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 Back to Medical News Today Archives
Medical News Today: 03-27-2006
Researchers at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins have invented a cost-effective and highly efficient way of analyzing what many have termed "junk" DNA and identified regions critical for controlling gene function. And they have found that these control regions from different species don't have to look alike to work alike... click link for more info.
The percentage of physicians who provide charity care to uninsured patients is decreasing, while the number of uninsured is increasing, according to a study released by the Center for Studying Health System Change on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reports (Brown, Wall Street Journal, 3/23). For the study, researchers surveyed 6,600 doctors, finding that 68% reported delivering some no-cost or discounted care to low-income patients in 2004- 2005, compared with 76% of doctors in 1996... click link for more info.
The Medical Health Care Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is going to carry out an investigation on the medical claims made by sellers of 'detox products'. This is after a BBC Programme broadcast investigations by real doctors. The programme revealed that some sellers of detox products claim people can flush out toxins, stimulate circulation and improve their immune systems... click link for more info.
The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Africa is at crisis level. African women of reproductive age have the highest death risk from maternal causes in the world, with an average of 830 deaths per 100,000 live births. As it currently stands, the United Nations Millennium Development Goal to reduce maternal mortality in Africa by 75 percent by 2015 is a far-reaching target... click link for more info.
Massachusetts has "backed off" its plan to sell physician data that can be used to analyze individual physician track records indefinitely, the Boston Globe reports. According to the Globe, doctors opposed the plan, which would make their information available to researchers, insurers and private companies and could be used to determine their experience, complications, and mortality rates individually... click link for more info.
As from 6am yesterday (Sunday) it is illegal to light up a cigarette in pubs and restaurants throughout Scotland, making it the first place in the UK towards the ultimate aim of banning smoking in all public places. Anyone breaking this law faces an on-the-spot fine of £50 ($86). Many smokers and organisations representing the tobacco interests, and some landlords (owners of pubs and restaurants) have warned that these measures could bring about the closure of several establishments... click link for more info.
There are two main types of exercise, one to improve your fitness (aerobic-training) and one to improve your strength (weight-training). It seems that for breast cancer survivors, weight training offers twice the benefit for survivors that aerobic training does. This is according to a new study carried out by researchers at the University of Minnesota... click link for more info.
A comprehensive strategy to redesign the delivery of primary care, its training, education and payment system will be presented at the American College of Physicians (ACP) Annual Session, April 6-8, in Philadelphia. The strategy is part of an effort to prevent the collapse of primary care in the United States... click link for more info.
China's National Population and Family Planning Commission Director Zhang Weiqing on Tuesday in an online forum said Chinese officials would continue to "unswervingly implement" the nation's one-child-per-family policy as the country faces a peak in births, the Kyodo News reports (Kyodo News, 3/21)... click link for more info.
Health Authorities in Indonesia have confirmed that a one-year-old girl died as a result of H5N1 infection, bringing the total number of human deaths in the country to 23. Hong Kong authorities have lifted a three-week ban on live poultry from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The ban was imposed after a man died as a result of bird flu infection in Guangdong's provincial capital, Guangzhou, on March 2... click link for more info.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a crippling autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in which the protective nerve cell coating called myelin is damaged. Although uncontrolled CNS inflammation by immune cells called microglia (MG) and production of the protein TNF-alpha are considered important causes of demyelination and loss of nerve (neuron) function in MS, there is evidence to suggest that a controlled inflammatory response may actually restore damaged myelin and nerve function... click link for more info.
The fiscal year 2007 budget plan proposed by President Bush would make the quality of nursing home care "go backwards," American Health Care Association President and CEO Bruce Yarwood said at a briefing on Wednesday, CQ HealthBeat reports. The plan includes $36 billion in Medicare spending reductions, such as a zero market basket update for skilled nursing homes in FY 2007 and the elimination of reimbursements to providers for uncompensated care... click link for more info.
A study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers offers the strongest evidence yet of the effectiveness of a novel therapy for chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a potentially life-threatening complication of donor bone marrow and stem cell transplants.The use of the therapy, a drug known as rituximab, grew out of recent discoveries about the human immune system and the interactions between transplanted cells and recipients' own tissue... click link for more info.
"Effects of Perinatal HIV Infection and Associated Risk Factors on Cognitive Development Among Young Children," Pediatrics: Renee Smith of the University of Illinois-Chicago and colleagues conducted the study among 117 HIV-positive children who acquired the virus through vertical transmission, as well as 422 children who were exposed to HIV but did not contract the virus (Smith et al... click link for more info.
The Middle East is the most neglected health arena in the world today, states the lead editorial introducing this week's special issue of The Lancet focusing on the region.Though the status of health and medicine in the Middle East today is often compromised by political unrest many laudable efforts, such as the elimination of certain infectious diseases, are underway... click link for more info.
NPR's "All Things Considered" on Tuesday examined the debate surrounding a study published earlier this year in the Lancet that finds up to 10 million female fetuses might have been aborted in the country over the past 20 years. According to NPR, although it is assumed that most female fetuses are aborted in low-income communities, the practice is common among "prosperous and educated" middle-class Indians... click link for more info.
Scientists studying chemicals in food call for joint discussions with consumers and industry on the proposed EU chemicals legislation. At the Annual Meeting of the EU supported research Network CASCADE, March 28-31, in St Malo France, over 90 scientists from Europe, Japan and USA meet to discuss the latest scientific results in the field... click link for more info.
The prevalence of mental disorders in Lebanon is equivalent to that in Western Europe, according to a study published in The Lancet Middle East special issue. The prevalence is high enough to place mental disorders among the most commonly occurring health problems in Lebanon, state the authors.Mental disorders account for a large proportion of disease burden worldwide... click link for more info.
Public Citizen on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in federal court that argues the fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation law (S 1932) is unconstitutional because the House did not approve the version of the legislation signed last month by President Bush, CQ Today reports (Dennis, CQ Today, 3/21). The law will reduce spending for Medicare, Medicaid and other programs by about $39 billion over five years... click link for more info.
Five rounds of yearly mass drug administration are likely to have eliminated the parasites that cause elephantiasis in most areas of Egypt, according to a study in this week's issue of The Lancet.Elephantiasis, or lymphatic filariasis, is a disfiguring and disabling tropical disease caused by infection with parasitic worms... click link for more info.
NPR's "Day to Day" on Tuesday profiled Samite, a Ugandan singer and instrumentalist who uses his music to reach former child soldiers in the country and encourage them to be tested for HIV. According to Samite, his latest CD, "Embalasasa," relates to "what is happening right now with sex," which is "very poisonous" in Uganda and other countries affected by HIV/AIDS... click link for more info.
Basic information on the genetic problems linked to close-kin marriage and the preventive measures available should be included as part of the secondary school curricula in the Middle East, state the authors of a Comment in this week's issue of The Lancet.The World Health Organization (WHO) defines close-kin marriage, or consanguineous marriage, as one between individuals who are second cousins or more closely related... click link for more info.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined a new and "milder" method of performing in vitro fertilization. Some physicians say the method reduces pain and the risk of complications, but others say it allows "no margin for error" and might force women to return for another "expensive and emotionally draining treatment," the Journal reports... click link for more info.
Health systems in the Middle East and North Africa need to adapt to face new public health challenges over the next five years, state the authors of a Comment in this week's issue of The Lancet.Currently the rate of change in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is outpacing the rate of adaptation by public-health systems... click link for more info.
Colorado House lawmakers on Tuesday proposed legislation (HB 1252) that would allow uninsured state residents to qualify for discounted prescription drugs, the Denver Post reports. Under the proposal, state residents ages 60 and older and uninsured residents with incomes lower than 250% of the federal poverty level -- $50,000 for a family of four -- could apply for a "Colorado Cares Rx" card, which would allow them to buy drugs at the same prices as those negotiated for state employees and retirees... click link for more info.
Muslims embarking on the Hajj--an annual religious pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia--should receive counselling, vaccinations, and education to reduce the health risks they face during the 10-day ritual, state the authors of a Review in this week's Lancet Middle East special issue.Annually, millions of Muslims embark on the Hajj... click link for more info.
AIDS Society of Asia and the Pacific President Myung-Hwan Cho on Tuesday said that the region must quell cultural taboos about sex and halt discrimination if it is to curb the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Reuters UK reports. Speaking at the announcement of an HIV/AIDS conference to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, next year, Myung-Hwan said that preventing new HIV cases in the region "is particularly difficult" because of cultural factors... click link for more info.
Commercial confidentiality should not obstruct independent scrutiny of the drug trial that led to six men becoming seriously ill in Northwick Park Hospital in London, UK, states an editorial in this week's issue of The Lancet.On March 13 six volunteers received TeGenero's TGN1412 drug and two a placebo in a phase 1, first-in-man trial, run by Parexel--a contract research organisation... click link for more info.
Michigan-based pharmaceutical company Perrigo, which manufactures nonprescription drugs, on Tuesday announced that it has received FDA approval to sell its terconazole vaginal suppositories for the treatment of yeast infections, Marketwatch reports. Terconazole is the generic version of Ortho McNeil's Terazol 3 vaginal suppositories, an antifungal medication used to treat yeast infections (Marketwatch, 3/21)... click link for more info.
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today released $1.5 billion to 32 states to help offset the medical costs of caring for thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who sought refuge after the storm. Congress set aside $2 billion for this purpose in the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) signed into law by President Bush February 8... click link for more info.
The Health Protection Agency has published advice(1) on the designation of radioactively contaminated land in response to proposals from Defra for new regulations on the clean-up of contaminated sites. For contamination spread fairly evenly over an area the Agency recommends that a radiation dose rate of 3 millisievert per year (3 mSv y-1) above background should be adopted as the basis for designating land as radioactively contaminated... click link for more info.
Women can suffer from postnatal anxiety or stress independently of postnatal depression. A study published today in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry concludes that symptoms of anxiety and stress should be assessed in women in the early postnatal period. A scale that measures anxiety and stress independently of depression enabled researchers to detect 61 women who had symptoms of depression, and a further 33 women who had symptoms of anxiety and stress, without depression... click link for more info.
An FDA advisory committee on Wednesday said that pharmaceutical companies should make patients and physicians aware of the potential psychiatric and cardiovascular risks among children who take attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications but did not call for a "black box" warning for such treatments as a previous committee had recommended, the Wall Street Journal reports (Wilde Mathews, Wall Street Journal, 3/23)... click link for more info.
The combined use of alcohol and "energy drinks" such as Red Bull® have become increasingly popular among youth and young adults in recent years. Users often report reduced sleepiness and increased sensations of pleasure. In the April issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, Brazilian researchers conduct the first controlled scientific study on the effects of combining alcohol with Red Bull®... click link for more info.
People with Korsakoff Syndrome (KS), a brain disorder usually associated with long-term heavy drinking and thiamine deficiency, often have profound deficits in their "explicit memory" or ability to recall recent events. A study in the April issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research looks at a memory process called visuoperceptual learning, a component of "implicit memory," which does not require conscious recollection... click link for more info.
Researchers have developed "custom" nanoparticles that show promise of providing a more targeted and effective delivery of anticancer drugs than conventional medications or any of the earlier attempts to fight cancer with nanoparticles. Designed at the molecular level to attack specific types of cancer without affecting healthy cells, the nanoparticles also have the potential to reduce side effects associated with chemotherapy, the researchers say... click link for more info.
Grape seed extract lowered the blood pressure of patients who participated in a UC Davis study of the benefits of the supplement on people with high blood pressure. Conducted by UC Davis cardiovascular researchers, the study was the first human clinical trial to assess the effect of grape seed extract on people with metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors that increase the risk for heart disease, including high blood pressure, excess abdominal body weight, high blood cholesterol fats and high blood sugar... click link for more info.
In diverse ecosystems, packed with wildly different species, evolution whizzes along. As different species accumulate mutations, some adapt particularly well to their environment and prosper. It happens in marine sediments, mountain forests - and, as a new study illustrates, in precancerous tumors, too... click link for more info.
Researchers report they have created pigs that produce omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to improve heart function and help reduce the risks for heart disease, representing the first cloned transgenic livestock in the world that can make the beneficial compound. The research could be a boost to both farmers and health-conscious consumers seeking an alternative and safer source of omega-3 fatty acids... click link for more info.
Researchers are using an innovative, multi-functional sensing tool to investigate adenosine triposphate (ATP) release and its role in cystic fibrosis. The ATP study marks the first application of a novel sensing system developed by a research team led by Christine Kranz at the Georgia Institute of Technology... click link for more info.
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