Safe Water, Medicines, Insecticides Greatest Needs After Mitch
...ral American countriesaffected by Hurricane Mitch, say Pan American Health Organization disasterexperts. Contrary to popular belief, epidemics and plagues don't usually follow naturaldisasters, according to experts at PAHO, which is working with the health sectorin Honduras, Nicaragua, and other Central...Perceived Risks Of Breast Cancer Are Vastly Overestimated
...ing breast cancer. That's only part of the story, say the authors of a paper in this week's BMJ. Dr John Bunker for the Cancer Research Campaign and UCL Trials Centre estimates that in fact the risk of developing breast cancer in a woman under the age of 35 years is one in 625. By the age of 50 this r...Study Reveals Possible Link Between Osteoarthritis, Diet
... lot more research with larger groupsbefore we can say anything definitive about the relationship between diet andknee, hip and hand osteoarthritis." Proving that diet can make a significant difference in arthritis wouldbe important since most risk factors for the condition either cannot bemodif...Duke Physicians: Clinicians Have Ethical Obligation To Consider Alternative Medicine
...eatments, Duke University Medical Centerphysicians say in Wednesday's (Nov. 11) edition of the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association. In the article, described as a "policy perspective," Drs. JeremySugarman and Larry Burk tackle the question of the traditional clinician's rolein a patient's ...PAHO Working With Affected Communities In Central America
...mmunities in Central America after Hurricane Mitch say the top priorities are providing safe water and ad...le located in temporary shelters. PAHO experts say that although the risk of dengue, malaria, cholera and other diseases has increased, there are, cont...Hospital Stays Longer Than Three Days For 'Simple' Heart Attacks May Not Be Cost Effective
...e hospital an extra day. The researchers say there would be little loss of quality care ifhospitals reoriented their systems to provide all the necessary procedures totreat such patients in three days. "The point is not to kick patients out of the hospital early," said thestudy's lead ...Science Is On The Trail Of Sexual Predators That Dope Women
...ur limit of the best existing antibody tests. They say it would beimmensely valuable to women who suspect they have been subjected to drug rapeafter several days have elapsed. "It will give the police a fighting chance toactually catch rapists," says Graham Rhodes of the Roofie Foundation in Leeds,which ......," Osborn said. "Students have to be encouraged to say to their supervisors, 'I can't do that. I want to watch you do it.'" In an editorial accompanying the study, Daniel D. Federman, MD, of the HarvardMedical School, notes that there is inherent risk in the practice of medicineand, in turn, in the study...Medical Students Are Taking Risks With HIV During Elective Studies
...eas other than sub-Saharan Africa. It would seem, say that authors, that these students and some of thei...e-elective preparation for medical students. They say that this preparation could include a checklist for each student to be signed by their GP or doctor ......t having financial health. "Some people say we have too many specialists in this country, maybe weshouldn't have so many of these facilities. But here we're seeing in this casethere is a reason that a Medicare beneficiary should care about where they go;that at a teaching facility they seem to...Statistician Keeps Health Researchers Ahead Of The Curve
...n appropriate course of treatment. "If you want to say where, on average, aperson's CD4 cell count will be perhaps four years after HIV infection, thiscurve will tell you," he says. A native of China, Wu came to the United States in 1982 to study at UCLA, wherehe earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics...Growing Younger By Keeping Up Regular Physical Activity
...ical activity but also prevent chronic conditions, say Markides andcolleagues. A sedentary lifestyle is the most prevalent modifiable risk factor forcoronary artery disease, far exceeding hypertension, smoking and highcholesterol. In one study, 184 adults aged 60 and older were randomized intoth...Ablatherm: An Ultrasound Device For Prostate Cancer Therapy
...exual function is not yet known. It's too early to say how useful this device will be in the treatment oflocalized prostate cancer. Only 13 patients have more than three years'follow-up since treatment, and the promising initial results must be confirmedin trials with larger numbers of patients. A Europe...Breakthrough? Study Finds Dopamine Cannot Be Source Of Pleasure In Brain
...for humans and animals alike. Researchers say their discovery should become important in the searchfor solutions to substance abuse and addiction problems, researchers say. A report on the findings appears in the March 4 issue of the journalNature. Authors are Drs. Paul A. Garris, a pos...When It Comes To Heart Attacks, Size Apparently Does Matter
... attacks. And that's far from an academic matter, say researchers at Duke UniversityMedical Center, who argue that the way cardiology trials are conducted should bechanged. "Just counting the number of heart attacks may be the wrong way to measure adrug's effectiveness," says Dr. John Alexander, who pr...Study Highlights Flu Risks For Women With Chronic Illness
... whom get inoculated each year.The study's authors say that stronger efforts to reach these populations forannual influenza immunization is needed. "At the very minimum, targeted efforts to improve influenza prevention amonghigh-risk young and middle-aged adults are warranted," they write in the study'sc...Vinegar Offers Dependable Test For Cervical Cancer
...ielded a number of falsepositives, but researchers say improved training may reduce this problem in thefuture. The study was supported by JHPIEGO (an affiliate of The Johns HopkinsUniversity committed to international reproductive health interventions in areaswith limited resources) with funding ...Decline In Vaccination Could Lead To Resurgence Of Rubella
...ly preclude any recent or current infection. They say that any symptoms or suspected exposure in the first four months of pregnancy should be investigated. Contact: Ms Pat Tookey, Co-ordinator of National Congenital Rubella Surveillance Programme, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute ...Exercise Is The Best Means Of Weight Control In Teenagers
...ge them to take exercise rather than go on a diet, say researchers from Australia in this week's BMJ. In...nger age and psychiatric morbidity in girls. They say that in adolescents, controlling weight by exercise rather than diet restriction seems to carry less......Scientists at theUniversity of California in Davis say they have made cotton fabrics withbuilt-inpesticide detoxifiers. They add that clothes made with the new material couldbecleaned and the detoxifying chemicals reactivated simply by washing them withbleach. The development was detailed today at a mee...