National and International News
Private firms to take over NHS staff - The Telegraph 23/09/05
Tony Blair was accused of planning the privatisation of the health service yesterday after it was revealed that some NHS buildings and staff will be transferred to the private sector.
Top writers join health workers in battle to avert 'break-up' of NHS - The Independent 25/09/05
The future of the NHS is at stake - The Guardian 24/09/05
Privatisation will wreck NHS, say campaigners - The Guardian 24/09/05
Device cuts drug tests on animals - The Observer 25/09/05
Scientists will this week unveil a miniature device that could mimic the behaviour of human organs, including the liver, the kidney and the stomach.
Tobacco firms' subtle tactics lure smokers to their brand - The Observer 25/09/05
Philip Morris and other cigarette giants take to subliminal style messages after cigarette advertising is banned
Link
comment
1 view
Alan Bennett: my secret fight with cancer - The Observer 25/09/05
One of Britain's best-loved playwrights, Alan Bennett, has revealed he secretly suffered from cancer and once expected to die within two years, in a new book that describes his feelings about living under 'a death sentence'.
Why I kept my cancer secret - The Telegraph 24/09/05
Bring on the young Labour Turks - The Observer 25/09/05
With Blair on the way out and the Tories gaining strength, the new generation of the Left must ditch spin and shape a bold new agenda
Leader: Mr Blair must plan for the future - The Observer 25/09/05
Allies rally to see off calls for PM to go - The Observer 25/09/05
How Tony Blair could go the way of John Major - The Observer 25/09/05
Will his third term be Labour's last? - The Observer 25/09/05
Labour isn't working. It has to accept the limits of the state - The Guardian 24/09/05
GPs will go door to door to target the unhealthy - The Observer 25/09/05
Unfit and overweight Britons will get doorstep visits from NHS staff to track those at risk of future illness, under radical plans for a new 'contract' between patients and doctors.
Big rise in 'at risk' juveniles in prison - The Observer 25/09/05
More than 40 per cent of under-18s in British prisons are officially classed as 'vulnerable' and are at serious risk of suicide or self-harm, according to the government's youth justice agency.
Freudians slip in battle to shape French minds - The Observer 25/09/05
Psychological warfare has broken out over a book that calls on the French people to stop blaming their parents.
Legal protection, 10 years on - The Observer 25/09/05
Lucy Fielding and Rebecca Manning, both in their mid-thirties, and both working in local government, have been together nearly 10 years. Several years ago they held a commitment ceremony to confirm their relationship to friends and family. Now they are looking forward to the legal and financial protection they will receive from registration. 'It is a very exciting time,' says Lucy.
Grey matters: Want to carry on earning? Tough - The Observer 25/09/05
Last minute changes of heart appear to be the government's theme of the month for September. But let us add another one to go with the rethinks on council tax revaluation and pub licensing hours. We need a new direction on the anti-age discrimination laws on employment, which are due to start just over a year from now. If there is no overhauling of the rules, over-65s will find it harder, not easier, to get a job.
Clare Baldwin: A blueprint for sport - but will it be heeded? - The Observer 25/09/05
As the first independent review of sport in our country since 1960, 'Raising the Bar', launched last week, is a seminal document. In 140 pages, the report covers everything to do with the delivery of sport to the masses: how it is accessed, how it is governed, where the problems lie with the current system, how they might be solved, how best to protect and maintain school and community playing fields, how to tackle the issue of drugs in sport, how to encourage young children and adults to partake in physical activity, how doctors should be encouraged to prescribe physical activity to prevent illness and how to improve Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth and Championship results at the elite level.
Woman, 67, admits manslaughter of son with Down's syndrome - The Guardian 24/09/05
A mother yesterday admitted killing her son, who had Down's syndrome, after caring for him in her family home for more than 30 years.
'Devoted' mother admits killing her Down's son - The Telegraph 23/09/05
Interview: Decca Aitkenhead meets Ruth Kelly - The Guardian 24/09/05
She's Britain's youngest ever female cabinet minister, clever, loyal, determined to make a difference. Yet there's something about education secretary Ruth Kelly that many find hard to fathom. Decca Aitkenhead meets her
Could I be sacked for taking drugs outside work? - The Guardian 24/09/05
Kate Moss was given her marching orders this week by H&M, Burberry and Chanel after a newspaper published images of her apparently snorting cocaine. H&M has a policy that its models be "healthy, wholesome and sound", and so she was sacked from its upcoming ad campaign because she breached her contract. How?
Inside track: BT - The Guardian 24/09/05
A 60-second cribsheet on some of the country's largest employers of graduates
Officials renew warnings about listeria poisoning - The Guardian 24/09/05
A killer bug behind some of the worst food poisoning outbreaks of the 1980s is back with a vengeance. Forty-four per cent of those who get listeria die and officials are renewing warnings about diet and about cooking food thoroughly.
Hannah Pool: Shorts - The Guardian 24/09/05
Antioxidants: good. Free radicals: bad. That's basically all you need to know. And if you really need more detail, then smoking, vodka, chips: bad. Vegetables, fruit, water: good. That should just about cover it. Anything else is just padding.
Natural health therapist Emma Mitchell answers your questions - The Guardian 24/09/05
I have a bunion and every month my big toe becomes so inflamed and painful I can hardly walk; at night I get shooting pains
Zoe Williams: Drugs going cheap - The Guardian 24/09/05
This week I've been sweating under a heap of abuse over something I wrote about Sainsbury's cherries being, unit for unit, more expensive than E.
Balanced? Fergie, singer - The Guardian 24/09/05
Do you take any vitamins or supplements? I take a multivitamin every day, for general health - it's One- A-Day Women's. If I am sick, I take echinacea. And also a glass of orange juice a day. Basically, that's all the vitamin C you need in a day. Any more and you just pee it out.
Anne Karpf: I did meet a Bad Mother once - The Guardian 24/09/05
If you've got keen hearing, you'll have detected the sound of tens of thousands of hearts sinking on Monday, when newspapers reported soaring stress hormone levels in toddlers starting nursery. That would have been a repeat of the same sinking sound on the Friday before, when a British Medical Journal editorial warned that women delaying childbirth until their late 30s are defying nature and storing up public health problems for the future.
The mother lode - The Guardian 24/09/05
I'm feeling rather smug - I've got the sleepless nights behind me and I've lost count of the conversations where colleagues tell me I did it the right way round: baby then career
Ask Rise - The Guardian 24/09/05
I want to train for a new career without giving up my day job I have a degree in classics and would love to retrain as a dietician or nutritionist. Is there is any way I can qualify without giving up my full-time job?
Former health trust head fined 5,000 for CV lies - The Guardian 24/09/05
A former hospital chief executive who lied about his CV was given a suspended jail sentence and fined £5,000 yesterday at Shrewsbury crown court. Neil Taylor, 42, claimed to have a first-class university degree in business affairs and economics when he applied to be head of Shrewsbury and Telford NHS trust in 2003.
'It's about forgetting the numbers' - The Guardian 24/09/05
Welcome to the retirement home of the future. Hester Lacey visits six friends who have thrown in their lot together under one roof as an experiment in creative ageing
Bad science - The Guardian 24/09/05
What is an implosion researcher? Or an electric field of water? Dr Arbuthnot would like the BBC to say
The futurist - The Guardian 24/09/05
The man who could save the NHS is standing in a derelict 1950s office building in central London. Chris Luebkeman is staring at a pile of office detritus in the middle of the room. Old carpet, foam tiles and chunks of plaster lie in a heap and it seems to depress him. At first I think he's mourning the passing of the building - we're looking at the wreckage of his first London office - but in fact it's the garbage itself.
No sex, please. Or drugs. Or even coffee. We're the Straight Edgers - The Independent 25/09/05
A defunct Eighties punk rock band is inspiring a teenage abstinence movement.
Experts say cannabis should stay class C despite mental health fears - The Independent 25/09/05
Drug experts will advise ministers that there should be no reversal of the downgrading of cannabis from a class B to a class C drug following claims that it is linked with mental illness.
UK fails to stop Afghan heroin - The Independent 25/09/05
Heroin from Afghanistan will flow into Britain for at least another 10 years despite a multi-million-pound effort to combat the trade, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
Torment of women told to wait until their 30s for free IVF - The Independent 25/09/05
Women who are desperate to have children are being told by doctors that they have to wait until they are in their 30s before they can have free fertility treatment.
Man in airport scare is held under Mental Health Act - The Independent 24/09/05
Police used Taser stun guns to subdue a man who struggled with officers after sprinting on to Manchester Airport runway with a briefcase yesterday.
Man held in secure unit after causing airport panic - The Guardian 24/09/05
Letters: Drugs and double standards - The Independent 24/09/05
Why are so many commentators coming out in defence of Kate Moss ("The stench of rancid hypocrisy", 23 September)? Why don't they just publish a statement saying that they support her celebrity status; that it is a shame that she lost her £1m contracts for snorting cocaine because so many other people do, and what's the big deal?
Focus: NHS and economy to turn iron chancellor to straw - The Sunday Times 25/09/05
Gordon Brown has been unassailable for much of his time in office. But the fault lines are beginning to show, says David Smith
Leader: Gordon Brown - The Guardian 24/09/05
Doctors to preserve transplant organs without consent - The Sunday Times 25/09/05
TRANSPLANT surgeons are to be given the legal right to keep patients' organs artificially alive after their death without consent.
Anorexia may be a disease, say scientists - The Sunday Times 25/09/05
THE eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia, hitherto regarded as purely psychiatric illnesses, may instead have a physical cause, researchers have found.
Anorexia could be caused by bacteria - The Independent 25/09/05
Time to junk the junk - The Sunday Times 25/09/05
The battle for our children's diet will enter a new phase this week when Ruth Kelly, the education secretary, confirms a national shake-up in school meals. Out will go the hideous turkey twizzlers, chicken nuggets and other so-called "reformed" meats. Chips and ice cream will be rationed to no more than one or two helpings a week. In will come much more fresh fruit and vegetables. And to stop pupils selecting only the stuff that does them little good, cafeteria-style dining rooms will be replaced by set menus. From September next year, head teachers will be legally obliged to provide balanced diets for the children in their care.
School's out for junk vending - The Sunday Times 25/09/05
Elderly cling to hospital beds for fear of nursing homes - The Sunday Times 25/09/05
HOSPITAL patients are refusing to move into nursing homes following RTE's Prime Time television documentary exposing abuse of old people at Leas Cross.
Violent Scotland: Life on the A&E frontline: an alcohol fuelled mayhem of blades and blood - The Sunday Times 25/09/05
Doctors at the cutting edge of our booze and blade culture tell Marc Horne that ministers should visit the country's overstretched hospitals if they have any doubts Scotland is gripped by a shameful culture of violence
Hundreds of children die as killer bug hits villages - The Times 24/09/05
GULABI DEVI dabbed the limp limbs of Divya, her one-year-old granddaughter, with a wet cloth as she sat cross-legged on the tatty sheet of a rickety hospital bed.
Moves to reduce risk posed by sex offenders - The Times 24/09/05
MEASURES to tighten up the monitoring of convicted sex offenders in Scotland were announced yesterday.
Drugs red tape is pushed aside - The Times 24/09/05
ANY drug that could improve life expectancy will be assessed and made available to patients within six months of being licensed under a new system proposed by the Government's treatment watchdog.
NICE plans faster drugs guidance for the NHS, UK - Medical News Today 25/09/05
NSPCC joins hunt for net crimes - The Times 24/09/05
A The NSPCC has joined forces with the police to hunt for paedophiles and trace internet child abuse victims.
Uproar at 'kill disabled children' remark - The Times 24/09/05
Deputy mayor resigns after suggesting that handicapped youngsters face the guillotine
Firm blamed for beach radiation - The Times 24/09/05
AN ENVIRONMENTAL services company has been named as the most likely source of radioactive particles found on a beach.
Nature's foundations may be shaken by baby for 'sterile' cancer survivor - The Times 24/09/05
AN AMERICAN woman who was sterilised by cancer treatment will give birth this weekend after an operation that could change the foundations of reproductive biology.
'Amazing, this is just a miracle' - The Times 24/09/05
Graphic: Saving Ann's ovary for artificial fertilisation - The Times 24/09/05
A land where there are more abortions than babies born - The Times 24/09/05
IN THE two days since Lisa Petrachkova was born, Russia's population has dropped by an estimated 2,000 people.
Late pregnancy - The Times 24/09/05
My parents were 45 and 50 when I arrived and I had an almost Victorian upbringing. By the age of 20 all I had experienced within my family was illness and death. I feel I had my youth taken away and was there merely to look after them when they were old.
Ignore this headline - The Times 24/09/05
Kids' food scare stories are unhelpful: just keep feeding them well
Why men and women walk to work - The Times 24/09/05
GOOD news for our expanding waistlines - more people than ever are walking on the way to work. A survey this week revealed that just under half (42 per cent) of us are now legging it. Thirty-two per cent of people walked at least part of their journey to work last year, compared with 29 per cent in 2003.
Be happy: take some risks - The Times 24/09/05
Breakthroughs, tips and trends WANT to be happier? Of course you do. But are you willing to take the risks required to achieve this?
Junk medicine: magnetic resonance imaging - The Times 24/09/05
EU scan rules raise danger Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has transformed modern medical diagnosis. The scanning technique allows doctors to identify tumours and tissue damage with great accuracy and to tailor treatment accordingly. It has reduced both patients' and their radiologists' exposure to X-rays, which carry risks to health. It is improving scientists' understanding of the functions of the human body and brain, and it is adding increasing precision to surgery.
Like mother, like son - The Times 24/09/05
A shared sense of humour was the key to bringing up her hyperactive son, says Sue Zaidman
Back to reality with a bump . . . - The Times 24/09/05
Ten years after her last baby, falling pregnant at 40 was a shock to Suzi Godson. Then she had to tell her three kids . . .
Get over it: change in the seasons - The Times 24/09/05
Get over it: change in the seasons
Bodies bought off the peg - The Times 24/09/05
Celebrity obsession is driving what some doctors describe as an unhealthy boom in cosmetic surgery. Roger Dobson reports
Sex matters with Dr Thomas Stuttaford and Suzi Godson - The Times 24/09/05
My husband retired early; everything was great for three months but now he's bored and behaving obnoxiously, which has put me off sex. How do we solve it?
She's dressed to chill - The Times 24/09/05
It's Milan, it's a spa, what to wear? Times fashion editor Lisa Armstrong slips into a towelling robe
Arguing for relationships - The Times 24/09/05
Frequent rows, don't just lead to divorce, they can be vital to a strong marriage, says Andrew G. Marshall
Shaping enlightenment - The Times 24/09/05
The man who brought us yoga tells Lisa Grainger how, at 86, he can still bend over backwards
Merlin Biosciences refuses to comment on SFO rumours - The Times 24/09/05
MERLIN BIOSCIENCES, the biotech investment boutique founded by Sir Christopher Evans, declined to comment last night on persistent rumours that the company has been contacted by the Serious Fraud Office.
Over the counter: pseudoephedrine for colds - The Times 24/09/05
Brands Non Drowsy Sudafed, Galsud, Contac Non Drowsy 12 Hour Relief (and present as an ingredient in a vast number of cold remedies).
Keep tropical bugs at bay - The Times 24/09/05
My daughter plans to take her children, aged 10 and 4, to Sri Lanka next month. I am concerned about them taking anti-malaria tablets as I have heard of adverse reactions to this medication. What is your view? Would deep-impregnated wrist and leg bands suffice?
Home remedies: parsley for bad breath - The Times 24/09/05
Does chewing parsley really cure halitosis?
Eco-worrier: roll up cigarettes - The Times 24/09/05
Stop being 'rollier' than thou Q: My friend smokes roll-ups and claims that this is better for the environment than my filter cigarettes. Can I tell him that he is wrong?
Doctor's anger that went holistic - The Times 24/09/05
Bridget Cowan meets a GP who embraced homoeopathy
Meet Jamie Oliver - The Times 24/09/05
Go to the top of the class with the Soil Association School Food Awards
At your table: pomegranates - The Times 24/09/05
Superfood it may be, but we still need a well-balanced diet, says Jane Clarke, The Times nutritionist
Serve up a bowl of goodness - The Times 24/09/05
From a farmhouse potage to a refined consommé . . . In an extract from a new book, Soup Kitchen, the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall extols the virtues of hearty, healthy broths
Lunch with the Menu Mentor - The Times 24/09/05
What's good on the menu today? To launch her column on healthy restaurant food, Times nutritionist Jane Clarke steers her colleagues through Gordon Ramsay's Maze. John Naish joined the top table
Well fit: Gabby Logan: shaping up after twins - The Times 24/09/05
Thoughts of breakfast to egg on training Having seven-week-old twins means that the day has no definite start or finish, but we like to think of the feed at about 7am as the beginning - it helps to know when to get showered and dressed. It's not usually until 9am, when both babies are fed, washed and changed, that their parents manage to eat breakfast.
Finding Harriet - The Telegraph 25/09/05
Margaret Lambton watched in astonishment as her five-year-old daughter, Harriet, ran down the stairs of their Cambridgeshire home, hand in hand with Geraldine, the little girl's care worker. "When they reached the bottom, Harriet turned around, her face beaming, flung her arms around Geraldine's neck and gave her a huge hug. Her face was glowing, she was so happy," she says.
Report into abortions scandal was delayed to spare Government embarrassment' - The Telegraph 25/09/05
A report into the scandal of British women with healthy late-term pregnancies being helped to get illegal abortions was delayed until after the general election to avoid political embarrassment to the Government, it has been claimed.
Blood test for Alzheimer's - The Telegraph 25/09/05
A simple blood test that can detect Alzheimer's disease has been developed.
From birth to the potty in three weeks - The Telegraph 25/09/05
For new parents, the days of nappy changing seem to last forever. The wait for baby's first time on the potty, however, could be a lot shorter, according to a new method for training.
Advisers consider U-turn on Blunkett's softer cannabis law - The Telegraph 25/09/05
The decision to downgrade cannabis taken last year by David Blunkett could be reversed, and the drug reclassified as dangerous, with its possession even for personal use made an arrestable offence.
New rules spell end of free dental treatment for many children - The Telegraph 25/09/05
Thousands of children will be denied free NHS dental care from next April because of controversial rules being forced on dentists.
Women bypass sex in favour of 'instant pregnancies' - The Telegraph 25/09/05
Women are increasingly seeking inappropriate IVF treatment because they do not have the time or inclination for a sex life and want to "diarise" their busy lives.
Pregnancy targets 'put pressure on nurses' - The Telegraph 24/09/05
Tony Blair's obsession with targets was blamed yesterday for creating a culture in which a teenage girl was given a contraceptive injection by a sexual health nurse in the lavatories at McDonald's.
Nurse gave girl contraceptive jab in toilets at McDonald's - The Telegraph 23/09/05
Third of all NHS trusts plan cuts, says BMA - The Telegraph 24/09/05
A third of NHS trusts are planning to cut services including cancelling operations, closing wards and making doctors and nurses redundant, doctors' leaders warned yesterday.
One in three NHS trusts plan to reduce services, BMA survey reveals, UK - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Women take cancer drug protest to Downing Street - The Telegraph 23/09/05
Dozens of women with breast cancer went to Downing Street yesterday to demand access to a life-saving drug.
Report reveals crop spray health risks - The Telegraph 23/09/05
A variety of illnesses may have been caused by inhaling pesticides sprayed on crops, a Royal Commission said yesterday.
Segregated schools 'breeding extremism' - The Telegraph 23/09/05
School catchment areas should be drawn up to avoid the segregation of races and counter the increasing "ghettoisation" of Britain's cities, Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, said last night.
Drug dealers target rehab clinics - Daily Mail 25/09/05
Drug dealers have hit a new low by targeting rehab clinics with adverts for cut-price heroin and crack, according to reports.
Young hit by mouth cancer increase - Daily Mail 25/09/05
Increasing numbers of young people are being hit by mouth cancer, sparking new warnings about the disease.
Scientist to lead heart study - Daily Mail 25/09/05
A team led by a scientist at one of Scotland's ancient universities has been awarded £800,000 to fund a five-year study into heart disease.
Brainwork 'holds off Alzheimer's' - Daily Mail 24/09/05
The best way to avoid Alzheimer's disease is to become a lawyer, scientist or doctor, according to a study.
Mentally ill care 'national shame' - Daily Mail 24/09/05
Tory leadership hopeful Liam Fox is set to brand the treatment of the mentally ill a "national shame".
Fox: Mental patients' treatment a disgrace - The Independent 25/09/05
Fear and cost prevent dental visits - Daily Mail 24/09/05
More than one in five Britons do not go to the dentist because they are too frightened, according to new research.
Cannabis classification reviewed - Daily Mail 24/09/05
The Government's drugs advisory panel is meeting to discuss whether the downgrading of cannabis should be reversed in the light of research suggesting a link with mental illness.
NHS trusts 'facing funding crisis' - Daily Mail 24/09/05
A third of NHS trusts are planning to reduce services because of funding shortfalls, research has suggested.
Unions set for battle over NHS funding - The Times 24/09/05
Doctor accused of sex offence - Daily Mail 23/09/05
A 43 year-old doctor is due to appear before magistrates next month accused of a sexual offence against an 18 year-old woman
Reprimand for 'octopus' case doctor - Daily Mail 23/09/05
A GP branded a "sexual octopus" by a female patient was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by medical watchdogs.
Jail for fake CV health boss - Daily Mail 23/09/05
A former NHS Trust chief executive has been given a 12 month prison sentence and suspended for two years, after faking his qualifications to obtain the £115,000-a-year post.
Bed shortage if flu pandemic hits - Daily Mail 23/09/05
Intensive care units in the UK would be overwhelmed in the event of a major flu outbreak around the world.
MRSA 'out of control' - Daily Mail 23/09/05
The spread of the MRSA superbug in hospitals could spiral out of control, experts have warned.
School children hit by E.coli bug - Daily Mail 23/09/05
The number of E.coli cases among Welsh school children has risen to 75.
E.coli: Family demand inquiry - Daily Mail 24/09/05
E.coli airlift as cases pass 100 - BBC Health News 25/09/05
E.coli boy airlifted to hospital - Daily Mail 25/09/05
75 children ill after E.coli outbreak - The Telegraph 24/09/05
Women lured with loans to buy facelifts - Daily Mail 23/09/05
BUPA has been accused of preying on women's insecurities by touting loans for plastic surgery.
Dentists in 'drill and fill' row - BBC Health News 25/09/05
Government plans to end the so-called "drill and fill" method of paying NHS dentists have been criticised.
Spouse support cuts job stresses - BBC Health News 24/09/05
Going home to a hug from a supportive spouse - male or female - brings down blood pressure boosted by a nightmare day at work, a study finds.
'Less help' in disease outbreaks - BBC Health News 24/09/05
Healthcare workers are almost twice as likely to volunteer to help out after an environmental disaster than during a disease outbreak, a study suggests.
Giving hugs to premature babies - BBC Health News 24/09/05
One in ten babies born in Britain are premature - many are so tiny that it can be some time before their parent are able to take them out of their incubators and cuddle them.
Cash crisis 'forcing cuts in NHS' - BBC Health News 24/09/05
Cash worries facing NHS trusts in England could mean one-third face cuts in services and a half face recruitment freezes, a survey suggests.
First aid on your iPod launched - BBC Health News 23/09/05
St John Ambulance has launched first-aid tips that can be downloaded onto MP3 players, phones and CDs.
Flu outbreak may 'overwhelm' NHS - BBC Health News 23/09/05
Experts warn there are too few NHS critical care beds in England to cope with an outbreak of avian flu.
Restoring sex life after cancer - BBC Health News 23/09/05
A cancer nurse has designed a device to help female patients who have survived cancer resume a normal sex life.
NHS privatisation claim dismissed - BBC Health News 23/09/05
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has pledged a Labour government will never introduce charges for NHS services.
Fast-track drug appraisal - BBC Health News 23/09/05
The government's drugs watchdog is proposing more rapid appraisal of new medications for the NHS.
France boosts family incentives - BBC Health News 23/09/05
The French government has pledged more money for families with three children, in an effort to encourage working women to have more babies.
Canada's top court to rule on suing Big Tobacco - Reuters 23/09/05
The Supreme Court of Canada will rule next Thursday on the constitutionality of provincial efforts to sue the tobacco industry for the health costs of smoking.
Placebo effect tied to brain receptor activity - Reuters 23/09/05
The activation in the brain of chemical receptors, called mu-opioid receptors, appears to be involved in producing what is known as the "placebo effect," according to a report in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Mexico tests weight reduction power of tequila's agave - Reuters 23/09/05
Scientists from Mexico's tequila producing region say juice extracted from the blue agave plant, best known when distilled into the fiery spirit, may help dieters shed pounds and cut cholesterol.
"Hygiene hypothesis" linked to heart disease risk - Reuters 23/09/05
Early childhood viral infections might reduce the risk of developing heart disease later in life by as much as 90 percent, researchers from Sweden and Finland reported here on Wednesday at the IV World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.
Most breast cancers not linked to ovarian cancer - Reuters 23/09/05
BRCA mutation-related breast cancers are known to greatly increase the risk of ovarian cancer, but new research indicates this association does not apply to other types of hereditary breast cancer.
Complex work may help ward off Alzheimer's - Reuters 23/09/05
People with challenging jobs may have to work hard, but the payoff could be some protection against Alzheimer's disease later in life, new research suggests.
More than wisdom in those wisdom teeth - Reuters 23/09/05
Young adults in their 20s and 30s who can't part with their third molars (a.k.a., wisdom teeth) may be at risk for chronic oral inflammation, increasing the risk of inflammation in other areas of the body as well.
Low-fat vegan diet may spur weight loss - Reuters 23/09/05
A diet free of animal products and low in fat may help trim the waistline without the task of strict calorie watching, a new study suggests.
Motor oil exposure may raise arthritis risk - Reuters 23/09/05
Occupational exposure to mineral oil, primarily motor or hydraulic oil, is associated with an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new research indicates. This supports findings from animal studies showing that these oils induce arthritis.
Motor oil exposure and arthritis risk link - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Report will help “end confusion about the role of doctors in drug treatment”, UK - Medical News Today 25/09/05
A recent report, published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) and the Royal College of General Practitioners, will help “end confusion about the role of doctors in drug treatment and ensure their skills are fully utilised”, according to the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA).
Risperdal® (Risperidone) Significantly Improves Manic Symptoms in 73% of Patients, New Study Shows - Medical News Today 25/09/05
A new study published in the latest edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry involving 290 patients, shows that Risperdal® (risperidone) starts reducing manic symptoms as early as one week into treatment1. Further analysis demonstrates that Risperdal monotherapy is five times more likely to help patients achieve bipolar mania symptom remission within 3 weeks, compared to placebo.2
New Childrens Tsar Welcomes Ground-Breaking Guide To Childrens Medicines, UK - Medical News Today 25/09/05
The new Children's Tsar, Dr Sheila Shribman, today welcomed the launch of a publication which will revolutionise use of medicines in children.
New National Clinical Director for Children, UK - Medical News Today 25/09/05
New guide launched to transform medicine for children, UK - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Creating a permanent chemical bond between antibiotics and titanium, a material used in orthopedic implants - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Infections associated with inserting a medical device can be devastating, painful, and cause prolonged disability, costing tens of thousands of dollars.
MRSA cases concern health professionals in US Gulf Coast - Medical News Today 25/09/05
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reports 30 new cases of antibiotic resistant bacteria in a center for evacuees (victims of the Katrina storm). Initial lab tests indicate the resistance may be caused by MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), otherwise known as the 'superbug'.
What is an influenza pandemic? - Medical News Today 25/09/05
A pandemic is of global proportions, an influenza pandemic occurs when the influenza (type A) virus surfaces in the human population. An influenza pandemic causes serious and often fatal illness and spreads rapidly from human-to-human.
Boy 8 confirmed to have bird flu, H5N1, Indonesian authorities raise surveillance - Medical News Today 25/09/05
The Indonesian Ministry of Health confirmed that an 8-year-old boy has tested positive for H5N1 infection. The test was carried out at a WHO reference laboratory in Hong Kong.
European Medicines Agency recommends suspension of Hexavac vaccine - Medical News Today 25/09/05
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is recommending as a precautionary measure the suspension of the marketing authorisation for Hexavac due to concerns about the long-term protection against hepatitis B. Hexavac is a vaccine for infants and children against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), hepatitis B virus, polio virus and Haemophilus influenzae type b.
Inhaled Corticosteroids Protect Against Cardio-Ischaemic Events in COPD - Medical News Today 25/09/05
For the first time, the inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) budesonide - a common treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - has been shown to reduce cardio-ischemic events in patients with mild to moderate COPD, according to a post-hoc analysis of the EUROSCOP study, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Copenhagen today.1
Thousands of doctors in England and Wales unable to find posts, BMA survey suggests - Medical News Today 25/09/05
The BMA calls on the Department of Health in England to address medical unemployment today (Tuesday 20 September 2005), as new research suggests that the number of junior doctors unable to find posts last month may have been underestimated.
Cambridge University instant Chlamydia test clinical trial at Brook in Birmingham - Gives the results within 25 minutes - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Brook in Birmingham (UK) have been asked by the Diagnostics Development Unit at the University of Cambridge (UK) to carry out a performance evaluation study into a Chlamydia test that gives the results within 25 minutes. The study is being funded by the Wellcome Trust. When the study is complete, the rapid test will be licensed for use by health professionals. It is hoped to develop it further for use as a home test.
Taking the scare out of scoliosis (a side-to-side curving of the spine) - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Sixty years ago, people who suffered from scoliosis, a side-to-side curving of the spine that pulls it into an S or C shape, were given a bleak prognosis. Doctors told them they would have shortened lives, and wouldn't be able to have children or hold active jobs. Surgery was frequently recommended for almost everyone.
Common Cause of Neck and Arm Pain, Cervical Disc Degeneration - Porous Coated Motion (PCM) Artificial Disc Trial - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Rush University Medical Center is one of the few sites in the country selected to participate in a clinical trial for the Artificial Cervical (neck) Disc, the latest technology in the field. The objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Porous Coated Motion (PCM) Artificial Disc for treatment of degenerative disc disease compared to conventional anterior cervical discectomy and spinal fusion surgery.
First European Varian Medical Systems Trilogy™ Installation Introduces Advanced Cancer Treatments to Portugal - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Some of the world's most advanced radiotherapy treatments will become available to cancer patients at a leading clinic in Portugal with Europe's first installation of the state-of-the-art Trilogy™ medical linear accelerator. Using the Trilogy device, doctors at Clinica Quadrantes in Lisbon will be able to offer cancer patients more targeted treatments using new methods including intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).
New Bone Biopsy Study Confirms Unique Dual Mode Of Action and Bone Safety of Protelos® (Strontium Ranelate) in Osteoporosis Treatment - Medical News Today 25/09/05
New results presented at the annual American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) meeting today confirm the unique approach to postmenopausal osteoporosis treatment offered by a new therapy, Protelos® / Protos® (strontium ranelate, Servier). The new data, based on bone biopsies, provide scientific proof that the novel anti-osteoporotic agent has a dual mechanism of action that is completely different from existing treatments and confirm its long term bone safety.
Novel imaging program for the detection of Lung Cancer - CeMinesTM and Colorado Heart & Body Imaging form Strategic Alliance - Medical News Today 25/09/05
CeMines, Inc. announced that it has entered into a clinical research and product distribution agreement with Denver-based Colorado Heart & Body Imaging, LLC (CHBI), a recognized leader in the early detection of cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis. The agreement provides CHBI the opportunity to use CeMines' CellCorrectTMLAb Detection Test Kitsin upcoming clinical studies that relate patient serum biomarkers and imaging in diverse and healthy population groups.
Magnetic shoe insoles did not effectively relieve foot pain - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Magnetic shoe insoles did not effectively relieve foot pain among patients in a study, researchers report in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. And the results indicate that patients who strongly believed in magnets had pain relief even if they were given false magnets to wear.
Diabetic nursing home residents four times more likely to fall than non-diabetics - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Falling is the leading cause of accidental death for elderly people, and a new study from Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion suggests that nursing home residents with diabetes are four times more likely to fall than those who are not diabetic.
Largest Ever Asian Smoking Study Reveals Cardiovascular Health Risks - Medical News Today 25/09/05
The largest ever study of smoking in the Asia Pacific Region, and one of the largest smoking studies ever conducted anywhere in the world, has dispelled a long-held myth that smokers in Asian populations are less susceptible than Western populations to the risks of smoking, such as coronary heart disease and stroke.
Link between body and action perception revealed - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Research appears in October 2005 Nature Neuroscience (Newark)-Psychology researchers have long understood and accepted the importance of an individual's brain activity in motor areas when interpreting the actions of others. However, much less was known about the role the body plays in helping individuals process and understand the same information. With the help of two patients suffering from an extremely rare degenerative neurological condition, a Rutgers-Newark Psychology Professor and his team of researchers have established that the body plays a significant role in helping humans to perceive and understand the actions of others.
Mayo Clinic boosts immune system - May lead to cancer vaccines, better protection for elderly - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a way to dramatically boost the output of immune system cells from the thymus, which may lead to improved cancer vaccines, as well as to ways to otherwise strengthen immune responses.
Cell signaling discovery yields heart disease clues - Medical News Today 25/09/05
A pulsing heart cell is giving Oregon Health & Science University researchers insight into how it sends and receives signals, and that's providing clues into how heart disease and other disorders develop.
Lack of Knowledge About HIV/AIDS Among Women in India Puts Them at High Risk of Infection, Health Workers Say - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Health workers in India are urging the government to launch a major HIV/AIDS awareness campaign targeted at women to fight ignorance about the disease and to curb its spread, BBC News reports. Of the roughly five million HIV-positive people in India, 39% of them are women. "Not only the illiterate women, but the so-called educated women also are not aware of HIV/AIDS," according to the medical director of Vasavya Mahila Mandali, a home for women in Andhra Pradesh. The Indian government says that it is trying to promote awareness. However, education about the disease is difficult because sex is a taboo topic in India, Anbumani Ramadoss, the country's health minister, said. Until recently, government-sponsored HIV/AIDS awareness programs focused primarily on high-risk populations, such as commercial sex workers, men who have sex with men and truck drivers. Therefore, even people who are aware of the disease believe it is mostly confined to those groups. Nongovernmental organizations and HIV-positive people are beginning to spread HIV awareness to women in rural India, according to BBC News. Health workers fear that a lack of awareness programs could lead to the deaths of millions (Morris, BBC News, 9/21).
Pharmaceutical Trade Group Launches Web Site To Track Prescription Drug Clinical Trials - Medical News Today 25/09/05
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, a trade group for the global drug industry, announced Wednesday that it will start a Web site to track clinical drug trials, the International Herald Tribune/New York Times reports. Federation president and Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella said that as a guideline, the group believes members should announce when trials start and make results available within a year of the trial's conclusion. He said, "Over time, what will happen is companies that don't disclose information will be scrutinized." The federation did not recommend that disclosures be made mandatory. Vasella noted some drug companies have expressed concern about disclosing too much information about trials to industry rivals. In addition, because there is no global regulator, it would be difficult to force companies to release the results of clinical trials, Vasella added. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's policy is to ask its members to register when they start drug trials and to publish results upon conclusion (Wright, International Herald Tribune/New York Times, 9/22).
European Medicines Agency proposes new, faster scientific advice procedure - Medical News Today 25/09/05
The European Medicines Agency has launched a two-month public consultation exercise on proposed improvements to the way it provides scientific advice on the research and development of new medicines.
Most women don't know that smear tests prevent cancer - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Two thirds of British women do not know that a cervical smear test is designed to prevent cancer - according to a new survey by Cancer Research UK.
British Dental Association reaction to publication of Open Wide? Report - UK - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Responding to the publication of Contact a Family's Open Wide? report, the BDA has backed calls to improve information about dental care for disabled children. Although the report finds positive experiences of the dental care given to disabled children, it nonetheless highlights problems with information that prevent some patients getting the care they need.
Pediatrician's Role Important in Minimizing and Preventing Effects of Disaster And Terrorism on Children - Medical News Today 25/09/05
Pediatricians can play an important role in assisting parents and community leaders in protecting children from the long-term effects of disaster and terrorism, according to a new AAP clinical report, "Psychosocial Implications of Disaster or Terrorism on Children: A Guide for Pediatricians".
Azilect can provide significant additional benefits to levodopa treated Parkinson's Disease patients - Medical News Today 25/09/05
New data presented in an oral presentation session, at the 9th congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies, showed that treatment with Azilect (rasagiline 1 mg) once daily can provide significant additional benefits to levodopa treated patients with moderate to advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). These benefits were seen regardless of whether patients were receiving additional, optimized treatment with a dopamine agonist.1
Study to examine the effects of synthetic steroids - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researchers have received a grant of about $5 million from the National Institutes of Health to study factors that may increase premature infants' risk for high blood pressure and kidney disease later in life.
Nanowires for detecting molecular signs of cancer - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Harvard University researchers have found that molecular markers indicating the presence of cancer in the body are readily detected in blood scanned by special arrays of silicon nanowires -- even when these cancer markers constitute only one hundred-billionth of the protein present in a drop of blood. In addition to this exceptional accuracy and sensitivity, the minuscule devices also promise to pinpoint the exact type of cancer present with a speed not currently available to clinicians.
Immigrants, Aboriginals needed to help educate about TB - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Aboriginal people and immigrants must be given an active role in helping educate the public about tuberculosis, according to a new study by the University of Alberta.
CAD helps detect smaller tumors in younger women - Medical News Today 24/09/05
A computer-aided detection system not only helps radiologists detect more breast cancers, but also helps detect smaller tumors in younger women, a new study shows.
How is an organism's body size determined? How is the speed of its development controlled? - Medical News Today 24/09/05
A pair of research papers published this week report findings that increase our understanding of how an organism's body size is determined and how the speed of its development is controlled. In particular, the work sheds light on the molecular and cellular pathways that act to convey information about a growing organism's size, as well as on pathways that use that information to correctly time critical transitional events during development.
Why don't some blood pressure-lowering drugs work for some people? Researchers explain why - Medical News Today 24/09/05
For the first time, researchers have mapped a genetic location that explains why certain blood pressure-lowering drugs aren't effective for some people, according to researchers at the 2005 American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research meeting.
Ossur captures Frost & Sullivan Technology of the Year Award for breakthrough RHEO KNEE™ - Medical News Today 24/09/05
With the RHEO KNEE, Ossur has launched the first artificially intelligent knee system having the ability to learn and adapt to its user's movements in real-time, resulting in a continually improved and optimised performance.
Nutritional therapy for HIV-infected patients - Focus shifting - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Nutritional therapy for HIV-infected patients is shifting focus. Drug treatments designed to combat the HIV virus have improved, decreasing some nutritional problems, while bringing others to light. As researchers from the Nutrition/Infection Unit in the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine describe in an editorial review and other research reports, new nutritional challenges in HIV/AIDS care have emerged.
Keep your brain sharp in old age by eating leafy green vegetables - Medical News Today 24/09/05
According to a recent report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, folate, a B vitamin found in foods like leafy green vegetables and citrus fruit, may protect against cognitive decline in older adults. The research was conducted by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.
There are probably an infinite number of genomes, say researchers - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Ever since the genomics revolution took off, scientists have been busily deciphering vast numbers of genomes. Cataloging. Analyzing. Comparing. Public databases hold 239 complete bacterial genomes alone.
Behind the scenes of disaster aid. What really happens? - Medical News Today 24/09/05
The hurricane that devastated the Gulf Coast and the tsunami that ravaged southeast Asia was the stuff one expects to see in overblown movies, not on the nightly news. In a policy briefing paper, Peter Walker, PhD, director of the Feinstein International Famine Center at Tufts' Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, critically assesses what the movies skip over: the behind the scenes workings of disaster relief. The insight he offers on how well tsunami aid was distributed and used will be helpful in the months to come as the Gulf Coast begins to rebuild.
Bleach solution reduces allergenic properties of mold - First-ever human studies show - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have demonstrated that dilute bleach not only kills common household mold, but may also neutralize the mold allergens that cause most mold-related health complaints. The study, published in the September issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is the first to test the effect on allergic individuals of mold spores treated with common household bleach.
Noise in the brain's signalling influencing how our bodies are directed to move - Medical News Today 24/09/05
A UCSF study has revealed new information about how the brain directs the body to make movements. The key factor is "noise" in the brain's signaling, and it helps explain why all movement is not carried out with the same level of precision.
New wound dressing may help stop spread of resistant bacteria - Gauze developed with microbicidal coating - Medical News Today 24/09/05
University of Florida researchers have led the development of a new type of wound dressing that could keep dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria from spreading in hospitals, a problem that leads to thousands of deaths in the United States each year.
Cytokine IL-6 levels are selectively increased in cerebrospinal fluid from Transverse Myelitis patients - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Transverse Myelitis (TM) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by focal spinal cord demyelination and axonal injury. TM causes paralysis and other neurologic disabilities, but has limited treatment options due to a lack of understanding of its underlying mechanisms.
Learning about hypertension with specially bred rats - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have created a better research rat - the first to enable them to study how declining estrogen after menopause can affect hypertension, heart failure and kidney damage.
Patients who have had a heart attack have increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Heart attack patients, and most likely those with other forms of heart disease, run an increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, says a new research review done in Denmark and the Netherlands.
Study provides insight into virulent strain of clostridium difficile - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Scientists have characterised an emerging virulent strain of Clostridium difficile that has been associated with outbreaks of severe disease in North America and Europe. Their findings are published in this week's issue of THE LANCET.
Motor oil exposure and arthritis risk link - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Occupational exposure to mineral oils, in particular hydraulic or motor oil, increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by 30%. These are the results of a study published today in Arthritis Research & Therapy.
Screening people for SARS at airports unlikely to stop spread - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Screening passengers as they arrive at UK airports is unlikely to prevent the importation of either SARS or influenza, finds a study published online by the BMJ today.
Kidney community praised for improvements, UK - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Report notes a sea-change in care for kidney patients - real progress has been made.
Stuttering best treated early, before kids start going to school - Medical News Today 24/09/05
Stuttering is best treated early, before children start school, according to new evidence published in this week's BMJ.
Chief dental officer leaves, UK - Medical News Today 24/09/05
After three years as England's Chief Dental Officer (CDO) Professor Raman Bedi is leaving his post on 1 October to return to his chair at King's College London and take forward the establishment of a global Child Dental Health Taskforce.
Climate Change Threatens Human Health, New Report Shows - Medical News Today 24/09/05
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) are calling for a national response to one of the world's most significant environmental threats - climate change and its effect on human health.
Using diamonds to help make low-friction medical implants - may help reduce infections due to superbugs such as MRSA - Medical News Today 24/09/05
British scientists have developed a way of using diamond to help make low-friction medical implants, which could also help reduce infections due to superbugs such as MRSA.
Addressing children's mental health needs in a crisis is vital, say pediatricians - Medical News Today 24/09/05
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urges parents and other caregivers to pay special attention to children's mental health needs as the nation continues recovery and rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina. The AAP has placed a listing of resources on its Web site at http://www.aap.org that address the physical and emotional needs of children. Children who have been displaced by the flood face many losses such as the loss of home, familiar surroundings, a supportive school or daycare community, peers, prized possessions, and potentially, loved ones.
Key protein C3 opens door to new treatments - Medical News Today 24/09/05
It is known that a key protein in the immune system, C3, bonds with and interacts with up to 40 other proteins and receptors in the blood. But until now it has not been understood what the significance of these bonds might be. In the latest issue of the scientific journal Nature a Swedish-Dutch research team has laid bare the crystal structure of the protein, which may lead to tailor-made treatments for autoimmune diseases.
Stopping BCG vaccination in British schools is well justified - Medical News Today 23/09/05
From autumn 2005, the long running routine programme to vaccinate school children against tuberculosis with BCG vaccine will stop. This decision brings the UK into line with much of the rest of the world and is well justified, writes Professor Paul Fine in this week's BMJ.
Should UK law on euthanasia and physician assisted suicide be altered? - Medical News Today 23/09/05
Next month's debate in the House of Lords could begin the process of changing the law on euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. To help doctors decide where they stand, this week's BMJ publishes a range of opinions.
American Obesity Epidemic Prompts OB/GYNs To Address Subject, Implement Guidelines for Pregnant Women, USA - Medical News Today 23/09/05
The American obesity epidemic is prompting OB/GYNs to address the subject of obesity with their patients before they become pregnant, urging them to take steps to avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports (Neergaard, AP/Long Island Newsday, 9/19). The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists last month released guidelines for physicians caring for obese pregnant women. The guidelines include the recommendations that OB/GYNs who are caring for obese patients explain the Institute of Medicine recommendations for weight gain during pregnancy. In addition to other recommendations, IOM currently says that women with a normal pre-pregnancy weight should gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy, underweight women should gain 28 to 40 pounds, overweight women should gain 15 to 25 pounds and women who are obese prior to becoming pregnant should gain 15 pounds during pregnancy (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 9/1). To prevent excessive weight gain and to minimize the risks associated with pregnancy in obese women, OB/GYNs are recommending nutritional counseling, earlier-than-normal testing for gestational diabetes, and consultation with an anesthesiologist about safe sedation well before the due date in the event an emergency caesarean section is needed (AP/Long Island Newsday, 9/19). Obese women and women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy face additional increased risks during pregnancy, including diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, blood clots and complications during labor, and are more likely to have fetuses with neural tube defects, experience birth trauma and miscarry late in pregnancy (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 9/1).
FDA Approves NovoLog® (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) for treatment of diabetes in children - Medical News Today 23/09/05
Novo Nordisk Inc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) of NovoLog® (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) for the treatment of diabetes in children. NovoLog® is a rapid-acting insulin analogue which can be administered immediately before a meal. The FDA approval comes approximately 4 months before the agency's review deadline.
Rise in e.coli cases in South Wales schools, UK - Medical News Today 23/09/05
The number of children in South Wales schools infected with e.coli has risen to 68. The total number of schools affected has also risen, to 27.
Yale program cuts recurrence of aggressive uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) - Medical News Today 23/09/05
A state-of-the-art treatment program developed at Yale School of Medicine increases survival from the aggressive uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) and spares some patients the need for additional therapy.
Animations for the multi-media project, DNA, author Drew Berry, wins Emmy Award - Medical News Today 23/09/05
Drew Berry, biomedical animator for Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), Australia, is a key member of an international team that has won an Emmy Award.
U.S. 'Should Do Its Fair Share' By Contributing More Money to Global Fund, Editorial Says - Medical News Today 23/09/05
Even in times of budget constraints, the U.S. "should do its fair share" to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, "which the U.S. leaders helped to create, is the best mechanism for doing so," a Des Moines Register editorial says. The Senate has proposed giving $600 million to the Global Fund in fiscal year 2006, and the House has proposed $400 million, according to the editorial. "Even ... $600 million is too low," as it only would help fund existing programs, the editorial says, adding that David Bryden of the Global AIDS Alliance said that an additional $240 million would be necessary for the fund to provide grants to new programs. The Global Fund "makes good use of dollars," but the U.S. "continues to pour the majority of its aid money into U.S.-led AIDS programs" that "come with strings," the editorial says. "Strings" -- such as having FDA approve antiretroviral drugs, urging countries to promote abstinence, and requiring groups to pledge to oppose prostitution and sex trafficking -- "serve only to further the political agendas of U.S. politicians, not save lives or spend dollars wisely," the Register says, concluding, "Contributing our share to the Global Fund is a better use of U.S. dollars" (Des Moines Register, 9/21).
Leaders of Zimbabwean Religious Sects Call for End to Polygamy To Fight AIDS, Issue Policy Document on Epidemic - Medical News Today 22/09/05
Leaders of two of Zimbabwe's indigenous Christian sects have called on their followers to abandon the practice of polygamy to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, Zimbabwe's Sunday Mail reports (Tikiwa, Sunday Mail, 9/18). The leaders of the affiliated sects issued a 23-page policy document on HIV/AIDS after a meeting last week (Associated Press, 9/18). The document was drafted by members of the Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe, which is an umbrella group of Apostolic and Zionist churches made up of more than 70 bishops from each of the country's 10 provinces (Sunday Mail, 9/18). The document calls for the abolition of polygamy, child marriage and inheritance of brothers' widows, which the sects previously approved. "There is a danger that if the husband cannot satisfy the wives, they will be tempted to look for sex outside the marriage, or one of the partners may be infected and this will increase the risk of contracting and spreading HIV," according to the document (Associated Press, 9/18). The Zimbabwean government called the move historic in the fight against the epidemic (Sunday Mail, 9/18). Sect members wishing to marry within their churches will be urged to obtain HIV tests and counseling and reveal their status to their partner (Xinhua People's Daily Online, 9/19).
Cheshire and Mersey News
New phaze in drug aid - Warrington Guardian 24/099/05
A NEW drug and alcohol service has been launched to help young people.
Cumbria and Lancashire News
Smoking ban not harsh enough - Lancashire Evening Telegraph 23/09/05
I DO not believe that the smoking ban goes far enough. The rights of people should be considered first and foremost -- the right to breathe clean air!
Health helpline could do harm - Lancashire Evening Telegraph 23/09/05
I SHOULD like to thank him and accept Mr David Wiggins's apology about the trouble I had trying to contact NHS Direct.
Op cancelled six times in six days - Lancashire Evening Post 24/09/05
A FORMER pub landlord has slammed medics at the Royal Preston Hospital after his operation was cancelled SIX times in as many days.
Greater Manchester News
Mobile scanner will cut queues - Bolton Evening News 23/09/05
DELAYS for patients waiting for full-body scans could soon be over after health bosses confirmed that a mobile scanner will arrive in Bolton in November.
"Free tests needed for deadly disease" - Bolton Evening News 23/09/05
A YOUNG mum is calling for free tests to detect a rare baby disease after her son almost died of it.
