canada to eliminate drug importation

The following news release is being issued by CIPA - Canadian mail-order drug importation may become illegal soon due to new regulations proposed by the Liberal Government. After quietly supporting the practice for four years, the Liberals made a conspicuous about face after President Bush's November visit to Canada.

4 Jan 2005

First new leukemia treatment approved specifically for children in more than a decade

Ash Stevens was approved to manufacture the bulk drug substance Clofarabine, the active ingredient in Genzyme Corp.'s Clolar (clofarabine) for the treatment of children with refractory or relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). This is the first new leukemia treatment approved specifically for children in more than a decade.

4 Jan 2005

Study finds advanced vision testing system highly effective in detecting deficits in pre-verbal children

Clinical results of a new pediatric vision test, the Enfant™ Pediatric Vision Testing System, show a 97 percent sensitivity in detecting vision deficits in children as young as six months of age, according to a study published in the December 2004 issue (Volume 8, Number 6) of the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS).

4 Jan 2005

Exposure to the chemical BPA (Bisphenol A) stimulates prostate cancer cell growth

An estrogen-like chemical commonly used to synthesize plastic food containers has been shown to encourage the growth of a specific category of prostate cancer cell, potentially affecting the treatment efficacy for a subset of prostate cancers.

4 Jan 2005

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