National and International News
GPs told: prepare for 14 million flu victims - The Observer 16/10/05
The bird flu crisis moved a step closer to Britain's shores yesterday as the country's most senior medical adviser demanded that all doctors draw up emergency plans to distribute 14 million doses of drugs to combat the disease.
Nobel laureate calls for reform of drug patent system to save lives - The Guardian 15/10/05
Roche poised for 1bn deal on bird flu drugs - The Observer 16/10/05
A tragic, wasted opportunity to avert disaster - The Observer 16/10/05
The killer at the door- The Observer 16/10/05
Facing up to the virus that could kill thousands - The Guardian 15/10/05
Bird flu in Vietnam - The Guardian 15/10/05
On a wing and a prayer - The Guardian 15/10/05
Bird flu: plea for vaccine stockpile - The Guardian 15/10/05
Schools to close and sport banned if bird flu hits - The Independent 16/10/05
Bird flu: Why weren't we warned? How did it get here? How scared should you be? - The Independent 16/10/05
Internet firms cash in on demand for 9-pound-a-tablet anti-viral drug - The Independent 15/10/05
EU draws up contingency plan to head off bird flu crisis - The Independent 15/10/05
Why an exotic fruit is the world's only weapon against bird flu - The Independent 15/10/05
Culling plan to combat avian flu -The Sunday Times 16/10/05
Focus: how to survive bird flu - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
Irish flock culls planned to head off bird flu - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
EU devises strategy to halt spread of bird flu - The Times 15/10/05
We need to be as ready as possible for bird flu - The Times 15/10/05
Bless you, but please don't sneeze on me - The Telegraph 16/10/05
Jabs shortage as bird flu threat grows - The Telegraph 16/10/05
Government is accused of delay over anti-flu drugs - The Telegraph 15/10/05
Bird flu confirmed as deadly H5N1 strain - The Telegraph 15/10/05
Romania takes bird flu measures - BBC Health News 15/10/05
Sri Lanka in bird flu alert - Daily Mail 16/10/05
GenoMed Offers Trial for Influenza and Avian Influenza - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Deadly bird flu confirmed in Romania's Danube delta - Reuters 15/10/05
Romanian bird flu is the deadly H5N1 strain, say British labs - Medical News Today 15/10/05
UK government urges calm over bird flu in Turkey - Medical News Today 14/10/05
EU told to pinpoint areas most at risk from bird flu - Reuters 14/10/05
Deadly bird flu reaches Europe - Daily Mail 14/10/05
UK bird flu tests delayed
- Daily Mail 14/10/05
New bird flu warning over Tamiflu - Daily Mail 14/10/05
Girl 'resistant to bird flu drug' - Daily Mail 14/10/05
Questions over bird flu drug - Daily Mail 15/10/05
Flu virus reported to resist Tamiflu envisioned for pandemic - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Bird flu virus shows signs of evading newest drug - Reuters 14/10/05
Bird flu in new Romania village - BBC Health News 14/10/05
Case of bird flu drug resistance - BBC Health News 14/10/05
Workers urged to go 'email free' - Daily Mail 16/10/05
Office workers are losing millions of hours of vital exercise due to the explosion of email, experts warn.
E-mail habit can make you fat -The Sunday Times 16/10/05
Health experts agree - emails are fattening - The Observer 16/10/05
Sex with trafficked women is rape, says minister - The Observer 16/10/05
Men who have sex with trafficked prostitutes should be charged with rape, ministers believe - a move that could see thousands prosecuted.
Revealed: Britain's network of child drug runners - The Observer 16/10/05
The fullest survey yet into the UK's crack and heroin trade shows it is fuelled by children and teenagers in search of a quick fortune. Denis Campbell reports
Eternal sunshine - The Observer 16/10/05
People are increasingly alert to the signs of an ageing mind, but can we eat our way to mental longevity? Dr John Briffa recommends a sharp intake
Now we are married - with a bouquet of red tape - The Observer 16/10/05
In the latest in his occasional series on downshifting, James Duffell takes Stephanie as his wife (after getting a certificate from the doctor)
Crumbs... How a loaf a day will make you thin - The Observer 16/10/05
New diet regime finds bread is the slimmer's best friend, not the enemy
Columnists lay bare sex and single student - The Observer 16/10/05
University life offers many opportunities to nourish ambitions in the real world. You can edit the student newspaper, rise through a political party or run a college bar.
Toxic creams for sale as thousands seek whiter skin - The Observer 16/10/05
Young black and Asian women are using illegal and harmful skin bleaching creams in an effort to follow fashion. Antony Barnett and Zoe Smith report
Doing the right thing - for a change - The Observer 16/10/05
Simon Caulkin on why changemakers who work from the top down are doomed to fail
Charities gain bigger role in providing care - The Observer 16/10/05
The government will move to reclaim the political initiative from critics of its NHS reforms this week by announcing a major expansion of the role of charitable groups in providing Britain's health and social care.
Natural health therapist Emma Mitchell answers your questions - The Guardian 15/10/05
I have weak eyelashes, so like to use mascara. But if it gets into my eyes, I have an allergic reaction (tears, itching). Is there an alternative?
Lab that finds bugs where others do not - The Guardian 15/10/05
A while ago an investigative television journalist friend rang me up. "I just went undercover to take some MRSA swabs for my filthy hospital superbug scandal," he said, "but they all came back negative. What am I doing wrong?" Always happy to help, I suggested he swab somewhere else instead. Ten minutes later, I heard from him again. He'd just spoken to a tabloid health journalist who had told him which lab to use: "the lab that gives positive results when others do not" was how he described it to me.
Texting teenager referred to addiction centre - The Guardian 15/10/05
A 19-year-old from Paisley is receiving counselling to cure an addiction to sending text messages and emails.
Treatment for text message addict - BBC Health News 14/10/05
Text addict is sent for counselling - The Telegraph 15/10/05
Anne Karpf: Never again will I feel so invulnerable - The Guardian 15/10/05
With my co-parent away at a conference, every last nanosecond of the week ahead had been earmarked - children to ferry, deadlines to meet. Tired, so tired. Reaching for a carton of juice, standing on the kitchen work-surface (why was such a staple kept so high up? Because that's where it's always been) I lost my balance and crashed to the floor.
Cancer wars: Drug giants battle over $7bn market - The Independent 16/10/05
Troubled drug giant Merck is to go head-to-head with Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) in a $7bn (£4bn)-a-year battle to launch a vaccine that will prevent cervical cancer. Merck is pinning its hopes for a revival in its financial fortunes and reputation on Gardasil.
Britons fly abroad for stem-cell makeovers - The Independent 16/10/05
Britons desperate to halt the ageing process are being injected with the stem cells of aborted foetuses at a clinic that charges £15,000 for a controversial new cosmetic treatment. Despite warnings from biologists in the UK that the process is unproven and could be harmful, dozens of British women have flown to Barbados in the hope that the injections will make them forever young - and possibly even boost their sex drive.
A mission to deliver surgical procedures - The Independent 15/10/05
Many surgical procedures taken for granted in the West are not available to the world's poorest people. But a dedicated crew of shipmates is determined to bring hope to those in need
Sharing a home piles on weight for women - The Independent 15/10/05
Warning: moving in with your partner can make you obese, especially if you are a woman.
Parents to hear Charlotte ruling - Daily Mail 14/10/05
Tragic Charlotte Wyatt's parents will find out if they have won their latest legal battle over their daughter's medical treatment on her second birthday.
Judge delays baby Charlotte order - BBC Health News 14/10/05
Baby Charlotte's parents tell judge of 'huge strain' - The Independent 15/10/05
Police to test drivers for drug abuse -The Sunday Times 16/10/05
POLICE are to carry out trials of a roadside detector to combat the growing menace of drug-driving. Government scientists are developing a portable device capable of screening motorists for traces of all illegal substances.
Babies fall sick as doctors ignore superbug hygiene - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
NEWBORN babies at 90% of hospitals are carrying the superbug MRSA, according to a study which found that doctors and nurses are ignoring basic hygiene measures to combat the spread of infection.
Men lose out in battle for cancer cash - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
A MAN diagnosed with prostate cancer has only one-quarter of the cash spent on research into his disease compared to the amount devoted to a woman's breast cancer.
Freezing used to kill cancer cells - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
A BRITISH surgeon has become the first in the world to treat lung cancer by freezing tumours inside the body.
Dense clouds of drug-induced hypocrisy - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
"We know of no spectacle so ridiculous," Lord Macaulay famously said, "as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality." We seem to be in the middle of a particularly absurd one right now. Although there are many hugely important questions in public life generally, and even a few in the Conservative leadership struggle, what obsesses the media is the attempt to force David Cameron into some sort of confession about drugs. It is ludicrous and shameful.
In praise of ... a sense of proportion - The Guardian 15/10/05
The drugs questions that won't go away - The Guardian 15/10/05
Keep quiet on drugs, Portillo tells Cameron - The Observer 16/10/05
Davis backer turns screw on Cameron over drugs - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
Under-fire Cameron admits close relative suffers heroin addiction - The Independent 15/10/05
Could Cameron turn row over drugs to his advantage? - The Independent 15/10/05
Judge attacks failure to learn from Orkney case - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
THE judge who led the inquiry into Scotland's biggest child abuse scandal in Orkney has claimed that government inaction may have led to the collapse of a paedophile trial in the Western Isles.
Doctors may be forced to notify those at risk of HIV - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
DOCTORS may soon be obliged to notify present and former sexual partners of HIV sufferers that they could be at risk, even against their patient's wishes.
North poised to outlaw smoking in public areas - The Sunday Times 16/10/05
A COMPLETE ban on smoking in public areas in Northern Ireland will be announced by the British government tomorrow.
Reprieve for gifted surgeon struck off over illicit affair - The Times 15/10/05
AN EXCEPTIONALLY able plastic surgeon who was struck off after an affair with a married patient can practise again after a High Court judge was moved by the public clamour for his reinstatement.
Whitening kits can wipe smile from your face - The Times 15/10/05
PRODUCTS on sale over the counter that promise to whiten teeth can exacerbate gum disease and are illegal under European law, the British Dental Association (BDA) said yesterday.
Enjoy good sex on a Sunday, Church course recommends - The Times 15/10/05
DAVID DAVIS last night intensified the pressure on David Cameron, his main challenger for the Tory leadership, when he declared that recent users of hard drugs should not be prime minister and demanded that his rival come clean on whether he has ever taken drugs.
'We need nurses. A banknote can't dress a wound' - The Times 15/10/05
The desperate search for people trapped by the Kashmir earthquake ended yesterday and the focus has now shifted to known survivors. Here, Professor Sohail Sahibzada, a British-trained doctor at a hospital near the epicentre, talks to our correspondent about his work amid the carnage
Still fruitful? - The Times 15/10/05
Determining your reproductive sell-by date is not a simple matter
Beauty gets a wake-up call - The Times 15/10/05
Eight hours a night does little to improve your looks, new research shows. It's all in the mind, says Peta Bee
Interview: she's mad, bad, but sane enough to know - The Times 15/10/05
Singer Sinead O'Connor insulted the Pope, became a Catholic priest, came out as a lesbian, then married a man. Now she's a Rastafarian - and psychic
Dr Copperfield: inside the mind of a GP: choose not to make a choice - The Times 15/10/05
Choose and book. Sounds great, doesn't it? Modern, snappy and consumer-friendly. Choose 'n' book. They seem made for each other, like horse 'n' carriage or fish 'n' chips. So why do we GPs pull a face as though they actually go together like D 'n' V? (FYI that's diarrhoea and vomiting, folks.) After all, c hoose and book seems a sensible idea: the news that you have piles, say, is softened by your doctor giving you a choice of hospitals and booking your appointment there and then. And yet, according to recent reports in the trade press, the system is stalling, with GPs unimpressed and not a single primary care trust expected to meet Department of Health choose-and-book targets. Why?
Junk medicine: breast cancer - The Times 15/10/05
Polluting the debate Hard on the heels of successful trials of a cervical cancer vaccine came a cause for optimism this week about another form of tumour.
Inside story: slippery slope: bit of a a lucky break - The Times 15/10/05
Why a rollerskate fall may have saved the life of Tom Rowland
Agony aunt: Irma Kurtz: forget first husband - The Times 15/10/05
I always thought that depressive people were wallowing in self-pity. Now it is happening to me. I have lost my fight-back energy and feel weighed down. Ten years ago I divorced after a 30-year marriage to remarry on the spur of the moment. Despite an agreement to have children, my first husband changed his mind so our three children were all "accidents" owing to failed birth control. I have lived a life of resentment towards him. I thought my second husband would heal my wounds, but he had wounds of his own. After ten years, I feel that we are not helping each other. I have forgiven my former husband for everything. I want us to reunite for our children's sake and because I miss him so badly. He was my first boyfriend, with whom I shared life's hopes and dreams; I did not realise when we divorced how much he was part of me. He has remarried and is apparently happy. Deep down I know what I want: for us to be fully reunited as husband and wife - an impossible wish. How do I get this wish out of my head and get on with life? Truly, I am suicidal.
A-Z of relationships: L is for lust - The Times 15/10/05
Feeling the pull of desire What law does lust obey? When the Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke endeavoured to purloin a man's girlfriend outside a London nightclub, the response was outrage.
Sex matters with Dr Thomas Stuttaford and Suzi Godson - The Times 15/10/05
Since my menopause four years ago I've lost the sensation in my clitoris. Despite my husband's loving attentions nothing turns me on. What can I do?
Once bitten, bites back - The Times 15/10/05
My granddaughter is 21 months old and attends nursery full time. Recently, after being bitten by another child, she has started biting other children. How should this be dealt with?
Over the counter: senna for constipation - The Times 15/10/05
Brands for this natural plant-based product include Ex-Lax Senna and Senokot.
Tooth spa puts a smile on the face - The Times 15/10/05
Facials and fillings, cosseting and cosmetic work - a new type of dentist could make us look forward to our appointments
Sorted: DIY cosmetic dentistry - The Times 15/10/05
If you're despairing at the cost of cosmetic dentistry and are allergic to pain, there may be another way to a Tom Cruise-style smile. Martin Addy, Professor of Dentistry at the Bristol University Dental School, chooses top products to keep your gnashers sparkling.
A pressing appointment - The Times 15/10/05
Finding relief for her chronic back pain put one woman's life on a new track
Home remedies: ginger for nausea and vomiting - The Times 15/10/05
A number of readers have recommended ginger for nausea and vomiting. But does it really work?
Snacks, apples 'n' pop - The Times 15/10/05
Goodbye Mr Crisps; hello fresh, healthy vending-machine food. Celia Dodd puts 50p in the slot
At your table: healthy bites - The Times 15/10/05
How to beat the pre-dinner munchies. Jane Clarke offers some suggestions for tackling hunger
Menu monitor - The Times 15/10/05
Jane Clarke's weekly guide to nutritious but delicious eating out
Well fit: shaping up after twins - The Times 15/10/05
Get a sports bra and give yourself a lift, says Gabby Logan. Fitness tips for new mothers
Not just anybody: Alan Stokes - The Times 15/10/05
British surfing champion Alan Stokes, 24, likes to live life to the max and is happiest in the water
Another pill that proves we're optimism addicts - The Telegraph 16/10/05
The idea that happiness is but a pill away is a very beguiling one. Who among us would not like the solution to all life's little problems to reside in a tablet, something to be taken once or at most twice a day?
Drug for children with behavioural problems has 'unknown risks' - The Telegraph 16/10/05
Saturday in the park with the pimps - The Telegraph 16/10/05
Saturday morning, on a bench in the garden behind St Giles-in-the-Fields throwing a tennis ball for Harry, the dog. St Giles isn't in the fields any more, it's in the shadow of Centre Point tower, but if you can forget that it was once a leper colony, that it was where the condemned stopped for a last beer on their way to Tyburn gallows and that the Great Plague began in its overcrowded parish, it's quite a nice place to sit. Sunlight patches through the plane trees, bachelors read weekend papers, young mums push toddlers on tricycles and tolerate Harry's desperate need to be loved by strangers.
'I thought he'd been boiled alive. How could he possibly survive?' - The Telegraph 16/10/05
Mike Proctor is comfortable with uncertainty. As a mathematician - he is a professor at the University of Cambridge and Dean of College at Trinity - he toys regularly with the unknown.
'Increased risk' of baby deaths at midwife-run birth centres - The Telegraph 16/10/05
Birth centres run by midwives are to be given a health warning after an NHS watchdog found that babies have more chance of dying there than those delivered in hospital.
EU sneaks in charter by back door - The Telegraph 16/10/05
A controversial European human rights programme is being imposed on Britain by the back door, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
I looked at Ivan and thought, 'We're going to get through this. He's lovely' - The Telegraph 16/10/05
So, David Cameron, you are 39 years and five days old, you have spent less time in the House of Commons than I've spent in Waitrose, you have minimal shadow ministerial experience, yet you are seriously proposing to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, many of whose members have Labradors with longer careers than you, and if you do you will be faced with first Tony Blair and, in due course, the ruthless machine that is Gordon Brown, and you have never been tested under fire.. So, David Cameron …"
Why is paedophilia the blackest crime? - The Telegraph 15/10/05
So I was just driving over to the next village for the papers on Wednesday, and listening to Radio 2. It was Wogan's prog. He was struggling to read a funny e-mail, but it rendered him speechless, so he segued into the next song without introduction. I remembered it from 30 years ago and was merrily humming along when I started listening to the words.
Surgeon struck off for affair wins his job back - The Telegraph 15/10/05
A plastic surgeon won a High Court challenge yesterday against being struck off for having an affair with a "vulnerable" patient.
It's a real treat to be eating meat - The Telegraph 14/10/05
After 12 years as a vegetarian, Precious Williams felt tired, was prone to infections and was overweight. Then she realised that her diet could be to blame...
The silent danger to public health - The Telegraph 14/10/05
Half a million sexually active adults have chlamydia, a disease that generally shows no symptoms and has devastating health risks, reports Andy Davies
Does it work? Seaweed - The Telegraph 14/10/05
Thea Jourdan finds out how ocean algae can make junk food healthier
Legionella bacteria found in school - Daily Mail 15/10/05
Bacteria that has the potential to cause Legionnaires' disease has "almost certainly" been found in the water system of a school, a council has said.
Doctors accused over woman's death - Daily Mail 15/10/05
The family of an elderly woman who doctors wanted to allow to die although she wasn't terminally ill have accused them of trying to introduce "euthanasia by the back door".
How curry can help keep cancer at bay - Daily Mail 15/10/05
The spice that gives many curries a yellow colour could help halt the spread of breast cancer, research suggests.
Doubt over complementary treatments - Daily Mail 14/10/05
Fresh doubts about the cost effectiveness of complementary medicine were raised amid calls for greater access to such treatment in the NHS.
Is complementary medicine cost effective? BMJ - Medical News Today 14/10/05
Hospital cleared over girl's death - Daily Mail 14/10/05
The father of a three-year-old girl who died in hospital from a heart attack while on dialysis has said he felt like he had been "shot in the head" after a coroner said medical staff were not at fault.
Paramedic struck off for theft - Daily Mail 14/10/05
A former paramedic who pilfered life-saving medical equipment and tried to sell it on the internet auction site eBay has been struck off his professional register.
Paramedic struck off for net scam - BBC Health News 14/10/05
E.coli outbreak council under fire - Daily Mail 14/10/05
Some food outlets in the local authority area where the E.coli outbreak is believed to have originated have not been inspected since 1996, it has emerged.
Cancer research lab opens - Daily Mail 14/10/05
A specialist lab searching for new treatments for bowel cancer has been launched after fundraising efforts in the name of football legend Bobby Moore.
Surgeon wins challenge over affair - Daily Mail 14/10/05
A "uniquely talented" plastic surgeon won a High Court challenge against being struck off for having an affair with a "vulnerable" patient.
School meals drop amid E.coli fears - Daily Mail 14/10/05
The number of children choosing to eat school dinners has seen a "significant" drop in many of the areas in Wales affected by the E.coli outbreak, according to a study.
Child brain-repair study launched - BBC Health News 15/10/05
Scientists are to study the brains of children born prematurely to see how they adapt after damage.
'Epilepsy took away my childhood - BBC Health News 15/10/05
For years Nicola Howells was told her illness was "in her head".
BCG protects 'more than thought' - BBC Health News 15/10/05
The BCG vaccine offers more protection against tuberculosis than experts currently appreciate, say scientists.
Pillows can harbour harmful fungi - BBC Health News 14/10/05
A small thought to help you sleep when you next get your head down - a study shows the average pillow is home to a host of potentially-harmful fungi.
Your pillow has millions of fungal spores, University of Manchester Study - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Public urged to be calm over flu - BBC Health News 14/10/05
People should not panic after the discovery of a deadly form of avian flu among birds in Turkey, the UK government has said.
US considers rapid home HIV test - BBC Health News 14/10/05
The US is considering approving the first rapid home testing kit for HIV.
Gene link to Tourette's syndrome - BBC Health News 14/10/05
US scientists have discovered a gene that appears to contribute to some cases of Tourette's syndrome.
Prison sorry over diabetic death - BBC Health News 14/10/05
A prison governor has apologised after a coroner ruled that neglect contributed to a diabetic inmate's death in his prison cell.
101 Babies Expected After New Infertility Treatment - Medical News Today 16/10/05
After suffering the heartbreak of years of infertility, scores of US couples claim their dreams came true due to a newly developed therapy. Over one hundred babies have been born or are expected by women diagnosed infertile after receiving a new physical therapy treatment, similar to a deep massage.
Research on link between obesity and cancer - Medical News Today 16/10/05
The National Cancer Institute has awarded researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California $12.1 million over five years to create a center to study the relationship between obesity and cancer.
Heat dangers forgotten in the battle against air pollution - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Ozone is being wrongly blamed for many of the deaths during hot weather spells, finds a new UCL (University College London) study. UCL scientists warn that amidst all the concerns over air pollution, the more basic health message of 'staying cool when the weather is hot' may be being forgotten.
40,000 Pregnant Women at Risk Following Massive Earthquake in Pakistan - Medical News Today 16/10/05
As UNFPA trucks carrying life-saving medicine and surgical supplies began to arrive in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the area worst hit by Saturday's devastatinearthquake, the United Nations Population Fund issued an appeal last night for $3.2 million to meet the urgent needs of an estimated 40,000 pregnant women.
Emotionally Labile Interlocutors Are More Susceptile To Fear And Anger - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Russian physiologists supported by the Russian Foundation for the Humanities have found out that emotions of anger and fear on the face of an interlocutor are quicker and more precisely recognized by emotionally labile people.
Scientists Identify How Antibody Blocks Prostate Cancer Growth in Animal Models, May Lead to A New Targeted Therapy - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have uncovered the mechanism by which an antibody blocks the growth of prostate cancer in animal models, a discovery that could pave the way for development of a new molecularly targeted therapy.
European Medicines Agency - Initial marketing authorizations, October 2005 - Medical News Today 16/10/05
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted positive opinions on initial marketing authorisation applications for: * Exubera (insulin human), Aventis/Pfizer EEIG. Exubera is human insulin that is administered through inhalation. It is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus who are not adequately controlled with oral antidiabetic agents and require insulin therapy. Exubera is also indicated for the treatment of adult patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus, in addition to long- or intermediate-acting subcutaneous insulin, for whom the potential benefits of adding inhaled insulin outweigh the potential safety concerns. EMEA review began on 23 February 2004 with an active review time of 208 days.
Ipsogen presents breast cancer biomarker results at the upcoming ECCO 13, the European Cancer Conference - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Ipsogen SAS, the French cancer diagnostics company, announced today that its latest breast cancer program results had been selected for presentation in a symposium session at the ECCO 13 congress, Europe's pre-eminent cancer research conference, held in Paris from October 30 to November 03.
WFP Hands Out Food in City Worst Hit by Pakistan Earthquake - Medical News Today 16/10/05
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today began handing out emergency food rations to thousands of desperate people in Muzaffarabad, the city worst hit by last Saturday's huge earthquake. Some 12,000 people have so far received a two-day ration of high-energy biscuits, which covers their nutritional needs.
Cool Therapy Reduces Brain Injury and Death from Oxygen Loss in Newborns - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Infants born with oxygen loss who are given an innovative therapy that lowers their entire body temperature by four degrees within the first six hours of life, have a better chance of survival and lower incidence of brain injury, according to a report in today's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Better NHS Response for Patients Harmed by Healthcare, UK - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Under the NHS Redress Bill published today, patients will no longer have to go to court to get compensation, care, apologies and investigations if something goes wrong with their NHS hospital treatment or care.
Critical Window Closing for up to 12 Million Hungry People in Southern Africa - Medical News Today 16/10/05
A top United Nations World Food Programme official warned today that a critical window was closing fast for 12 million people across southern Africa to receive urgent help from the international community -- including five million people in Malawi facing the toughest 'hunger season' in more than a decade.
Promised NHS Democracy in Foundation Hospitals Yet to Materialise Fully, UK - Medical News Today 16/10/05
The government's promise that foundation hospitals will be more accountable to local communities has yet to be realised as elected governors remain unclear about their role and how best to represent patients, staff and the public.
Organon Provides Injectable Contraceptives for Essential USAID Family Health Programs - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Under a new contract between Organon, the human healthcare business unit of Akzo Nobel, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Organon will supply 3 million vials of Megestron® [1], its long-acting injectable contraceptive, in the year 2006. The product will then be used for vital USAID-sponsored family health programs in developing countries.
Black Women With Breast Cancer More Likely Than White Women With Disease To Die of Other Illnesses, Study Shows - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Black women who have breast cancer have a lower survival rate than white women with the disease because they are more likely to die from co-infections of other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, lupus and AIDS, according to a study published in the Oct. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Newport News Daily Press reports (Buchanan, Newport News Daily Press, 10/12). Martin Tammemagi, an associate professor of epidemiology at Brock University in Canada, and colleagues examined the medical records of 264 black women and 642 white women diagnosed with breast cancer in Detroit's Henry Ford Health System between 1985 and 1990 (Tammemagi et al., JAMA, 10/12). Almost 23% of black women with breast cancer were diagnosed with four or more diseases, compared with an 18% co-infection rate of four or more diseases among white women, according to the study. About 37% of black breast cancer patients in the study died from those illnesses, compared with 32% of white patients. John Kessler, a physician with Virginia Oncology Associates, said drugs used to treat other diseases could interfere with surgery and chemotherapy, rendering them less effective, or possibly create complications. He said physicians should monitor all conditions (Newport News Daily Press, 10/12).
GlobalHealthReporting.org Launches Weekly TB/Malaria Report - Medical News Today 16/10/05
Rated 3 in Health; News; National and International News on Oct 16, 2005 at 07:00:22 GMT.
"New TB/Malaria Weekly Report by GlobalHealthReporting.org": This weekly report, delivered via e-mail on Fridays, provides summaries of tuberculosis, malaria and global health news with links to original articles and related resources. It also is available online (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 10/11).
India Needs To Enhance NACO, Recruit More Staff, Focus on Youth, Women, U.N. Official Says - Medical News Today 16/10/05
The Indian government must improve its governing HIV/AIDS control body, increase the number of the agency's staff members and strengthen efforts to educate women and children about the disease, a U.N. official said Wednesday in an interview with the Indo-Asian News Service, IANS/Navhind Times reports. The National AIDS Control Organization "has just nine senior officials for handling the huge program," Nafis Sadik, special adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, said, adding, "Though the resources are there, they have not been properly allocated" (IANS/Navhind Times, 10/13). NACO, which employs 15 full-time staff members, is charged with creating the strategies for implementing national HIV/AIDS control programs and coordinating the programs with local governments, nongovernmental organizations and other groups. Sadik said that "India is going in the right direction of progress" but added that the country needs to involve religious bodies, NGOs, all levels of political leadership, legislation and legislators in efforts to fight the epidemic (Xinhuanet, 10/12). Sadik urged the agency to integrate HIV/AIDS education into women's development programs because the disease has "a lot to do with [women's] vulnerability." She also urged NACO to boost efforts to educate the country's adolescents about responsible sexual behavior. "The first message for [adolescents] should be abstinence, and if they don't do that, we need to protect their health," she said. NACO is scheduled to convene on Saturday to establish the upcoming stage of the HIV/AIDS control program and to decide how it can be combined with other national programs. About 5.1 million people in India are HIV-positive (IANS/Navhind Times, 10/13).
USAID To Provide $3M for Terminally Ill AIDS Patient Care in Uganda - Medical News Today 16/10/05
USAID will provide $3 million to care for terminally ill AIDS patients in Uganda, USAID Country Director Margo Ellis said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. The program aims to help 350,000 AIDS patients in Uganda receive care by 2008 at Hospice Africa-Uganda clinics or through organizations trained by Hospice Africa-Uganda, Ellis said. Hospice Africa-Uganda currently cares for about 10,000 terminally ill AIDS patients, and it receives 60% to 70% of its budget through USAID, according to Chair Angela Kiryabwire. Two nongovernmental organizations have been trained by Hospice Africa-Uganda staff, Kiryabwire said. According to Uganda AIDS Commission spokesperson Jamis Kigozi, between 400,000 and 500,000 Ugandans have been diagnosed with AIDS. About 800,000 HIV-positive people are living in the country (Associated Press, 10/12).
Reuters Examines Challenges of Tracking Financial Donations to AIDS Organizations in Africa - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Reuters on Thursday examined the challenges of tracking financial donations to nongovernmental organizations dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. There are thousands of NGOs in the region, and it is "unclear" how much money they have received and how the money has been spent, according to Reuters. Some of the funding is misspent and never reaches those who need it most, but the "main concern" is that the amount of funding NGOs receive is insufficient, Reuters reports. Large, well-known NGOs receive the largest share of funding, leaving smaller, community-based organizations -- which often provide services for vulnerable groups such as orphans -- with little or nothing. The main sources of funding for NGOs conducting HIV/AIDS work in Africa are the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, although the latter provides most of its fund to governments that then distribute the money. Foreign affairs specialists Curt Tarnoff and Larry Nowels, in a study of U.S. foreign aid spending written for Congress, said that most of the money never leaves the country of origin. "At least 60% of U.S. funding never leaves the U.S., but instead is spent on office overheads, travel, procurement of American-made cars, computers ... as well as salary and benefit packages," the authors said (Macharia, Reuters, 10/13).
Attention to Poverty Issues After Hurricane Katrina Short-Lived, Columnist Says - Medical News Today 15/10/05
"It has long been said that Americans have short attention spans, but this is ridiculous: Our bold, urgent, far-reaching, post-Katrina war on poverty lasted maybe a month," columnist E.J. Dionne writes in the Washington Post. Dionne asserts that conservatives "switched the subject from poverty reduction to how Katrina reconstruction plans might increase the deficit that their own tax-cutting policies helped create," and "[u]nwilling to freeze any of the tax cuts, these conservatives proposed cutting other spending to offset Katrina costs." Dionne continues that the "headlines focused on the seemingly easy calls on pork-barrel spending. But some of their biggest cuts were in health care programs, including Medicaid, and other spending for the poor." He notes that a recent Census Bureau report found a decline in the percentage of U.S. residents receiving employer-based health insurance and writes, "What held down the number of Americans without health insurance altogether? The proportion insured under government programs ... rose." Dionne continues, "A time when more Americans than ever need government-provided health insurance is when we should expand government assistance for health care, not cut it back" (Dionne, Washington Post, 10/14).
FDA Delays Lycopene/Cancer Decision for Sixth Time - Medical News Today 15/10/05
The FDA has requested a sixth extension on giving a decision regarding American Longevity's health claim petition on the link between lycopene and a reduced risk of developing certain types of cancer, until November 11, 2005.
Harvard School of Public Health Study Finds VaccinesBoost Economies of Poor Countries - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Immunization programs in impoverished countries not only save lives, they boost economies, finds a study by researchers with the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) published in the current edition of WORLD ECONOMICS.
WFP Expanding Food Distributions to Pakistan Earthquake Survivors - Medical News Today 15/10/05
The United Nations World Food Programme today began expanding its food distributions to mountain villages near the epicentre of last Saturday's earthquake. Operations are hampered, however, by severe damage to roads and landslides, with many areas still accessible only by air.
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has major role in EU initiative to understand the genetic make-up of human diseases - Medical News Today 15/10/05
The sequence of the human and mouse genomes are rich resources for biomedical research. To bring real benefit from genome sequence, scientists must study the ways that the genes identified by DNA sequencing are used in living cells.
New rheumatoid arthritis drug developed at UCSD promises improved treatment options - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have announced successful completion of Phase II clinical trials of a novel drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one that works without suppressing the patient's immune system.
Blood conservation strategies take center stage at Emory University Hospital Forum - Medical News Today 15/10/05
With blood in high demand and limited supply, blood management is of growing concern to doctors and hospitals across the USA. Leading medical experts and members of prominent health organizations recently gathered at Emory University Hospital to strategize solutions to the growing issues involving blood management and health care quality and delivery.
High blood pressure a greater risk for stroke and heart disease in Asia says new study - Medical News Today 15/10/05
A new study on risk factors in cardiovascular disease in Asia has found that blood pressure is more strongly related to coronary heart disease and stroke in Asia, as compared with Western countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
What mutations tell us about protein folding - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Scientists continue to be puzzled by how proteins fold into their three-dimensional structures. Small single-domain proteins may hold the key to solving this puzzle. These proteins often fold into their three-dimensional structures by crossing only a single barrier. The barrier consists of an ensemble of extremely short-lived transition state structures which cannot be observed directly. However, mutations that slightly shift the folding barrier may provide indirect access to transition states. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and the University of California, San Francisco have suggested a novel method to construct transition state structures from mutational data (PNAS, July, 2005).
New HIV guidelines support use of FUZEON® + active boosted PI for treatment-experienced patients - Medical News Today 15/10/05
New potent combinations make suppression of virus to undetectable levels more achievable for treatment-experienced HIV patients
Preventing fetal exposure to popular acne drug, Accutane (Isotretinoin) - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Isotretinoin (also known as Accutane) is a drug used to treat severe acne, but it can cause birth defects when taken by pregnant women. Because of these risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Roche Pharmaceuticals (Accutane's manufacturer) developed a voluntary pregnancy prevention program (PPP) in 1988 to try and prevent conception in women taking the drug. This program was replaced in the U.S. in 2002 with the System to Manage Accutane Related Teratogenicity (SMART), a program that placed more emphasis on pregnancy testing and contraception.
Life insurance: Research reveals concerns over use of health information - Medical News Today 15/10/05
New ESRC-funded research has discovered that eight per cent of people are asked to pay a higher premium because of health 'ratings' - twice as many as previously thought.
Teaching patients about screening for cancer with computers - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Even patients with minimal education and no computer skills can be successfully educated about health topics using computers, according to new research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Heredity plays big role in heart disease risk factors - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Heredity plays a major role in determining the blood lipid profile and heart rate variability of blacks and whites, two major risk factors for coronary artery disease, researchers say.
Computer models aid understanding of antibody-dependent enhancement in spread of dengue fever - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Some viruses' ability to exploit the human body's own defenses to increase their replication may be both a blessing and curse, according to the findings of a study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The process is known as antibody-dependent enhancement. Scientists believe antibody-dependent enhancement may allow the dengue virus to grow more rapidly in people who were previously infected and have partial but incomplete immunity to the virus. Enhanced virus replication triggers a more deadly, hemorrhagic form of the disease. A study published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that antibody-dependent enhancement offers an evolutionary trade-off between advantage and disadvantage for the dengue virus. The findings could one day lead to new strategies for developing and deploying vaccines.
Small molecule inhibitor of cholera discovered, Study appears in Science - Medical News Today 15/10/05
Just as hurricanes in the Gulf states and Guatemala have raised the risks of cholera outbreaks, researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified a new type of antibiotic against the cholera bacteria. While traditional antibiotics kill bacteria outright by interfering with processes essential for their survival, the new agent blocks production of bacterial proteins that cause the severe diarrhea associated with Vibrio cholerae infection.
Cells with duplicate genomes can trigger tumors - Studies appear in Nature - Medical News Today 15/10/05
The idea that a failure of proper cell division produces genomic instability and promotes the development of cancer was first proposed by German biologist Theodor Boveri in 1915. The fact that tumor cells often have abnormal numbers of chromosomes supports this theory, and two papers published by Harvard Medical School researchers provide new, more direct evidence to support this.
Mad cow disease could spread through urine, Swiss study - Medical News Today 14/10/05
Researchers from the University Hospital of Zurich have found that prions can be spread through urine. Prions are proteins that cause mad cow disease, CJD and scrapie.
Date rape spiked cigarette - woman raped after given one, London - Medical News Today 14/10/05
A woman was given a spiked cigarette in a bar in London and was raped after smoking it. She only remembered the assault a few days after it happened.
Kenneth Clarke's tobacco industry links make him unfit for party leadership, UK, BMJ - Medical News Today 14/10/05
Prospective candidate for the UK Tory party leadership, Kenneth Clarke, is "unfit" for the role because of his continued connection with the tobacco industry, says a contributor to this week's BMJ.
Cheaper and better drugs using biotechnologies have not materialized - Medical News Today 14/10/05
Promises of cheaper and better drugs using biotechnologies have not been met, say researchers in this week's BMJ.
Maternal Mortality Leading Cause of Death for Women Worldwide; Investment in Gender Equality Needed, UNFPA Report Says - Medical News Today 14/10/05
More than 500,000 women died from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth in 2000, but 99% of those maternal deaths were preventable, according to the U.N. Population Fund's "State of World Population 2005" report released on Wednesday, BBC News reports (BBC News, 10/12). Reproductive health problems, including HIV/AIDS, are the leading cause of death among women ages 15 to 44 and are responsible for approximately 250 million years of productive life lost annually, the report says (Lawless, AP/ABC News, 10/12). Experts said that most maternal deaths are preventable through family planning that provides access to contraceptives, skilled workers attending to births and improved access to emergency obstetric care when necessary (BBC News, 10/12). An estimated 76 million unplanned pregnancies and 19 million unsafe abortions occur worldwide annually (UNFPA release, 10/12). About half of the approximately 40 million HIV-positive people worldwide are women, and prevalence is rising among women, especially young women, according to the report (Daily Mail, 10/12). Women ages 15 to 24 are 1.6 times as likely to be HIV-positive as their male counterparts, the reports says (BBC News, 10/12).
29% of New Mothers in U.S. Unmarried, 15% Not Citizens, Census Bureau Study Says - Medical News Today 14/10/05
About 29% of all new mothers in the U.S. are unmarried and 15% are not U.S. citizens, according to a U.S. Census Bureau study scheduled to be released on Thursday, the AP/MSNBC.com reports. The study -- which analyzed data from the bureau's American Community Survey collected between 2000 and 2003 -- found that Hispanics had the highest birth rate in the country and non-Hispanic whites had the lowest birth rate. Approximately 12% of married mothers live in poverty, compared with about half of unmarried mothers, according to the study. About 53.4% of new mothers in Washington, D.C., are unmarried -- a higher rate than any state in the country -- and the district also has the highest percentage of new mothers living in poverty at 36.3%, the study found (AP/MSNBC.com, 10/13). Utah has the highest birth rate of any state -- 90 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 -- and the smallest percentage of unmarried new mothers, 14.7%, according to the study (Bulkeley, Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News, 10/13). Nationwide, approximately 7.7% of women and girls giving birth annually are teenagers (Herrmann, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/13). According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of the study, about 37% of single mothers are teens (Oliviero, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/13). Study authors Tallese Johnson and Jane Dye wrote that children living in poverty were more likely to be born to a teen or an unmarried woman (Chicago Sun-Times, 10/13). Researchers said they had looked for evidence that immigrant mothers were poorer than nonimmigrant mothers but did not find any (Lewin, New York Times, 10/13).
Long Term Benefit of Continuous Treatment with Raptiva in Responding Psoriasis Patients - Medical News Today 13/10/05
Serono announced today data from the CLEAR trial presented at the 14th European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology (EADV) Congress in London showing that 47.5% of patients, who achieved PASI 50 after 12 weeks Raptiva® treatment, achieved a 75% or greater improvement in the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI 75) with extended Raptiva® therapy to 24 weeks (total treatment period of 24 weeks). Furthermore, over 40% of patients with a PGA (Physician Global Assessment) rating of 'good' after 12 weeks of treatment, achieved a rating of 'excellent' or 'cleared' with extended treatment to 24 weeks. These results confirm the long-term benefit of continuous therapy with Raptiva in responding patients.
Therapeutic vaccine for ovarian cancer in clinical trials - Medical News Today 13/10/05
Prima BioMed announced today at the "Thank You" Day celebration at Sydney Children's Hospital that it has completed initial recruitment of its Phase IIa clinical trial in ovarian cancer at the Austin Hospital.
Older men with Parkinson's disease at increased risk of bone fractures - Medical News Today 13/10/05
Researchers found that Parkinson's disease (PD) in older men is associated with lower bone mineral density and suggested that physicians should consider screening older male patients with PD for osteoporosis. This study is published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Older patients with acute coronary syndromes not getting recommended treatment, USA - Medical News Today 13/10/05
A review of more than 56,000 cases of acute coronary syndromes reveals that older patients are less likely to receive treatment recommended by guidelines, even though they benefit as much or more than younger patients when the recommended treatment is provided, according to a new study in the Oct. 18, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
South Africa Telethon Raises Pledges for Action Rather Than Funds To Fight HIV/AIDS - Medical news Today 13/10/05
South Africans on Sunday made more than 155,900 pledges during a telethon that aimed to incite action rather than raise funds to fight HIV/AIDS, the AP/Washington Post reports. Pledges included promises to teach children about the disease, get tested for HIV, volunteer at hospitals and charities, encourage others to wear condoms and support friends living with the disease. The government's HIV information campaign organized the telethon, and local celebrities handled the phone lines. In addition, supermarkets set up collection boxes and police in Johannesburg assembled a mock road block to collect pledges. Organizers hope to obtain one million pledges ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. Though South Africa has received international praise regarding its awareness efforts for the disease, the World Health Organization has said that the country's "slow progress" in providing antiretroviral treatment to the estimated 500,000 people in South Africa living with HIV is one of the "main reasons [the organization] will likely miss its target of putting 3 million people worldwide on AIDS therapy by the end of this year," according to the AP/Washington Post (Zavis, AP/Washington Post, 10/9).
Abbott Labs issues alert on diabetic glucose meters - Reuters15/10/05
Abbott Laboratories Inc. on Friday said it is notifying U.S. users of its blood glucose meters to make sure the device is displaying the correct unit of measure each time they test.
Home dialysis improves well-being in children - Reuters14/10/05
For children with kidney failure who require dialysis, performing it at home at nighttime seems to improve their overall sense of well-being, a study shows.
Children of IVF often ill early on: study - Reuters14/10/05
Long-term rates of illness appear to be higher among children conceived after in vitro fertilization (IVF) than for other children, Swedish researchers report. However, this might be influenced by parents of such children being more likely to seek medical advice.
Existence of toxic mold syndrome questioned - Reuters 14/10/05
Mold and dampness can cause coughing and wheezing, but there is little evidence to support the existence of the so-called toxic mold syndrome, according to a report by researchers at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.
Mom's ulcer bug may up leukemia risk in offspring - Reuters 14/10/05
A study for the first time hints that maternal infection with Helicobacter pylori -- the bacterium that causes most cases of stomach ulcers -- is associated with an increased risk of childhood leukemia in the offspring.
More vitamin D may mean healthier gums - Reuters 14/10/05
People with higher blood levels of vitamin D may be less likely to develop gum disease, a new study suggests.
Back exercises not the answer to low back pain - Reuters 14/10/05
Exercise may help ease lower back pain -- just as long as the exercise is not specifically targeting the back, a new study suggests.
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