EU hopeful no bird flu in Romania, testing Turkey
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The European Commission is hopeful there is no outbreak of highly contagious avian influenza in Romania, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
“All the virological tests carried out to date in Romania have failed to identify the presence of the avian influenza virus,” Commission spokesman Philip Tod told reporters.
Kidney disease outlook improving in diabetics
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New research suggests that the number of type 1 diabetics with the most advanced form of kidney disease—end-stage renal disease or ESRD—may be lower than previously estimated. The research also suggests that the outlook with regard to ESRD in diabetic patients has improved over the years.
In ESRD, the kidneys lose their ability to filter waste products from the blood and excrete them in the urine. People with ESRD need kidney dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive.
Exercise can trim deep abdominal fat
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Couch potatoes may quickly accumulate a type of deep abdominal fat that contributes to Diabetes and other metabolic problems—but regular exercise can prevent or even reverse the process, according to researchers.
Their study of overweight, sedentary adults found that those who started working out on treadmills and stationary bikes tended to lose, or at least not add to, their stores of visceral fat—fat that accumulates around the abdominal organs.
Link Between Tequin (gatifloxacin) and Hypoglycemia Strengthened
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Treatment with the fluoroquinolone Tequin (gatifloxacin) was strongly associated with hypoglycemia in elderly patients, particularly those with Diabetes, according to a prospective cohort study.
Of 196 elderly patients enrolled in the study, 77 were taking Tequin and 119 a non-quinolone antibiotic. Ten patients developed hypoglycemia after Tequin dosing, whereas only one case occurred in the non-quinolone group, researchers reported at a meeting here of the Infectious Disease Society of America.
Elderly Diabetics at Double the Risk of Falling
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Diabetic nursing home residents are much more likely to suffer dangerous falls than those without Diabetes, researchers report.
“Our study clearly indicated that nursing homes, assisted living facilities and others that care for the elderly should consider Diabetes a significant risk factor for falling,” researcher Dr. Mathew S. Maurer, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and director of the Clinical Cardiovascular Research Laboratory for the Elderly at New York-Presbyterian/The Allen Pavilion, said in a prepared statement.
Back Sleeping and Pacifiers at Bedtime Reduce SIDS Risk
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To reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), babies should be put on their backs—not their sides or stomachs—for sleep, and should not share the parents’ bed except for nursing and comforting.
On the other hand, sharing a room with parents appears to be protective against SIDS, as is putting infants to bed with a pacifier.
$200 mln urged to fight neglected African diseases
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Parasitic diseases afflicting millions of African adults and children could be treated and cured for just $200 million a year, a tiny fraction of the amount earmarked to fight AIDS, medical experts said on Tuesday.
At present, the majority of those affected do not get treatment, even though three of the four drugs they need are given away free by manufacturers and the other costs just 7 U.S. cents.
Indonesia seeks Vietnam advice on fighting bird flu
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Indonesia will study how Vietnam managed to contain an outbreak of bird flu in humans, Jakarta’s health minister said on Tuesday as the number of positive cases of the deadly virus in the country rose to five.
“They have limited resources like us but they were able to properly halt avian influenza,” Siti Fadillah Supari told Reuters after meeting her Vietnamese counterpart, Tran Thi Trung Chien.
Norwegian bar smoking ban reaps health rewards
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A ban on smoking in Norwegian bars, restaurants and nightclubs has been a huge success in improving staff health, the government said on Tuesday.
Norway imposed the nationwide ban in June 2004, the second country in the world after Ireland to do so, to give waiters, cooks and other staff in the sector the same protection as workers in offices or factories, which have long been smoke-free.
US cuts cholesterol with drugs, not lifestyle
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Older Americans have lowered their cholesterol levels thanks to popular statin drugs, but adults of all ages have resisted making the healthy lifestyle changes that can cut the fat, according to a study reported Tuesday.
The decline in average blood cholesterol levels was observed between 1995 and 2002 among men 60 and older and women 50 and older but not among younger U.S. adults, according to the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Schizophrenia: early treatment improves outcome
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For many years, psychiatrists have argued over whether or not early intervention after a schizophrenia patient’s first episode of psychosis could improve the patient’s long-term outcome. A new study concludes that early intervention can improve outcome.
Historically, the prevailing view has been that “it just doesn’t matter when you treat a person because their clinical outcome is predetermined,” Dr. Diana O. Perkins from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explained in a UNC statement.
Most travelers do not need hepatitis booster
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A single course of hepatitis A and B vaccine is enough to protect most healthy travelers from contracting these infections, and current evidence suggests this protection is lifelong, a team of travel medicine experts concludes.
Hepatitis A and B are serious vaccine-preventable diseases. While the benefit of primary hepatitis A and B vaccination is well established, recommendations on the use of booster shots vary around the world, Dr. Jane N. Zuckerman of the Royal Free and University College Medical School in London and colleagues point out in the latest issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Eating fish regularly delays dementia - study
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Eating fish at least once a week slows the effects of aging on the brain, while obesity at midlife doubles the risk of dementia, a pair of studies concluded on Monday.
Omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish have been shown to boost brain functioning as well as cut the risk of stroke, and eating fish regularly appears to protect the brain as people age, the six-year study of Chicago residents said.
Active obese adults may have less digestive trouble
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Obese adults who exercise may be less likely than their sedentary peers to suffer abdominal cramps, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems, according to a new study.
Though it’s not clear that exercise explains the difference, the findings suggest that overweight people might ease their digestive symptoms by becoming more active, researchers say.
The wealthy more apt to gain weight
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Over the past three decades, obesity has increased more dramatically among higher-income groups than among the poor, a new study shows.
“Despite the fact that there is often a lot of attention surrounding the association between poverty and obesity, our study shows that it really is not typically the poor who are gaining the most the fastest,” Dr. Virginia W. Chang who led the study told Reuters Health. “This is especially true among blacks.”
