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 Back to Medical News Today Archives
Medical News Today: 04-10-2006
Better regulation is needed to ensure that research carried out in Africa and other developing countries is ethical, says an expert in this week's BMJ.Although most developing countries adhere to international ethical codes, some foreign researchers have taken advantage of the lack of local legislation and have ignored rudimentary local statutes, writes Sylvester Chima of Northumbria University... click link for more info.
Last year Peter Sarnow, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, identified a previously unknown mechanism that the hepatitis C virus uses to replicate, yielding a promising new approach to combating the disease-causing virus. On April 5 at the Experimental Biology meeting in San Francisco, Sarnow will discuss recent developments in this work - including his partnership with two pharmaceutical companies that seeks to use the new understanding of the virus to develop treatments... click link for more info.
Dr. Roger Corder, William Harvey Research, London UK, is applying for permission to treat 40 patients who have cardiovascular diseases with plain chocolate. (Dark Chocolate = Plain Chocolate. No milk in it)Recent studies have shown that flavonoids are good for blood pressure, strokes and heart disease... click link for more info.
According to He Changchui, who works for the United Nation's Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), the bird flu situation in Burma (Myanmar) is much more serious than agencies had imagined. There are over 100 outbreaks in the country, mainly in Mandalay and Sagaing. The recent outbreaks started on March 13, the first one officially confirmed in Burma since 2004... click link for more info.
2006 is likely to be the first year in human history when - across almost all the world - women can expect to outlive men, say researchers in this week's BMJ.The trend towards this remarkable achievement will probably be confirmed this week in the 2006 world health report."We tend to forget that in many countries of the world women could expect, until recently, to live fewer years than men and that maternal death in particular remains a big killer," write Danny Dorling and colleagues... click link for more info.
For the first time, researchers studying patients with abnormal moles have identified proteins that could help predict whether such moles will progress into melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The study provides promising evidence that the proteins may represent potential biomarkers for prevention therapy... click link for more info.
In Zimbabwe, female life expectancy stands at 34 years, while for males it is 37 years. According to a report issued by the United Nations, Zimbabwe has the lowest life expectancy in the world. Over the last two years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), life expectancy for women has dropped by two years... click link for more info.
If you are going on a long plane trip you could benefit from wearing sunglasses as they can reduce the effects of jet-lag, say researchers from the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, Scotland. It seems that by altering your light patterns you can tweak your body-clock to adjust to new time zones more easily. Researchers examined one thousand passengers on long-haul flights... click link for more info.
No evidence exists that referral management centres can improve the NHS referral process, warn experts in this week's BMJ.Referral management centres have been developed to monitor, assess, and redirect referrals between primary and secondary care. They are being heralded as a means to achieve a more efficient referral process that can match demand to supply and improves quality... click link for more info.
Using transparent zebrafish embryos, researchers at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia have shown that a microscopic nanoparticle can help fend off damage to normal tissue from radiation. The nanoparticle, a soccer ball-shaped, hollow, carbon-based structure known as a fullerene, acts like an "oxygen sink," binding to dangerous oxygen radicals produced by radiation... click link for more info.
Researchers from the University of Bristol, UK, have discovered why patients with diabetes develop a condition which leads to amputation of the lower limbs. It is caused by an alteration in their skin tissue before leg ulcers develop. It is not uncommon for a person with Diabetes Type 2 to develop an ulcer in the lower limb which does not heal... click link for more info.
Poor communication between brain areas may explain why people with autism do not interact well with other people, say researchers from the University of London. Weak links between brain areas could mean that people with Autism do not benefit from social situations as well as other people. You can read about this study in the journal NEUROIMAGE... click link for more info.
Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital, USA, are using the Free-Electron Laser at specific wavelengths (selective photothermolysis) to heat up fat, which is then excreted by the body - without harming the skin. They say this technique could be used for treating cellulite, acne and heart disease... click link for more info.
The Hawaii Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would provide health insurance to all Hawaii children, the AP/Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports. Under the Keiki Care plan, which would operate for the next three years as a pilot program, the state and Hawaii Medical Service Association would split the cost of covering all uninsured children at a cost of up to $4 million... click link for more info.
A 37-year-old-mother, who gave birth to a low-weight preemie at 24 weeks, exhibited the first-found link in a human between bacteria found in the mouth and the amniotic fluid of a woman in preterm labor.Using new DNA finger-printing techniques to find bacteria that cannot be cultured and grown in the lab, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland made the discovery... click link for more info.
A week-and-a-half after finding the dead, H5N1 infected swan in Fife, Scotland, scientists are still not able to identify what type of swan it was. Epidemiologists need to know what type of swan it is so that they can have a better idea how the virus entered the UK. If it was a native, non-migratory, British swan, then another bird brought the bird flu in... click link for more info.
Delivery of trauma care in Britain is threatened by a lack of training opportunities and a dedicated service infrastructure within the NHS, say doctors in this week's BMJ.The management of severely injured patients is demanding because trauma does not respect the boundaries of anatomy or surgical specialty... click link for more info.
A new company, Vascular Insights, LLC, was founded to develop, manufacture and market devices to treat varicose vein disease, based on technology invented by Michael Tal, M.D., assistant professor of diagnostic radiology (http://radiology.yale.edu/) and director of research interventional radiology at Yale University School of Medicine... click link for more info.
The following highlights recent news of state actions on women's health issues. Abortion Regulations Arizona: The state Senate on Tuesday voted 17-13 to approve a bill (HB 2254) that would require physicians to notify women seeking abortion after 20 weeks' gestation that their fetus can feel pain even if they take pain medication, the AP/Phoenix Arizona Republic reports (AP/Phoenix Arizona Republic, 4/4)... click link for more info.
Higher Dose of Glatiramer Acetate Is More Effective for Multiple Sclerosis Glatiramer acetate is an approved treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease. In the standard dosage, it slows the development of brain lesions and lessens the frequency of relapses, or episodes of symptom worsening... click link for more info.
The pharmaceutical industry spent more than $44 million lobbying state governments in 2003 and 2004 and spent $8 million on candidates for state offices, according to a report released Thursday by the Center for Public Integrity, the Washington Post reports (Kaufman, Washington Post, 4/6). The report also found that drug companies gave state political campaigns an additional $18... click link for more info.
Nearly one-third of American adults have high blood pressure, a major cause of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. But a new technique tested at the University of Florida could prove to be a long-term way to treat the disorder in humans, researchers say.UF researchers kept blood pressure from worsening and nearly eliminated kidney damage in rats exposed to cold weather, which can constrict blood vessels and overload the kidneys with hormones, according to findings published online recently in the journal Gene Therapy... click link for more info.
Some people in Uganda who cannot afford to purchase condoms have started boiling used condoms with steam produced from cooking food in an attempt to sterilize and reuse them, Makerere University professor Sam Luboga said Saturday at the opening of the university's AIDS Actions Week, Uganda's Monitor reports... click link for more info.
WOMEN eat more unhealthy foods and tend to put on weight when they move in with a male partner, according to a new report by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.On the other hand, a man's diet tends to become healthier when he starts cohabiting with a female partner - and her influence has a long-term positive impact... click link for more info.
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that ovariectomy, surgical removal of a woman's ovaries, raises her risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment. Risk is especially increased if a woman has her ovaries removed at a young age.The researchers studied 1,209 women who had surgical removal of both ovaries and 1,302 women who had only one removed from 1950 to 1987 in Olmsted County, Minn... click link for more info.
Six private foundations said they would purchase $14 million in bond anticipation notes to fund the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine until legal challenges against the state are settled after the CIRM Finance Committee on Tuesday authorized up to $200 million in loans through such notes, the Sacramento Bee reports (Downing, Sacramento Bee, 4/5)... click link for more info.
A vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer could protect women for up to four and half years, according to a study published online by The Lancet.Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Persistent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of the disease... click link for more info.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday outlined his agenda for the next two months and said the Senate in May during "Health Week" would consider medical liability legislation and a bill (S 1955) that would allow small businesses to form association health plans, CongressDaily reports... click link for more info.
Educating people with diabetes in a primary-care setting with sustained, comprehensive intervention resulted in significant improvement in disease management and overall health, according to a study published in the current issue of Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association (ADA)... click link for more info.
Recent studies by independent researchers and U.N. officials "raise questions" about whether UNAIDS accurately estimated HIV-prevalence rates in African countries over the last several years, the Washington Post reports. In 2002, the United Nations estimated Zambia to have an HIV-prevalence rate of 21... click link for more info.
A cardiac surgery team at Virginia Commonwealth University's Pauley Heart Center has performed the first artificial heart implant on the East Coast. The CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart, or TAH-t, is the only total artificial heart approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.The patient, a man in his late 50's from Virginia, was in stable condition today in the Pauley Center's intensive care unit following a seven-hour surgery on Monday to implant the TAH-t... click link for more info.
Abortion-rights opponents in Sedgwick County, Kan., on Friday plan to submit a petition to convene a grand jury to investigate the death of a woman who died two days after receiving an abortion at the Women's Health Care Services clinic in Wichita, Kan., the Wichita Eagle reports. Christin Gilbert, a 19-year-old Texas resident Down syndrome who was 28 weeks pregnant, died on Jan... click link for more info.
Because some studies have suggested that soy contains chemicals that may help ward off breast cancer, increasing numbers of women are using soy supplements as a potential tumor preventive. Although a new meta-analysis of all available epidemiologic studies finds that soy intake may be associated with a small reduction in the risk of breast cancer, there are a number of inconsistencies and limitations in the studies examined... click link for more info.
The New York Times on Thursday examined how most efforts to reduce spending in the federal budget focus on domestic discretionary programs -- such as medical research, health care and education -- that account for less than 20% of the budget. Mandatory programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, account for about 56% of the federal budget, but advocates have "fiercely defended" them, the Times reports... click link for more info.
Can eating a low-calorie yet nutritionally balanced diet extend human life? Preliminary research suggests it might, so researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a long-term study to find out.In an editorial in the April issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Luigi Fontana, M... click link for more info.
Mozambique and seven major donors on Monday established a common account and new code of conduct aimed at improving efforts to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, AIM/AllAfrica.com reports (AIM/AllAfrica.com, 4/3) The new account aims to reduce funding duplication by having donors give directly to Mozambique's National AIDS Council, which will manage the account, instead of selecting which projects to support... click link for more info.
Of the more than 40,000 persons who die each year in the U.S. from pulmonary fibrosis, the mortality rate among African-Americans is twice as high Caucasians.A physiologist from Belarus who's worked at the Medical University of South Carolina for almost 10 years thinks she's found a mechanism that could explain why... click link for more info.
Closely watching the human papillomavirus or abnormal cervical cells revealed during the Pap tests of teens and young women is the best course of treatment, an American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists panel said in guidelines published in the April issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, Long Island Newsday reports... click link for more info.
A study conducted by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center supports a possible novel approach for attacking cancer.The research involves two inhibitors of fibroblast activation protein (FAP), which has been implicated in human tumor growth. Talabostat (PT-100) and PT-630-- developed by Point Therapeutics (Boston, Mass... click link for more info.
President Bush "showcased" his proposal to expand use of tax-free health savings accounts during a forum with local business leaders on Wednesday in Bridgeport, Conn., the Washington Post reports. The 2003 Medicare law includes a provision allowing U.S. residents to establish HSAs in combination with high-deductible insurance policies (Baker, Washington Post, 4/6)... click link for more info.
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