Health and Medical News Headlines for October 14, 2008

Frost & Sullivan Acknowledges Syntec Optics' Unwavering Focus on Innovation and Strategies to Improve Profitability

Avidas Pharmaceuticals Signs Agreement to Acquire North American Rights to Products That Address Chronic Dermatologic Conditions

Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:42 am

5-Star Hospitals Might Not Kill You

You have a 70 percent lower chance of dying at a top-ranked facility compared to the lowest-ranked ones
Source: Livescience.com - Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:38 am

Brain responds when women wear makeup: scientists

When a woman puts on makeup and looks in the mirror, it is as if she is seeing a different person, Japanese scientists said Tuesday. Researchers who teamed up with Japan's...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:36 am

Regado Biosciences Completes Patient Enrollment for Phase IIa Study of REG1 Anticoagulation System

Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:30 am

Paratek to Present Clinical Data in Late Breaker Presentation at the 48th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:30 am

MiddleBrook to Webcast Management Presentation at the 10th Annual Rodman & Renshaw Healthcare Conference

Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:30 am

Boston Scientific Provides Comments Reinforcing Strength of Its Balance Sheet

Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:30 am

Cardiogenesis Announces Successful Educational Symposium Targeted at Cardiologists at the TCT Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:30 am

Warning over health inequalities

The World Health Organization calls for action to boost primary care, warning of huge inequalities and inefficiencies.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 14 Oct 2008 | 11:04 am

School Bans Birthday Sweets

The real tragedy is that the actual carrying of a tray of cupcakes is about the only exercise many of these kids get.
Source: Livescience.com - Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:53 am

China orders more testing for liquid milk, powder (AP)

AP - China is ordering all liquid and powdered milk manufactured before Sept. 14 to be taken off the shelves for melamine testing, a news report said Tuesday, the first time Beijing has issued a blanket recall of products since the tainted dairy scandal broke last month.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:44 am

Therapy helps hard-to-transplant get a new kidney (AP)

AP - Nearly one in three patients who need a kidney transplant may never get one because their bodies are abnormally primed to attack a donated organ. Now doctors are trying new ways to outwit the immune system and save more of those so-called "highly sensitized" patients often with kidneys donated by living donors, considered the optimal kind.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:22 am

Impressive Regenerative Capacity Exhibited By Embryonic Heart

A new study demonstrates that the embryonic mouse heart has an astounding capacity to regenerate, a phenomenon previously observed only in non-mammalian species.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Long-Term Follow-Up Data Confirm Cox-2 Inhibitor Rofecoxib Substantially Increases Risk Of Stroke, Heart Attack, And Death

Long term follow-up data from the APPROVe trial confirms that use of the Cox-2 inhibitor rofecoxib* substantially increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and death compared with placebo. These are the conclusions of an Article published early Online and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Baxa Launches Sterile, Pre-filled Saline Syringes For Safe And Efficient Flushing Of IV Lines

Baxa Ltd announces its launch of a new line of pre-filled saline IV syringes in the UK. Baxa Ltd, an organisation committed to increasing patient safety through specialty devices for the preparation and administration of liquid medication, is adding a range of pre-filled saline intravenous flush syringes for catheter care in UK health systems.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

GP Extended Opening Hours - Monthly Update, Department Of Health Update, UK

The following statistics were released today by the Department of Health: GP extended opening hours for month ending September 2008. This data shows the number of GP practices within each Commissioner area (PCTs and Care Trusts) and how many of those practices were offering extended opening hours on the census date (22nd September 2008).
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Study Links Nicotine With Breast Cancer Growth And Spread

A study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests a possible role for nicotine in breast tumor development and metastases. The study, conducted by researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is among the first to explore the effects of nicotine on mammary cells.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Duke Team Explains A Longtime Visual Puzzler In New Way

A team of neuroscientists at Duke University Medical Center has suggested an entirely new way to explain a puzzling visual phenomenon called the flash-lag effect. Experts have debated for the past 100 years about why -- when a flash of light is presented in alignment with a moving object -- the flash is perceived to lag behind the position of the object.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Expanding Premature Infant Follow-Up Care Research With 5 New MedImmune Fellowship Grants

Five neonatology fellows have been awarded grants designed to stimulate interest and research in the area of follow-up care of the premature infant as part of MedImmune's Fellowship Program. The grants, which underscore MedImmune's commitment to expanding research within pediatric medicine, will provide each recipient's institution a $35,000 grant, totaling $175,000 in research funding.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Surgeons Make The Operating Room Environmentally Sensitive

The last thing on a surgeon's mind when he or she enters the operating room (OR) is environmental waste or energy inefficiency. As always, the main concern is the safety and care of the patient.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Insight Into The Evolutionary Significance And Causes Of Aggression, Hunting, And Meat Eating In Bonobos, Chimpanzees, And Humans

Unlike the male-dominated societies of their chimpanzee relatives, bonobo society - in which females enjoy a higher social status than males - has a "make-love-not-war" kind of image. While chimpanzee males frequently band together to hunt and kill monkeys, the more peaceful bonobos were believed to restrict what meat they do eat to forest antelopes, squirrels, and rodents.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Royal College Of Nursing Takes Action To Put Dignity At The Heart Of Health And Social Care

Nurses are today leading the way in breaking down the barriers that prevent every patient from receiving dignified care. The launch of a complete package of resources will enable the nursing team to provide the best possible care for patients on every ward and in every community.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 Oct 2008 | 10:00 am

Scientist at Work | James W. Pennebaker: He Counts Your Words (Even Those Pronouns)

James W. Pennebaker looks at every single word people use — even the tiny ones — and is leading a resurgent interest in text analysis.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 8:38 am

SA minister calls for HIV vaccine

South Africa's new health minister signals a new direction in the fight against HIV as she addresses an Aids conference.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 14 Oct 2008 | 8:16 am

Global Update: Researchers Decode the Genome of Two More Malaria Parasites

Scientists have now sequenced the genomes of two more parasites that cause malaria, plasmodium vivax and plasmodium knowlesi.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 7:22 am

Vital Signs: Children: Higher Expectations Help Fight Asthma

A new study finds that the higher the parents’ expectations for controlling the asthma, the better their children do.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 7:21 am

Recipes for Health: A Can of Tomatoes and Simple Pantry Pastas

Canned tomatoes are essential in a healthy pantry and can be used in pasta dishes that require nothing more than ingredients you can easily keep on hand.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 7:07 am

Kids Aren't Getting Enough Vitamin D (Time.com)

Time.com - Pediatricians say babies, children and teens need to double their intake of vitamin D
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 14 Oct 2008 | 6:50 am

Drug Industry, Having Long Smiled on G.O.P., Now Splits Donations Equally

Lobbyists and executives say the swing reflects the fact that drug companies’ fortunes depend more than ever on Democrats in power.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 5:46 am

Worrisome Infection Eludes a Leading Children’s Vaccine

Serotype 19A has become a common cause of meningitis, pneumonia and other life-threatening conditions in young children.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 5:32 am

Personal Health: A Push for Adding B12, Though the Jury Is Out

Recent studies suggest considerable benefits from increased levels of B12, especially in adults over 50, but they cannot prove cause and effect.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 5:01 am

Vital Signs: Exercise: Program Reduces a Knee Injury in Women

A program of strengthening exercises may help guard against a knee injury that sidelines many female athletes, a study says.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 4:58 am

Vital Signs: Awareness: Better Labels Urged for Caffeine in Drinks

A new study suggests that energy drink labels should list caffeine content and recommended limits, including a warning about use by children.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 4:57 am

Well: Healthful Messages, Wrapped in Fiction

A book series aimed at girls that focuses on real-life issues seems to work, one study suggests.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Oct 2008 | 4:54 am

Early Treatment Benefits Newfound Brain Disorder (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Quick tumor removal and immunotherapy can reverse the progress of a newly recognized neurological disease called anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis (ANRE), a new study says.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 14 Oct 2008 | 3:48 am

Clinical Trials Update: Oct. 13, 2008 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of CenterWatch:
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 14 Oct 2008 | 3:48 am

Parkinson's Patients More Prone to Vitamin D Deficiency (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Parkinson's disease patients are more likely than healthy people or Alzheimer's patients to have vitamin D deficiency, say researchers from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 14 Oct 2008 | 3:48 am

Supreme Court rejects obese Ohio inmate's appeal (AP)

AP - The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from an Ohio prisoner who argued he is too obese to be executed. Richard Cooey is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Oct 2008 | 11:16 pm

Parkinson's linked to vitamin D

Scientists are testing whether vitamin D supplements can ease symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 Oct 2008 | 11:07 pm

'Credit crunch insomnia' emerging

Money and work worries are keeping about half of us awake at night, a poll suggests.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 Oct 2008 | 11:06 pm

First-in-Human Data With Novel Polymer-Coated Stent: No Thrombosis at 12 Months

Investigators reported no cases of stent thrombosis at 12 months in patients implanted with the stent, as well as no adverse clinical events, despite stopping dual antiplatelet therapy at 30 days.
Heartwire
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:38 pm

Nurses' Images in Movies Improving

A study finds nurses are increasingly portrayed as strong, self-confident professionals in movies.
WebMD Health News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:01 pm

Colesevelam May Improve Glycemic and Lipid Parameters in Type 2 Diabetes

A randomized controlled trial shows that colesevelam improves glycemic and lipid parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin-based therapy.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Screening Tool for Hepatitis C Virus Risk May Guide Serologic Screening

In a prospective study, a screening tool for hepatitis C virus effectively identified patients at high risk for the infection who may benefit from serologic screening.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Low Antioxidant Levels, Blue-Light Sun Exposure May Be Linked With Age-Related Macular Degeneration

A study shows that the combination of low plasma levels of antioxidants and blue light exposure from the sun is associated with certain forms of age-related macular degeneration.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Procalcitonin Levels May Help Guide Antibiotic Use for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections

A randomized study shows that procalcitonin-guided therapy reduces antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections in primary care.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Infliximab Alone and in Combination Appears More Effective in Treating Crohns Disease Than Azathioprine Alone

Patients with moderate to severe Crohns disease treated with infliximab alone or in combination appear more likely to achieve steroid-free clinical remission vs those treated with azathioprine alone.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Management of Multiple Myeloma Reviewed

A review provides recommendations for diagnosing and treating multiple myeloma, typically with chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation if possible.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Smokers More Likely to Develop Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease

Individuals who smoke are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or dementia than nonsmokers or those who smoked in the past, a study suggests.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Artificial Food Additives May Increase Hyperactivity in Children

In a community-based, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge, these additives increased the mean level of hyperactivity in children aged 3 years and 8 to 9 years.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm

Dutch 'HIV attack' trial begins

Three men go on trial in the Netherlands accused of deliberately infecting at least 14 other men with HIV.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 Oct 2008 | 8:31 pm

States ask baby product companies to avoid BPA (AP)

AP - Attorneys general from Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware sent letters Friday to 11 companies that make baby bottles and baby formula containers, asking they no longer use the chemical bisphenol A in their manufacturing because they said it was potentially harmful to infants.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Oct 2008 | 8:13 pm

Circadian Rhythm Affects Memory

When the circadian system breaks down, so does memory.
Source: Livescience.com - Health | 13 Oct 2008 | 7:23 pm

Exit route

The euthanasia expert advising over-50s on suicide
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 Oct 2008 | 7:10 pm

New dads can get serious blues, too

Rob Sandler comforted his infant son as he lifted him out of the crib, cooing in his ear while he walked to the living room. Two months ago, he might have handed the baby off to his wife and then found an excuse to leave the house. "Honestly, it felt like when I was at home, the walls became very, very close in," Sandler said. Sandler's anxiety was more than cabin fever: He has a male version of postpartum depression.