Could global warming be contributing to the resurgence of malaria?
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A widely-cited study published a few years ago said no, but new research by an international team that includes University of Michigan theoretical ecologist Mercedes Pascual finds that, while other factors such as drug and pesticide resistance, changing land use patterns and human migration also may play roles, climate change cannot be ruled out.
“Our results do not mean that temperature is the only or the main factor driving the increase in malaria, but that it is one of many factors that should be considered,” Pascual said. The new study is slated to be published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
After being nearly or completely eradicated in many parts of the world, malaria still affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and has been on the rise in some highland regions and desert fringes.
Test seen unlikely to crimp defibrillator sales
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Medicare’s decision to pay for a test that determines whether someone needs an implantable heart defibrillator will likely have little immediate impact on the $10 billion market for the devices, analysts said.
Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, Tuesday agreed to pay for the test, developed by Cambridge Heart Inc., a tiny company based in Bedford, Massachusetts.
X-ray doesn’t raise cancer risk in BRCA carriers
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Exposure to the among of radiation produced by mammography does not substantially increase the risk of breast cancer in women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, even when screening begins at an early age, investigators report in The Lancet Oncology, published online on March 22.
Because BRCA mutations disrupt the repair of DNA damage, it was feared that DNA-damaging radiation from mammography would increase these patients’ risk.
Dr. Steven A. Narod, from the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues in North America, Europe and Israel conducted a study with 1,600 patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 1952 and 2005, and another 1,600 women with the same age, BRCA mutation status and country of residence. There was no difference in the family histories of women in either group.
Tinnitus may interfere with tough mental tasks
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People who suffer from chronic, moderate tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, may have more trouble performing demanding cognitive tasks than individuals without tinnitus, Australian investigators report.
“Our results are good news in that there is no difference between groups on everyday, familiar tasks,” co-investigator Dr. Catherine Stevens told Reuters Health. “The differences observed in this controlled experimental setting would not affect people with tinnitus in their daily lives.”
In fact, “it may not be the tinnitus per se that is related to distress but negative reactions and negative thoughts associated with tinnitus,” she added.
German doctors rebuild Chinese teenager’s face
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A Chinese teenager whose face was scorched beyond recognition as she lay unconscious on a heater has had it rebuilt by German surgeons.
In December 2001, Xiao Liewen collapsed face down on to the heater while showering, burning a hole in her skull. By the time her father found her half an hour later, she was almost dead. Doctors said it was not clear what had caused her to pass out.
Chinese doctors saved the girl’s life, but she was left with no nose and only one eye, as well as open wounds on her face, which would not close properly, putting her at serious risk from infection.
U.N., Africa to fight bird flu together
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United Nations agencies and 45 African countries agreed on Wednesday to expand health and veterinary surveillance in a coordinated offensive against bird flu on the world’s poorest continent.
A joint declaration at the end of the continent’s biggest bird flu summit to date in Gabon’s capital Libreville said each country needed to implement internationally approved measures to fight the disease in birds and in the event of a human pandemic.
Ecstasy-related memory impairment can be permanent
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Taking the drug Ecstasy can impair memory and learning, but giving up the drug can stop the slide in mental capacity, a new study shows. However, researchers also found evidence that in heavy Ecstasy users, the effects on memory may persist even after they quit.
“The message should be loud and clear that if you’re using a lot, you’re not going to recover learning and memory,” Dr. Konstantine K. Zakzanis of the University of Toronto at Scarborough, the study’s lead author, told Reuters Health.
FDA staff questions Cephalon drug for ADHD
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Some U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers have raised questions about Cephalon Inc.‘s bid to market its Sparlon drug to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to documents made public on Wednesday.
The staff reports were released ahead of an FDA advisory panel meeting on Thursday to discuss the new use of the drug, which is already sold as Provigil to treat sleep disorders.
Chest pain equally common in women and men
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Women have a similarly high incidence of stable angina—chest pain due to inadequate blood flow to the heart—as men, the results of a study released today indicate.
Moreover, “angina in women appears to be more serious than many doctors, or indeed the general public, realize,” study chief Dr. Harry Hemingway from University College London Medical School told Reuters Health. “Angina in women is associated with an increased risk of dying from heart disease.”
Breast cancer deaths higher among black women
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African American women are more likely to die from breast cancer, and minorities in general do not receive the best treatment for the disease compared with white women, according to two studies published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Researchers found that African American women, even after adjusting for socioeconomic differences, are 19 percent more likely than white women to die of breast cancer, said lead author Dr. Lisa Newman, Director of the Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
A second study found that women in minority groups, including Hispanics, are half as likely to receive complete follow-up treatment for the disease.
Governments blamed for health staff brain drain
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Increasing nurses’ pay in Britain and ensuring that the supply of U.S. doctors meets demand could stem the brain drain of healthcare workers from poor countries to rich ones, researchers said on Tuesday.
The exodus of doctors and nurses seeking better pay has caused a crisis in low-income nations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV/AIDS has put an added burden on already limited resources.
Kuwait court refuses to recognise sex change
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Kuwait’s highest court has upheld a ruling refusing to recognise as female a man who underwent sex-change surgery almost six years ago, judicial sources said on Tuesday.
They told Reuters the court late on Monday upheld a lower court’s ruling against Kuwaiti national Ahmed Dousari, in his 30s, barring any official recognition of his new gender.
EU agrees to alternatives to animal drug tests
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The European Union has approved six alternative drug-testing methods to replace experiments on animals in a move that will help to save up to 200,000 rabbits each year, its executive arm said on Tuesday.
The change will also increase the accuracy of the tests, thereby making the products concerned safer, the European Commission said.
Exercise can help reduce depression after stroke
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Stroke patients who partake in a therapeutic exercise program may experience a reduction in depressive symptoms, according to the results of a study published the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Along with physical disability, depression is common in stroke patients, Dr. Sue-Min Lai, of the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, and colleagues point out. Previous studies have found that physical exercise can reduce symptoms in depressed patients, but the effect of exercise on stroke patients is unknown.
To further investigate, Lai and her associates assessed the effect of physical exercise on depressive symptoms in 100 stroke survivors who had completed rehabilitation. The patients were randomly assigned to participate in an exercise program or to receive the usual care.
Early blood pressure treatment with candesartan may postpone hypertension
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A new study offers intriguing insight into the possibility of postponing hypertension among the 59 million Americans whose blood pressure is slightly high.
If confirmed, the concept may offer a chance to keep many people from facing the high risk of heart disease and stroke that currently confronts the 65 million Americans with hypertension. But for now, the researchers call it a “proof of principle” result and note that this is the first study to address the issue thoroughly.
The results come from a rigorous four-year study of 772 people with a condition called pre-hypertension, in which blood pressure is elevated over normal levels but not high enough to meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis of hypertension.
