Flu Shots May Prevent Respiratory Failure in Kids With Chronic Diseases
|
|
Children with neurological and neuromuscular diseases are at increased risk for respiratory failure when they catch the flu, and they should be vaccinated before every influenza season, researchers here suggested.
They characterized their finding as new but not surprising “given that these children often have compromised pulmonary function and ability to handle secretions, which are further exacerbated in the setting of influenza infection and resultant pneumonias,” Ron Keren, M.D., M.P.H. and colleagues of the Children’s Hospital of Philadephia reported in the Nov. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Discovery could lead to new malaria drugs
|
|
Unusual “wiring” in the cells of the malaria parasite could be a key to developing new treatments for the disease that kills millions of people each year, scientists said on Wednesday.
Two teams of researchers in the United States have discovered that sets of proteins, which are essential for cells to function and communicate with each other, interact differently in the Plasmodium falciparum parasite than in other organisms.
Lipid-lowering drug delays diabetes in the obese
|
|
Treatment with bezafibrate to lower cholesterol curbs the incidence and delays the onset of type 2 diabetes in obese individuals, doctors in Israel report.
In comments to Reuters Health, sudy leader Dr. Alexander Tenenbaum from Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Tel-Hashomer noted that obesity has reached “epidemic dimensions worldwide” and is clearly associated with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome—a cluster of conditions including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Australia says regional bird flu exercise likely
|
|
Asia-Pacific leaders will be asked to approve a plan to hold simulated bird flu exercises next year to prepare nations for an avian flu pandemic, Australia said on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum bird flu meeting in Australia this week had agreed on a set of proposals to combat bird flu, including a simulation exercise.
Ginseng product may lessen misery of cold season
|
|
A cold remedy derived from the popular herb ginseng could help make the cold season a bit shorter and sweeter, new research suggests.
In a study that pitted the ginseng product against a placebo, Canadian researchers found that adults who took the botanical everyday for 4 months developed fewer and less-severe colds than did those on the placebo.
Climate change linked to rise in malaria, asthma
|
|
Climate change may promote the spread of deadly diseases like malaria and asthma in both rich and poor countries by increasing the range of parasitic insects and whipping up dust from storms, a new report says.
As climates warm, malaria is becoming more common in the traditionally cool mountains of Africa, Asia and Latin America where 10 percent of the world’s people live, said Dr. Paul Epstein, the lead author of “Climate Change Futures.”
China sets bird flu fund
|
|
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has earmarked $248 million to fight bird flu, state radio said on Wednesday, as U.S. and Chinese officials discussed U.S. chicken exports should bird flu reach the United States.
Wen presided over a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday when it was decided to set aside 2 billion yuan ($248 million) from this year’s fiscal budget to prevent the spread of bird flu, state radio and Xinhua news agency said.
Alcohol raises breast cancer risk in HRT users
|
|
Women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should avoid drinking alcohol because it can raise their risk of developing the most common kind of breast cancer, Swedish scientists said on Tuesday.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute said they saw an increased incidence of estrogen positive breast cancer, the most common type of disease, especially among women who drank alcohol and took hormones to relieve symptoms of the menopause.
Hot flashes distressing for breast cancer patients
|
|
Hot flashes (or flushes as they’re more commonly called in some parts of the world) remain an important and seriously under-played side effect of tamoxifen and other hormone treatments for breast cancer, leading some women to skip their medication, according to a UK survey of 200 women with breast cancer.
“We underestimate just how distressing the menopausal side effects of treatment are, and women acknowledge that they take drug holidays when hot flushes get really bad,” said Dr. Lesley Fallowfield from the University of Sussex who conducted the survey.
Silent reflux may be the cause of sleep disturbances in patients with unexplained sleep disorders
|
|
Patients with sleep complaints but no heartburn symptoms suffered episodes of nighttime acid reflux according to research presented at the 70th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.
In a separate study, researchers found that symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) are common and frequently severe in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
Breastfeeding does not raise the risk of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus
|
|
Breastfeeding does not raise the risk of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV), according to two new studies published in the December 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.
One study found that infant girls are twice as likely to be infected as infant boys. Both studies provide new information with which to counsel pregnant women infected with HCV. Taken together, the two new studies expand upon preliminary data from smaller studies of mother-to-child transmission of HCV.
Potential new targets for antibiotics
|
|
A new study of genetic changes in bacteria may ultimately help drug makers stay a step ahead of disease-causing bacteria that can become resistant to antibiotics.
The secret lies in understanding the function of the ribosome, a tiny protein-making factory residing inside most cells.
Children with arthritis adapt well to the disease
|
|
Unlike other rheumatic diseases, systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (SJRA)—an inflammatory disease affecting numerous joints—is not associated with thinking impairments or increased social and emotional problems in young patients, suggests a study conducted in Germany.
“This result may support the premise that children and adolescents with SJRA adapt successfully to their chronic disease,” Dr. Reinhold Feldmann from University Hospital of Munster told Reuters Health.
AstraZeneca proposes FDA review of all drug ads
|
|
AstraZeneca Plc on Tuesday proposed a mandatory requirement for pharmaceutical companies to submit all direct-to-consumer advertising to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for review prior to its use.
The Anglo-Swedish company said it made the recommendation in written testimony submitted to the FDA’s public hearing on consumer-directed promotion of regulated medical products.
Radiation for cervical cancer impacts sex life
|
|
Women with cervical cancer that’s treated with radiation have worse sexual functioning years after treatment than women who undergo surgery for the disease, a new study shows.
In fact, women whose cervical cancer was treated surgically—by removal of the uterus and any surrounding cancerous lymph nodes—had sexual functioning identical to that of healthy women, Dr. Michael Frumovitz of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues found.
