Another runaway Toyota Prius reported
DETROIT (Reuters) - Federal regulators said they were looking into a report of another runaway Toyota Prius, this one in Westchester County, New York, where police said a woman pulling out of a driveway zoomed across a busy street and into a stone wall. Read more...
Reuters: Health, Today, 2:46pm
Iceland opposition toughens on new "Icesave" talks
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's opposition turned up the heat on the center-left government on Wednesday to hold out for a tough new "Icesave" debt accord with Britain and the Netherlands, after a referendum rejection of its previous deal. Read more...
Reuters: Health, Today, 2:40pm
New Diarrhea Danger for Children
A severe diarrhea-causing germ once thought to only affect the elderly or seriously ill is now affecting a growing number of healthy children Read more...
WebMD Health, Today, 1:25pm
Obama effect boosts Nobel Peace Prize nominations
OSLO (Reuters) - A record 237 people and organizations have been nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, with interest boosted by last year's award to President Barack Obama, organizers said on Wednesday. Read more...
Reuters: Health, Today, 1:13pm
Iraq PM said to be ahead on eve of vote results
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Initial results from Iraq's national election are likely to be released by Thursday, Iraqi and U.N. officials said on Wednesday, as further signs emerged of a strong showing for Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Read more...
Reuters: Health, Today, 12:56pm
"JihadJane" accused of terror plot in Sweden
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with plotting to kill a Swedish man and trying to recruit fighters via the Internet to commit violent attacks overseas, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. Read more...
Reuters: Health, Today, 11:24am
2010 Recipient Of Minority Scholar Award Will Conduct Clinical Research On Leukemia
Alison Walker, MD, has been selected to receive the ASH-AMFDP Award, and will begin her research in acute myeloid leukemia in July of this year. The award, designed to help increase the number of underrepresented minority scholars in the field of hematology, is the result of a partnership between the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP) of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It provides four years of support, including an annual stipend of up to $75,000 and an annual grant of $30,000 to support research activities... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 11:00am
Platelet-Rich Plasma Helps Tennis Elbow
Platelet-rich plasma -- injections of a patient's own blood platelets -- heals of tennis elbow better than cortisone shots, a study finds. Read more...
WebMD Health, Today, 10:54am
Retaliation fears stalk Nigeria city after clashes
JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Sporadic shooting rang out overnight in the central Nigerian city of Jos and witnesses said at least one person was killed by soldiers enforcing a curfew days after attacks on three nearby Christian villages. Read more...
Reuters: Health, Today, 10:18am
Ahmadinejad, Gates trade barbs in Afghanistan
KABUL (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Secretary Robert Gates traded barbs on Wednesday during briefly overlapping visits to Afghanistan, where Washington has troops at war but Tehran has growing clout. Read more...
Reuters: Health, Today, 10:16am
Visit Your Pharmacy This No Smoking Day
Helping a man to stop smoking after 43 years and supporting a woman to quit cigarettes following 15 previous relapses are just two examples where a local pharmacy made the difference of a life time. This No Smoking Day on Wednesday 10 March the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) is advising the public to make a trip to their community pharmacy as the first step towards quitting for good. Every year thousands of people across the UK give up smoking on the national day and this year's campaign theme, Break free, we can help, has come from smokers themselves... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 10:00am
Advocates Seek Increased Federal Funding To Bridge The Gaps In Lupus Research, Awareness, And Education
On March 16, 2010, an anticipated 1,000 advocates will band together for lupus in person and virtually by phone, email, and through social media networks, to share their personal stories with Members of Congress during the Lupus Foundation of America's, (LFA) Twelfth Annual Advocacy Day. Advocates' personal stories will demonstrate how the gaps in lupus research and understanding have a profound effect on the estimated 1.5 million people in the United States who are living with the disease. It has been more than 50 years since the U.S... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 9:00am
Health Overhaul Policy Tidbits
NPR: For those who have forgotten what the Senate's bill would actually do as the debate has turned to politics and procedure, "a short refresher" may come in handy. The legislation's main concepts include the requirement that individuals buy health insurance, a plan that would help eliminate pre-existing condition exclusions and spread risk more widely, and subsidies to help people buy coverage to meet the new requirement (Rovner, 3/9)... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Questioning The Benefits Of Elective Removal Of Ovaries During Hysterectomy: Evidence Suggests Procedure May Do More Harm Than Good
Removal of the ovaries (bilateral oophorectomy) while performing a hysterectomy is common practice to prevent the subsequent development of ovarian cancer. This prophylactic procedure is performed in 55 percent of all US women having a hysterectomy, or approximately 300,000 times each year. An article in the March/April issue of the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology suggests that this procedure may do more harm than good.. William H... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Low-Income Women Living In Small Cities Have Higher Chance Of Obesity
A recent Kansas State University study found that the availability of supermarkets -- rather than the lack of them -- increased the risk of obesity for low-income women living in small cities. This suggests that policies to increase healthful eating behaviors might need to be tailored based on geographic location. K-State researchers studied the availability of food stores for low-income women in Kansas to see whether there was a link to obesity... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Brain Activity Predicts Emotional Resiliency Following A Fight With A Partner
Common wisdom tells us that for a successful relationship partners shouldn't go to bed angry. But new research from a psychologist at Harvard University suggests that brain activity - specifically in the region called the lateral prefrontal cortex - is a far better indicator of how someone will feel in the days following a fight with his or her partner. Individuals who show more neural activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex are less likely to be upset the day after fighting with partners, according to a study in this month's Biological Psychiatry... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Federal Funds Support Health Depts., But Leadership Is Key - Study
The surge of funds for bioterrorism preparedness over the past decade does not appear to be improving local public health resources in general, according to research from Purdue University. However, the funding increase to health departments does spur epidemiologic activity that is key in detecting infectious disease risks, such as a surge in communicable disease like influenza or tuberculosis, at the local level, says George Avery, an assistant professor of health and kinesiology... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Male Batterers Consistently Overestimate General Rates Of Violence Toward Partners
Men who engaged in domestic violence consistently overestimated how common such behavior is, and the more they overestimated it the more they engaged in abusing their partner in the previous 90 days, according to new research conducted at the University of Washington. Those men overestimated by two to three times the actual rates of seven behaviors ranging from throwing something at a partner to rape, according Clayton Neighbors, lead author of a paper to be published in a spring issue of the journal Violence Against Women... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Fashion And IT
Consider this T-shirt: It can monitor your heart rate and breathing, analyze your sweat and even cool you off on a hot summer's day. What about a pillow that monitors your brain waves, or a solar-powered dress that can charge your ipod or MP4 player? This is not science fiction - this is cotton in 2010. Now, the laboratory of Juan Hinestroza, assistant professor of Fiber Science and Apparel Design, has developed cotton threads that can conduct electric current as well as a metal wire can, yet remain light and comfortable enough to give a whole new meaning to multi-use garments... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Los Angeles Times Profiles Antiabortion Pastor Who Travels Southern Calif. In Mobile Pregnancy Clinic
The Los Angeles Times on Monday profiled Dave Wilkinson, an evangelical pastor who runs three Ventura County, Calif., pregnancy clinics that try to urge women not to have abortions. Once weekly, Wilkinson and other antiabortion-rights advocates drive to Los Angeles in a donated motor home to offer ultrasounds to pregnant women and urge them not to have abortions through "prayer-filled counseling sessions," according to the Times. Wilkinson said that many of the women promise to carry their fetuses to term... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Senate Test Vote Today On Bill To Extend COBRA Subsidy, Doc Fix And State Medicaid Funding
The Senate is poised to consider a measure today that would include extending subsidies for COBRA benefits and unemployment insurance, prevent the Medicare payment cut for doctors and provide additional funding to state Medicaid programs. The legislation "faces a key test vote in the Senate, its momentum helped by about 60 popular tax breaks for individuals and businesses that expired at the end of last year," The Associated Press reports. "All told, the measure would add $107 billion to the deficit over the coming decade... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Study Shows Need To 'Speak Plainly' When Discussing Sex, Columnist Writes
"A new study suggests that what people mean when they say they've had sex -- or haven't -- depends on whom you ask," St. Petersburg Times columnist Colette Bancroft writes in an opinion piece about new research from the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction and the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention. The study, published in the journal Sexual Health, examined how men and women in various age groups classify whether various physical acts constitute "having sex... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
Research Identifies New Mechanism Regulating Embryonic Development
A Princeton University-led research team has discovered that protein competition over an important enzyme provides a mechanism to integrate different signals that direct early embryonic development. The work suggests that these signals are combined long before they interact with the organism's DNA, as was previously believed, and also may inform new therapeutic strategies to fight cancer. The fought-over enzyme, known as the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), is found in all complex organisms, ranging from yeast to humans... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
New Research Looks At Beliefs About God's Influence In Everyday Life
Most Americans believe God is concerned with their personal well-being and is directly involved in their personal affairs, according to new research out of the University of Toronto. Using data from two recent national surveys of Americans, UofT Sociology Professor Scott Schieman examined peoples' beliefs about God's involvement and influence in everyday life. His research discovers new patterns about these beliefs and the ways they differ across education and income levels... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 8:00am
New Hope To Vitiligo Patients Offered By Skin Transplant
In the first study of its kind in the United States, Henry Ford Hospital showed that skin transplant surgery is safe and effective for treating vitiligo. Henry Ford researchers followed 23 patients for up to six months after surgery and found that the treated area regained on average 52 percent of its natural skin color. In eight patients with a specific type of vitiligo, the treated area regained on average 74 percent of its natural skin color. The surgery involves using skin cells taken from normally-pigmented areas of the body and transferring them to the damaged area of skin... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
FDA Approves Botox To Treat Spasticity In Flexor Muscles Of The Elbow, Wrist And Fingers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Botox (onabotulinumtoxin A) to treat spasticity in the flexor muscles of the elbow, wrist, and fingers in adults. Spasticity is common after stroke, traumatic brain injury, or the progression of multiple sclerosis. "Muscles affected by spasticity have increased stiffness and tightness, which may lead to pain, difficulties with hygiene and other activities of daily living, and may affect how a patient looks," said Russell Katz, M.D., director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Scientists' Understanding Of Limb Growth Altered By Roving 'Sonic Hedgehog' Gene
Sonic hedgehog, a gene that plays a crucial rule in the positioning and growth of limbs, fingers and toes, has been confirmed in an unexpected place in the embryos of developing mice - the layer of cells that creates the skin. Named for a video game character, Sonic hedgehog describes both a gene and the protein it produces in the body. Its study is important to increase understanding of human birth defects. It was thought to be exclusively present in the cell layer that builds bone and muscle, called the mesoderm... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Nurses To Make Aged Care An Election Year Issue, Australian Nursing Federation
The massive $300 wages gap between aged care and public hospital nurses is set to become an election year issue with the launch of a national advertising campaign by the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) and the NSW Nurses' Association (NSWNA). Ged Kearney, Federal Secretary of the ANF and Brett Holmes, General Secretary of the NSWNA today launched the nurse's $3 million election year campaign with a call for the Rudd Government to inject funding into the aged care system. "This is a plea from the heart. Older Australians deserve the best possible care... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Medical Miracles More Likely, But At What Cost?
The Fiscal Times reports on medical miracles and their place in the national health care reform debate with a likely subheading: high health care costs. "The idea of foregoing heroic efforts and new technologies to save dying patients is anathema for most Americans. It contradicts a core national conviction that innovation coupled with a can-do attitude can accomplish virtually anything" but "(h)ealth care in America will cost nearly $2.7 trillion this year - $9,000 per person - a $200 billion increase over last year... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
As Men Lose Health, Women Lose Partners
At age 55, men can expect another 15 years of sexual activity, but women that age should expect less than 11 years, according to a study by University of Chicago researchers published early online March 10 by the British Medical Journal. Men in good or excellent health at 55 can add 5 to 7 years to that number. Equally healthy women gain slightly less, 3 to 6 years. One consolation for women is that many of them seem not to miss it. Men tend to marry younger women, die sooner and care more about sex, the study confirmed... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Development Of New Scale To Measure Anxiety Outcomes
A new questionnaire and outcomes measurement scale developed by the department of psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital has proven to be a reliable and valid measure of anxiety. The scale can easily be incorporated into routine clinical practice when treating psychiatric disorders. The study appears online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. To determine the impact of treatment on any medical disorder, it is necessary to evaluate outcomes. Standardized scales are increasingly recommended as an outcome measurement tool in the treatment of psychiatric disorders... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
The CSIC Presents The Archive Of Mourning Concerning The Terrorist Attacks In Madrid
The project, directed by CSIC researcher Cristina Sanchez Carretero was completed through close collaboration with associations for victims and those affected. On Thursday March 11, the project will end with its transfer to the Spanish Railway Foundation and the digitized catalog will be available for study with prior approval. The main focus of the investigation explores the social mechanisms that occur in response to collective trauma, although the items have been analyzed from multiple perspectives... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Former USDA Leader And AVMA CEO, Dr. Ron DeHaven Responds In Video To USDA Decision To Scrap Animal ID System
A recent decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to scrap a national animal identification system could seriously hinder U.S. veterinarians' ability to track diseased animals and prevent the spread of those diseases -diseases that could spread to humans and cost U.S. farmers millions of dollars. That's the message that Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief executive officer of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and a former head of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, delivers in a new video which can be viewed on http://www.avmatv... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Link Between Obesity And Poor Colon Cancer Prognosis
Obese patients with colon cancer are at greater risk for death or recurrent disease compared to those who are within a normal weight range, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Obesity has long been established as a risk factor for cancer, but our study in colon cancer patients shows that obesity predicts a poorer prognosis after the cancer is surgically removed," said Frank A. Sinicrope, M.D., professor of medicine and oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Supreme Court To Consider Legality Of Lawsuits Against Vaccine Makers
The Associated Press: "The Supreme Court will decide whether drug makers can be sued by parents who claim their children suffered serious health problems from vaccines. The justices on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from parents in Pittsburgh who want to sue Wyeth over the serious side effects their daughter, six months old at the time, allegedly suffered as a result of the company's diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine. ... Wyeth, now owned by Pfizer, Inc... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Genetic Variant Greatly Increases Lung Cancer Risk For Light Smokers
Individuals with a certain type of genetic susceptibility to lung cancer face a greatly increased risk for the deadly disease with even a small exposure to cigarette smoke, a study team that includes researchers from the University of Cincinnati (UC) has concluded. For family members who carry this genetic variant, the risk of lung cancer is similar for both light and heavy smokers, the researchers say, adding that even non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke and have a family history of lung cancer should be monitored for early detection... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Washington Post, 'Marketplace' Examine Issues Related To HPV Vaccines
The Washington Post on Tuesday published a list of questions and answers from a Consumer Reports review of the safety and efficacy of Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine, Gardasil. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and FDA found that a few women and girls vaccinated with Gardasil experienced serious complications but that the rates and severity of most side effects appear to be consistent with those of other vaccines, the Post reports. FDA approved the vaccine in 2006 for women and girls ages nine through 26... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Stupak Indicates Abortion Compromise Possible For Health Bill
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who is leading a coalition of anti-abortion Democrats standing in the way of party leadership efforts to pass a health bill, signaled Monday that the impasse may be close to resolution. The Associated Press: Stupak "said he expects to resume talks with House leaders this week in a quest for wording that would impose no new limits on abortion rights but also would not allow use of federal money for the procedure. ''I'm more optimistic than I was a week ago,' Stupak told The Associated Press between meetings with constituents in his northern Michigan district. ... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Administration, Health Insurers Point Fingers At Each Other In Premium Hike Dust-Up
The Obama administration and insurance industry executives are continuing their battle over rate increases. Politico: "Insurance industry executives sat down with administration officials in the White House last week to justify their rising premium costs, attributing them to increasing medical costs. But it's an answer President Barack Obama apparently wasn't buying. In his weekly Saturday address, he said insurance companies 'couldn't give me a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums.' ... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Behavioral Problems In Childhood Double The Risk Of Chronic Widespread Pain In Adult Life
Bad behaviour in childhood is associated with long-term, chronic widespread pain in adult life, according to the findings of a study following nearly 20,000 people from birth in 1958 to the present day. Chronic widespread pain is a common complaint that can have a major adverse effect on quality of life, often requiring referral to a hospital specialist for investigation and treatment... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
GOP Candidate For Calif. Gov. Switches Positions On Abortion-Related Issues
California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who is seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination, took liberal positions on abortion-rights issues when he unsuccessfully ran for state Assembly in 2004, the Los Angeles Times reports. Poizner's past statements supporting abortion-right issues contradict the conservative stance he has taken in his current campaign. On Friday, the Poizner campaign sent an e-mail claiming that he is "the only Republican candidate for governor who is against taxpayer-funded abortion... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 7:00am
Pediatricians Say Colleagues Cautious About Treating Chronic Pain In Children
Many pediatricians don't think it's their responsibility to treat severe, chronic pain in their patients, according to a new study co-authored by several University of Florida College of Medicine researchers and an investigator from Molloy College. Writing in the February issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine, researchers said only 32.3 percent of pediatricians from Florida and California surveyed said treatment of chronic pain was their responsibility... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am
Obamas, Clinton Commemorate International Women's Day
Marking International Women's Day at the White House Monday, President Barack Obama vowed to fight for gender equality at home and abroad, Agence France-Presse reports. The president marked the event with First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, AFP reports. "Even as we reflect on the hope of our history, we must also face squarely the reality of the present - a reality marked by unfairness, marked by hardship for too many women in America," Obama said... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am
Opinions: Don't Slow Fight Against HIV, TB, Malaria; U.S. Focus On Women, Girls
2010 To Be 'Decisive Year' For Global Health, Global Fund Director Says In a BusinessDay opinion piece, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Michel Kazatchkine reflects on the organization's progress and impact on global health outcomes since its creation in 2002, as detailed in the organizations' 2010 annual report. Kazatchkine writes, 2010 "will be a decisive year; the world will be reviewing progress on the millennium goals. But this is also the year of the fund's replenishment... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am
Food Aid Phase Over For Haiti, Focus Should Be On Jobs, Hurricane Season Preparation, Schools, Haitian President Says
At their meeting on Wednesday, Haitian President Rene Preval is expected to ask President Barack Obama to stop food aid to Haiti, Reuters reports. "Preval told a news conference on Monday the aid could in the long term hurt the economy of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. 'I will tell him (Obama) that this first phase of assistance is finished,' said Preval," according to the news service... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am
Hepatitis C And Insulin Resistance - Surprising Findings
We have known for several years that Hepatitis C, a common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer, also makes people three to four times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. In studying the insulin resistance of 29 people with Hepatitis C, Australian researchers have confirmed that they have high insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. However, almost all insulin resistance occurs in muscle, with little or none in the liver, a very surprising finding given that Hepatitis C is a liver disease... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am
Natural And Artificial Sheaths Used To Mend Traumatic Bone Loss
A husband and wife research team has found a way to use the sleeve-like cover on bone to heal serious bone injuries faster and more simply than current methods. And they've developed an artificial sleeve that spurs fast healing when a car wreck, bomb blast or disease leaves too little cover... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am
Reovirus May Be A Novel Approach To Prostate Cancer Treatment
Researchers in Canada have detected a novel oncolytic viral therapy against prostate cancer with use of a virus called the reovirus, according to study results published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The respiratory, enteric, orphan virus (commonly known as reovirus) is a non-attenuated, environmental virus that has shown oncolytic potential against many types of cancer, specifically lymphoid, ovarian, breast, pancreatic and high grade glioma cancer, according to the study... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am
Guide Dogs Granted Permission To Apply For Judicial Review In Dispute With Royal Borough Of Kensington And Chelsea Over Plans For Exhibition Road, UK
The High Court gave the green light to Guide Dogs to proceed with the legal challenge against Kensington and Chelsea's development plans for Exhibition Road. The scheme is reportedly costing £25m, funded by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, City of Westminster and the Mayor of London. Over the last five years, Guide Dogs, on behalf of blind and partially sighted people and other vulnerable groups, has raised concerns about this multi-million pound "single surface" scheme which will see vehicles share space with an estimated 19 million pedestrians per year... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am
U.N. Official Addresses Increasing Drug Addiction In Developing Countries
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday warned of an impending "health disaster facing developing countries if wealthy nations fail to control drugs," Agence France-Presse reports. During a speech delivered in Vienna, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa pointed to "increasing use of heroin in East Africa, cocaine in West Africa, and synthetic drugs in the Middle East and South East Asia as warning signs" of a growing drug problem in impoverished nations (3/8)... Read more...
Health News from Medical News Today, Today, 6:00am