World / Health & Beauty
FTC takes on cigarettes advertised as 'light' or 'low-tar'
09.07.2008 13:27
usatoday.com
The Federal Trade Commission wants to bar manufacturers from using a test known as the "FTC method" to claim a cigarette is low ...
USA
Health & Beauty
Court Should Lift Injunction Against Wash. State Rules Requiring Pharmacies To Fill Prescriptions, Opinion Piece Says
09.07.2008 13:16
medicalnewstoday.com
Lengthy litigation over Washington State Board of Pharmacy rules should not interfere with women's access to birth control, including emergency contraception, a Seattle Times editorial says (Seattle Times, 7/7).
World
Sexology
Heparin Overdose Suspected In Texas Hospital Baby Death, 16 Others Affected
09.07.2008 13:16
medicalnewstoday.com
Reports are coming in that a hospital in Texas, USA, is investigating how up to 17 babies in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) received an overdose of the blood thinner heparin; one of the babies is dead although the cause of death is not yet known. A CNN news report said that officials at Christus Spohn Hospital South, located in Corpus Christi, a coastal city in south east Texas, have put "corrective action" in place after they discovered the overdose.
World
Children Diseases
Editorials, Letter To Editor Respond To Senate Republican Block Of PEPFAR Reauthorization Legislation
09.07.2008 13:16
medicalnewstoday.com
Several newspapers recently responded to the decision by some Senate Republicans to continue to block consideration of legislation that would reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, as well as other issues.
World
HIV/AIDS
The rural and the restful
09.07.2008 13:14
telegraph.co.uk
Frances Booth checks in to the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa, Edinburgh.
Great Britain
Health & Beauty
Los Angeles Times Examines National Efforts To Address HIV/AIDS In The Black Community
09.07.2008 12:13
medicalnewstoday.com
The Los Angeles Times on Sunday examined efforts within the black community to address HIV/AIDS. According to the Times, a "growing number of [black] celebrities and leaders" are joining up with local activists, who "have worked for decades to draw attention to the toll of HIV in the black community."Blacks account for almost half of the estimated 1.
World
HIV/AIDS
Physicians Debate Value Of Routine Breast Cancer Screenings For Elderly Patients
09.07.2008 12:12
medicalnewstoday.com
Although annual breast cancer screenings are recommended for most women ages 40 and older, physicians debate the value of regular mammograms for elderly women, who are more likely to die from unrelated causes, the New York Times reports.
World
Cancer
Opinion Piece Examines Democratic Party's Stance On Abortion
09.07.2008 12:12
medicalnewstoday.com
Suggesting to women that the Democratic Party's "commitment to abortion rights is what should drive their vote," while simultaneously suggesting that "given the choice, having a baby is a more moral choice than abortion, will be understood for what it is: condescending and sexist," Frances Kissling, former president of Catholics for Choice, and Kate Michelman, former president of
World
Gynecology
Obesity levels in China rising fast, study finds
09.07.2008 12:02
reuters.com
BEIJING (Reuters) - Obesity levels in China are rising fast, with more than a quarter of the adult population overweight or obese. As people add more meat and dairy products to their diet, serious health problems can develop, a new study says.
World
Health & Beauty
FDA changing notices on drug decisions
09.07.2008 12:01
reuters.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators will change the way they tell drugmakers that their medicines are not ready to be approved, the Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday.
World
Health & Beauty
American Prospect Examines U.S. HIV/AIDS Strategy
09.07.2008 11:14
medicalnewstoday.com
The American Prospect on Monday examined how a group of leaders from several U.S. HIV/AIDS organizations have formed a coalition, called the National AIDS Strategy, to mobilize increased support for a domestic HIV/AIDS plan.
World
HIV/AIDS
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Efforts Could Reduce Heart Attacks By 36%, Strokes By 20% In 30 Years, Study Finds
09.07.2008 11:14
medicalnewstoday.com
Prevention efforts that include proven methods for reducing cardiovascular disease could reduce heart attacks by 36% and strokes by 20% over the next three decades, according to a report published online Monday in the journal Circulation, the Oakland Tribune reports (Bohan, Oakland Tribune, 7/7).
World
Cardiology
AP/Hays Daily News Examines Kan. Gov. Sebelius' Role In State Abortion Debates, Disputes
09.07.2008 11:14
medicalnewstoday.com
The AP/Hays Daily News on Saturday examined Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' (D) role in abortion-related issues in the state. According to the AP/Daily News, Sebelius, who supports abortion rights, "is a key figure in all" debates.
World
Gynecology
Now, a handheld scanner that zooms in on disease
09.07.2008 10:26
b4uindia.com
US scientists have invented a handheld nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scanner that can facilitate the diagnoses of diseases and identification of pathogens. Ralph Weissleder at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has revealed that the revolutionary scanner is many times smaller than conventional NMR spectroscopy machines, which require huge magnets to create the powerful magnetic fields necessary to make them work. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy works by using a powerful magnetic field to line up nuclei in a sample, and then by zapping them with radio waves that cause them to wobble. The researchers say that the currents induced by such precessions in a nearby coil can be used to determine the chemical structure of the molecules that contain the nuclei. Magnetic resonance imaging machines also use the same process to make non-invasive images of human bodies. The new device, however, does not produce images. Conventional NMR spectroscopy machines require powerful fields to line up individual nuclei. Weissleder and his colleagues have, however, found that magnetic nanoparticles generate a much larger signal than single nuclei, and can thus be detected using the weaker fields from small permanent magnets. The researchers say that their idea is to coat such nanoparticles with molecules that bind to specific biomolecules, or bacteria and viruses. They say that the binding process causes the nanoparticles to clump together, producing a measurable change in the signal they produce. According to them, this approach may help identify a large variety of biological targets. Weissleder says that the prototype machine is 800 times more sensitive than standard NMR scanners. "The biggest advantage is that we don''t need sample preparation or purification steps," New Scientist magazine quoted Hakho Lee, lead author on the research, as saying in a report published in the journal Nature Medicine. "This method could provide an easy and fast way to diagnose almost any kind of disease, such as bacterial infection or cancers in point-of-care settings – right next to the patient or in developing countries," the researcher adds. The device may also help conduct water purity tests, and be applied to gaseous samples to search for airborne pathogens or pollutants. Impressed with the work, Dusan Uhrin, an NMR spectroscopist at the University of Edinburgh, said: "If you came to my lab you would see that our spectrometers occupy whole rooms, and we are always struggling with sensitivity in NMR experiments." He added: "They have been able to improve the sensitivity such that they can detect just a few bacteria. It''s quite remarkable that they can detect down to that limit." Weissleder has filed a patent for the design, and started a company called T2 Biosystems to market the devices. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Insect warning colours may help in cancer drug discovery
09.07.2008 10:26
b4uindia.com
Researchers at Smithsonian''s Tropical Research Institute in Panama have revealed that brightly coloured beetles or butterfly larvae nibbling on a plant may signal the presence of chemical compounds active against cancer cell lines and tropical parasitic diseases. For the study, scientists used plants already known to have anti-cancer compounds; those proven to be active against certain disease-carrying parasites; and plants without such activity. The study showed that beetles and butterfly larvae with bright warning coloration were significantly more common on plants that contained compounds active against certain diseases, such as breast cancer and malaria. There was no significant difference in the number of plain-colored insects between plants with and without activity. "These findings are incredibly exciting and important," said Todd Capson, STRI research chemist, who directed the project. "The results of this study could have direct and positive impacts on the future of medical treatment for many diseases around the world," he added. "We put two and two together," said researcher Julie Helson. "We knew that brightly colored insects advertise to their predators that they taste bad and that some get their toxins from their host plants. “But because other insects cheat by mimicking the toxic ones, we weren''t sure if insect color was really going to work to identify plants containing toxins—it did!" Helson was a student at McGill University when she conducted this research in 2005. The study suggests that a quick screen for insects with warning coloration on tropical plants may increase the efficiency of the search for compounds active against cancer and tropical parasitic disease by four-fold. The report is published in the Ecological Society of America''s journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
English