Transfusions cut stroke risk in sickle cell
• Stroke • Dec 30 05
Some patients with severe sickle cell disease may need a lifetime of blood transfusions to reduce the chances of suffering a stroke, data from…
Evista aids bone health in lupus patients
• Arthritis • Dec 30 05
A small study has shown that the osteoporosis drug raloxifene, sold as Evista, helps maintain bone mineral density (BMD) in menopausal women with systemic…
Vertebroplasty reduces back pain and increases activity levels
• Backache • Dec 30 05
A Mayo Clinic study has found patients report less back pain at rest and while active following vertebroplasty, a procedure in which medical cement…
Treatments for epilepsy compared
• Epilepsy • Dec 30 05
In a comprehensive analysis and mathematical model of the available scientific data, researchers at the University of York on behalf of the National Institute…
Researchers Uncover Role of Gene Linked to Parkinson’s Disease
• Neurology • Dec 29 05
Researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center’s School of Medicine have uncovered how a gene linked to Parkinson’s disease…
New gene therapy maybe useful for treating muscular dystrophy
• Genetics • Dec 29 05
A new gene therapy technique that has shown promise in skin disease and hemophilia might one day be useful for treating muscular dystrophy, according…
Childhood infections stunt growth and reduce life expectancy
• Children's Health • Dec 28 05
Records from four European countries show that, on average, survivors of generations with rampant childhood infection - measured by cohort mortality rates at young…
Meats differ in effect on colon cancer risk
• Food & Nutrition • Dec 28 05
People who eat a lot of processed meats may have a higher risk of developing pre-cancerous growths - polyps - in the colon, while…
China’s new bird flu vaccine ready to go
• Drug News • Dec 28 05
According to the state media, China is about to begin mass-production of a new bird flu vaccine for poultry by the end of the…
Smoking linked to severity of psoriasis
• Tobacco & Marijuana • Dec 28 05
Smoking appears to play a role in the risk of developing psoriasis and in the severity of the skin disease, according to the findings…
Antioxidants Associated with Reduced Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
• Eye / Vision Problems • Dec 27 05
A diet with a high intake of beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc is associated with a substantially reduced risk of age-related…
Social and professional support in childbirth
• Childbirth • Dec 27 05
Introduction
The nature of support in childbirth
The birth environment: implications for support
Hormone-blocking implant halts too-early puberty
• Sexual Health • Dec 26 05
Sometimes, when hormones get out of kilter, young girls can enter puberty at too early an age - before they’re even 7 or 8…
Most kids will outgrow bedwetting—pediatricians
• Children's Health • Dec 26 05
Most children who wet the bed will outgrow it, and treatment is necessary only if bedwetting is upsetting to the child, according to new…
New Labels Help You Have Your Fish and Eat It, Too
• Food & Nutrition • Dec 24 05
To help consumers make informed choices about fish - which is protein rich and heart healthy but may harbor chemical contaminants - Cornell Professor…
Harry Potter Protects Children from Injury
• Children's Health • Dec 23 05
Harry Potter books seem to protect children from traumatic injuries, according to a study in this week’s BMJ.
Injuries caused by “craze” activities such…
Bigger brain = more intellectual capacity
• Brain • Dec 23 05
Brain size matters for intellectual ability and bigger is better, McMaster University researchers have found.
The study, led by neuroscientist Sandra Witelson, a professor…
Didgeridoo Playing Improves Your Sleep
• Neurology • Dec 23 05
Regular didgeridoo playing reduces snoring and daytime sleepiness, finds a study published online by the BMJ today.
Snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome are…
Soaps Paint Far Too Rosy a Picture of Coma
• Psychiatry / Psychology • Dec 23 05
American soap operas paint an improbably rosy picture of coma patients’ survival and recovery, says a study in this week’s BMJ, with potentially important…
Low brain estrogen linked to Alzheimer’s in women
• Neurology • Dec 23 05
Post-mortem studies of the brains of women with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) show a much lower estrogen content than similar women without the disorder, researchers…
Signs of Tamiflu resistance no cause for alarm
• Flu • Dec 22 05
Signs that the H5N1 bird flu virus may be developing resistance to the frontline drug Tamiflu in some patients are not necessarily a cause…
Europe on guard against bogus Internet Tamiflu
• Drug News • Dec 22 05
The little white bottle claims to hold 75 milligrams of oseltamivir phosphate - the generic name for the flu drug Tamiflu.
But consumers hoping…
NSAID gel curbs pain of knee arthritis
• Arthritis • Dec 22 05
Adults with painful osteoarthritis of the knee may find relief by rubbing on a gel containing the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac (sold as…
New techniques are able to detect and monitor Alzheimer’s disease
• Neurology • Dec 22 05
The search for new measures, or “biomarkers,” to detect Alzheimer’s disease (AD) before signs of memory loss appear has advanced an important step in…
Erection problems may mean heart trouble
• Sexual Health • Dec 21 05
Men complaining of erection problems should be checked and monitored for heart trouble, researchers said on Tuesday.
Erectile dysfunction can have a variety of…