Health and Medical News Headlines for January 24, 2009

China reports 4th bird flu death in 2009 (AP)

AP - A woman in China's far west has died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the Health Ministry said Saturday, the country's fourth death from the virus this year as the biggest festive season approaches.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 24 Jan 2009 | 10:00 am

Hib Cases Jumped In Minnesota In 2008, Vaccine Shortage Led To Fewer Immunizations

The reappearance of the childhood infectious disease Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) in Minnesota last year has prompted authorities to acquire extra vaccines. The Minnesota Department of Health is urging parents to work with their health care providers so that infants receive the recommended primary series of three doses of Hib vaccine.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 10:00 am

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards' Statement On President Obama's Executive Order Overturning The Mexico City Policy (Global Gag Rule)

"With the stroke of a pen, President Obama has lifted the stranglehold on women's health across the globe. His repeal of the global gag rule ends eight long years of policies that have blocked access to basic health care for women worldwide.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 10:00 am

Study Finds MRSA In Midwestern Swine, Workers

The first study documenting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in swine and swine workers in the United States has been published by University of Iowa researchers. The investigators found a strain of MRSA, known as ST398, in a swine production system in the Midwest, according to the paper published online Jan. 23 by the science journal PLoS One.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 10:00 am

Ankle Splints Improve Mobility After Stroke

A new review shows that ankle and foot splints can help stroke patients regain the ability to walk and keep their balance, although splints also called orthotics offer less improvement for other activities, like climbing stairs. Wrist splints, however, do not lead to signs of improvement in the hands or arms, according to the new review.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 10:00 am

Morning Rounds: New C.D.C. Leadership, Magical Budgets and a Disturbing Infection

Health news from around the Web.

Source: NYT > Health | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:01 am

Coffee Linked to Lower Dementia Risk

A 21-year study finds that moderate coffee drinkers are much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Source: NYT > Health | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:01 am

Vital Signs: Women Delayed While in Emergency Care

Women with heart symptoms were delayed on the way to hospitals more often than men, a study has found.

Source: NYT > Health | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:01 am

The Obama Cancer Plan Should Prioritize Prevention, Says Cancer Prevention Coalition

President Barack Obama is the first new President to develop a comprehensive cancer plan. While the plan reflects strong emphasis on oncology, disturbingly no reference is made to prevention, and the wide range of avoidable causes of cancer.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am

Australian Authorities (TGA) First To Grant Final Product Approval For Intercell's Vaccine To Prevent Japanese Encephalitis

Intercell AG (VSE: ICLL) announced that the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted product approval for the company's vaccine to prevent Japanese Encephalitis. This final decision step for the new vaccine follows the positive recommendation provided by Australian Drug Evaluation Committee (ADEC) in December 2008.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am

Women's Heart Health: Fact Sheet

Heart disease is the nation's number one killer for women. The well-known heart attack symptoms acute pain, tightness, burning and a dull ache in the chest describe what men typically experience during an attack. For many women the signs of a heart attack are completely different and can go unrecognized. Dr.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am

U.S. Government Finds 40% Of People Currently Receiving Long Term Care Are 18-64; Numbers Continue To Rise

Did you know that nearly everyone will be touched by a long term care situation, either their own or with a close family member? Research from the U.S. government has found that the number of people who will need long term care in their lifetime is rapidly increasing. In 2008, the government found that about 9 million Americans over the age of 65 would need long term care services.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am

New COPD Channel On Medical News Today

Medical News Today is pleased to announce the launch of a new COPD channel. The section will include news on chronic bronchitis (inflammation in the larger airways) and emphysema (damage to the lung tissue).
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am

Journal Articles Underscore The Importance Of Air Bags/Seat Belts In Preventing Spine Fractures

An article and accompanying editorial published in the February 2009 issue of Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine provide compelling evidence that the combination of air bags and seat belts affords the best protection against spine fractures sustained in motor vehicle crashes.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 24 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am

Patient Money: Seeing Straight Without Breaking the Bank

A month’s rent just for eyeglasses? Taking care of your eyesight doesn’t have to cost so much.

Source: NYT > Health | 24 Jan 2009 | 8:17 am

Pig-to-Human Ebola Case Suspected in Philippines

A pig handler in the Philippines has tested positive for a strain of the Ebola virus, officials announced Friday.

Source: NYT > Health | 24 Jan 2009 | 7:54 am

New Rules on Doctors and Medical Firms Amid Ethics Concerns

There are signs of an ethical makeover under way within the medical device industry, a field that has been troubled by the issue of undisclosed financial ties between companies and physicians.

Source: NYT > Health | 24 Jan 2009 | 7:09 am

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. Provides Update on the Special Meeting of Shareholders

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 24 Jan 2009 | 5:30 am

Many Alzheimer's Caregivers Admit to Abusive Behavior (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, Jan. 22 (HealthDay News) -- More than half of family members looking after people with dementia admit they have behaved abusively toward their relative, a new British study finds.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 24 Jan 2009 | 4:48 am

Health Tip: Taking ADHD Medications (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Medications prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may effectively manage symptoms, but they can also cause a number of side effects.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 24 Jan 2009 | 4:48 am

Problems Tied to Obesity Also Seem to Affect Sleep (HealthDay)

HealthDay - FRIDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Three conditions often linked to obesity have also been tied independently to sleep apnea, new studies show.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 24 Jan 2009 | 4:48 am

CDC Warns of Rise in Childhood Infections Tied to Meningitis Germ (HealthDay)

HealthDay - FRIDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Over the past year, five Minnesota children have fallen ill -- one fatally -- with a germ that can cause meningitis, experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced at a Friday press conference.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 24 Jan 2009 | 4:48 am

Acne Cream Not Linked to Raised Death Risk (HealthDay)

HealthDay - FRIDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- A new analysis suggests that an acne medication that was tried as a possible skin cancer preventative in a 1998 clinical trial probably did not cause the deaths of several veterans participating in that research.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 24 Jan 2009 | 4:48 am

China says 90 percent of families take toxic milk deal

BEIJING (Reuters) - Over 90 percent of Chinese families with children stricken by toxic milk have taken a state-backed compensation deal, a dairy industry association said, days after a...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 24 Jan 2009 | 2:58 am

Filipino infected with Ebola Reston virus, the first animal-human transfer

MANILA, Philippines - A person has been infected, but is not ill, with the Ebola Reston virus after coming into contact with sick pigs in the northern Philippines. The health secretary
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 24 Jan 2009 | 2:50 am

UPDATE 9-Pfizer-Wyeth deal talks heat up - sources

* Big takeover could help Pfizer make up for Lipitor loss
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 24 Jan 2009 | 2:08 am

High-tech sensors help seniors live independently (AP)

AP - After back-to-back hospital visits for congestive heart failure, Eva Olweean figured her health was back to normal. But the nurses at her retirement home knew better: Motion sensors in the 86-year-old's bed detected too many restless nights.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 24 Jan 2009 | 1:51 am

UPDATE 2-Petrobras bucks trend, raises investments 55 pct

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run energy company Petrobras announced on Friday it would raise its five-year investment plan by 55 percent at a time when large raw materials companies...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 24 Jan 2009 | 12:48 am

Obama lifts ban on abortion funds

President Barack Obama overturns a ban on US funding for groups which provide abortion services abroad.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 24 Jan 2009 | 12:30 am

CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL) UPDATE 1-Petrobras to invest $174.4 bln

(Petrobras officially corrected investments in exploration and production to $104.6 billion in paragraph five)
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 24 Jan 2009 | 12:17 am

Surgery safety

The operating techniques learned from pilots
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 24 Jan 2009 | 12:07 am

Obama reverses ban on U.S. funds for international groups promoting abortion

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has signed an executive order ending the ban on federal funds for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 23 Jan 2009 | 11:40 pm

UPDATE 2-Cablevision settles accounting practices with SEC

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp said on Friday it has settled with U.S. regulators in connection with accounting practices at its Rainbow Media programming unit.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 23 Jan 2009 | 11:27 pm

BP official: Alaska natgas pipeline prospects dim

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan 23 (Reuters) Prospects for a pipeline to ship abundant North Slope natural gas reserves to U.S. markets are dim due to free-falling energy prices, the overall economic collapse and...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 23 Jan 2009 | 11:24 pm

Doctors amputate model's hands, feet

The family of a 20-year-old Brazilian model who is fighting for her life after having her hands and feet amputated have urged her supporters around the world to keep praying for their daughter.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 11:24 pm

UPDATE 7-Pfizer-Wyeth deal talks heat up - source

* Big takeover could help Pfizer make up for Lipitor loss
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 23 Jan 2009 | 11:19 pm

Rare sickness kills child; officials urge vaccination

A childhood illness that has mostly been curbed through vaccinations has killed one child and sickened four others in Minnesota, health officials said Friday.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 11:08 pm

A primer on stem cells

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first human clinical trial of embryonic stem cell therapy. The stem cells used for this study came from the 60 existing stem cell lines approved in August 2001 by the Bush administration. Before that time, federal research dollars were not allowed to be used for stem cell research.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:51 pm

Report: Few laid-off workers keep health insurance

Only about one in 10 workers who lose their job opt to keep their employer-sponsored health insurance through the safety-net program COBRA, most likely because the premiums are too expensive, according to an analysis released Friday by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health care issues.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:40 pm

F.D.A. Approves a Stem Cell Trial

The government will allow the world’s first test in people of a therapy derived from human embryonic stem cells.

Source: NYT > Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:36 pm

Infliximab Combo Therapy for RA Provides Faster Symptom Relief

In patients with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the initial use of combination therapy with infliximab leads to faster symptom improvements than do other approaches, Dutch researchers report in the January issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:31 pm

Quick Screening Tools May Help Identify Postpartum Depression

A study shows that a 2-question screen is highly sensitive and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire is highly specific for identifying postpartum depression.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:27 pm

Seat Belts With Air Bags Reduce Spine Fractures in Car Crashes

In a study of more than 20,000 crashes, researchers found that combining safety precautions such as vehicle air bags with buckling up reduces spinal injury.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:12 pm

Infliximab Combo Therapy for RA Provides Faster Symptom Relief

According to a Dutch study, in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis, the initial use of combination therapy with infliximab leads to faster relief of symptoms vs other approaches.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:00 pm

Diastolic Dysfunction Linked to Reduced Exercise Capacity

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction has been shown to be independently and strongly related to reduced exercise capacity in a new cross-sectional study.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:00 pm

Quick Screening Tools May Help Identify Postpartum Depression

Understanding Metabolic-Syndrome Risk Factors in Children Presents Unique Challenges

A scientific statement from the American Heart Association outlines what is known and what is yet to be learned about an array of cardiometabolic risk factors manifested in children and adolescents.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 10:00 pm

Dementia More Likely in Some Isolated and Inactive Seniors, Study Finds

Older adults with neurotic personalities more often became cognitively impaired when they also were not socially active, researchers reported.

Source: NYT > Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 9:57 pm

FDA Approves Test to Inject Embryonic Stem Cells into Humans

Government approves the first study to use human embryonic stem cells injected into a human.
Source: Livescience.com - Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 7:39 pm

New interim director of CDC named

Health and Human Services' acting secretary has appointed Dr. Richard Besser as the interim director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 6:58 pm

Minn. illnesses worry CDC officials (AP)

AP - Five Minnesota children have grown sick and one of them died from a germ that can cause meningitis, causing U.S. health officials to warn of the importance of a common childhood vaccine.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 23 Jan 2009 | 6:11 pm

Merck: New pill may work for MS (AP)

AP - German drugmaker Merck Serono is one step closer to releasing the first pill to treat multiple sclerosis, the company said Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 23 Jan 2009 | 6:06 pm

Female Doctors Provide Best HF Care

A new German study has shown that female doctors appear to provide the best care to heart-failure patients, by being more likely to prescribe guideline-recommended treatment. In a separate study, researchers have found that rates of first hospitalization for heart failure declined from 1994 to 2004.
Heartwire
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 5:37 pm

Earth Watch

Why harming nature can increase human disease
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 23 Jan 2009 | 5:22 pm

Real and Perceived Stigma in Schizophrenia Severe, Widespread

A global study shows that individuals with schizophrenia both experience and expect discrimination.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 5:05 pm

Death Sentences in Chinese Milk Case

A Chinese court sentenced two men to death and a top dairy company executive to life in prison for selling tainted milk products.

Source: NYT > Health | 23 Jan 2009 | 4:53 pm

Tocilizumab Approved for Rheumatoid Arthritis in Europe

The European Commission has approved Roche's first-in-class therapeutic tocilizumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis. Efforts are underway to meet FDA requirements for US approval.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 23 Jan 2009 | 4:35 pm

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