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Are we as crazy as mad cows?

When proteins in our body work properly, we can see, smell, consume and digest food, grow muscle and brain cells. But when these infinitely useful biological building blocks fail, the most pernicious diseases arise. Susan Lindquist has scrutinized the complex origami-like shapes of proteins and come to understand how structural mistakes can lead to a frightening class of neurodegenerative disorders, including “Mad Cow Disease.”

20 May 2004

Health Canada to tackle human health impacts of air pollution

Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew today announced the Government of Canada is allocating $1 million over the next year to fund cutting-edge research on the human health impacts of air pollution in support of the Georgia Basin/Puget Sound International Airshed Strategy, one of three pilot projects under the Canada-United States Border Air Quality Strategy.

20 May 2004

Hypertension treatment could reduce hemorrhagic strokes by nearly 30 percent

Treating hypertension could cut the annual number of bleeding strokes in the United States by about one-fourth, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

20 May 2004

New medical device indentifies abnormal heart rhythms called atrial fibrillation

A new device identified abnormal heart rhythms called atrial fibrillation in one of 18 stroke patients in whom two standard tests failed to detect the irregularity, researchers report in today’s rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

20 May 2004

Pacemaker-type device and medicines reduce hospital stays and death rates

A nationwide clinical trial of more than 1,600 heart failure patients showed that when medicines are combined with the use of a pacemaker-type device that resynchronizes both sides of the heart, hospital stays and death rates drop significantly.

20 May 2004

Tumour suppressor gene family may be key to new colon cancer drugs

In the hunt for new cancer drug targets, scientists from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have discovered mutations in a family of genes linked to more than a quarter of colon cancers, as well as several other common cancers including breast and lung.

20 May 2004

Improving the care delivered to children with special health care needs

Health care delivered close to home is vitally important, especially when the patient is a child. But how do community pediatric practices adapt to offer the best care when faced with a child who has complex and often, multiple health needs? Reporting in this month's issue of Pediatrics, Dartmouth researchers outline a process designed to help any practice become a state of the art "medical home" for such children.

20 May 2004

The worldwide prevalence of glaucoma is increasing

Early diagnosis of glaucoma is essential to prevent irreversible visual impairment, according to a Seminar in this week's issue of The Lancet.

20 May 2004

Zinc may help to accelerate recovery from pneumonia

The addition of zinc to standard antimicrobial treatment may accelerate recovery from pneumonia, say researchers in this week's issue of The Lancet.

20 May 2004

Rise in type 2 diabetes rates linked to fizzy drinks

A recent survey in England found 18% of schoolchildren to be overweight and a further 6% to be obese. On this basis, some 1,400 children in the United Kingdom would be currently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and over 20,000 children with impaired glucose tolerance.

20 May 2004

Hospitalisation for angina and chest pain has risen dramatically in the last decade

Researchers analysed hospital discharge records for Scottish residents aged at least 18 years with a first emergency hospitalisation for heart attack, angina, or other chest pain between 1990 and 2000.

20 May 2004

Nearly a quarter of all violent crimes are committed by people who seriously misuse alcohol or drugs

Nearly a quarter (23%) of all violent crimes are committed by people who seriously misuse alcohol or drugs, finds a study from Sweden in this week's BMJ.

20 May 2004

20 percent of all black men born from 1965 through 1969 had served time in prison

Being jailed in federal or state prisons has become so common today that more young black men in the United States have done time than have served in the military or earned a college degree, according to new study.

20 May 2004

Craig Fuller of NACDS testifies on Medicare-approved drug discount card program

Today, Craig Fuller, president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on the Medicare prescription discount cards, the important role of pharmacies and lessons learned from the first two weeks of the Medicare-approved drug discount card program.

20 May 2004

Weekly cycles of once-daily anti-drugs could reduce cost of HIV treatment

In a small study conducted at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers have shown that it may be feasible to treat HIV-infected patients with a simple, once-daily regimen of anti-HIV drugs given in pre-planned, 7-day-on, 7-day-off cycles. This approach is known formally as “short-cycle structured intermittent antiretroviral therapy” (SIT) or colloquially as the “7-7” approach.

20 May 2004

Novogen granted Canadian patent for health supplements for the treatment of menopause symptoms

Pharmaceutical company, Novogen, has been granted patent coverage over its OTC products being sold in Canada. The patent covers the isoflavone composition of the products Promensil(TM), Rimostil(TM) and Trinovin(TM).

20 May 2004

No justification for claims that cleaning and hygiene contribute to an increase in allergies

A landmark report by the London-based International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) on the so-called hygiene hypothesis finds "no justification" for claims that cleaning and hygiene contribute to an increase in allergies.

20 May 2004

Scientists believe that the dog genome holds a wealth of information that will benefit human health

Recently completed genetic analysis reveals that half of the more than 300 inherited canine disorders — including a number of cancers — resemble specific diseases of man; many scientists believe that the dog genome holds a wealth of information that will benefit human health.

20 May 2004

Diabetes drug improves metabolic changes associated with HIV combination therapy

Use of an oral antidiabetes medication produced significant improvement in a group of patients with HIV lipodsytrophy, a syndrome involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in those receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection.

20 May 2004

Chloropropanols in Australian meat products

A Food Standards Agency investigation into 1,3-dichloropropanol (1,3-DCP) has not found it in any of the meat products tested. 1,3-DCP is a chemical that might harm people's health.

20 May 2004

Medical News

Are we as crazy as mad cows?

Health Canada to tackle human health impacts of air pollution

Hypertension treatment could reduce hemorrhagic strokes by nearly 30 percent

New medical device indentifies abnormal heart rhythms called atrial fibrillation

Pacemaker-type device and medicines reduce hospital stays and death rates

Tumour suppressor gene family may be key to new colon cancer drugs

Improving the care delivered to children with special health care needs

The worldwide prevalence of glaucoma is increasing

Zinc may help to accelerate recovery from pneumonia

Rise in type 2 diabetes rates linked to fizzy drinks

Hospitalisation for angina and chest pain has risen dramatically in the last decade

Nearly a quarter of all violent crimes are committed by people who seriously misuse alcohol or drugs

20 percent of all black men born from 1965 through 1969 had served time in prison

Craig Fuller of NACDS testifies on Medicare-approved drug discount card program

Weekly cycles of once-daily anti-drugs could reduce cost of HIV treatment

Novogen granted Canadian patent for health supplements for the treatment of menopause symptoms

No justification for claims that cleaning and hygiene contribute to an increase in allergies

Scientists believe that the dog genome holds a wealth of information that will benefit human health

Diabetes drug improves metabolic changes associated with HIV combination therapy

Chloropropanols in Australian meat products

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

Exploring the Future of Neuroscience Drug Discovery

Genomic conservation in Thailand's mangroves

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