India probes increase in infant deaths in northeast
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Indian authorities are investigating an increase in the number of infant deaths in a remote northeastern state after 49 infants died at one government hospital this month, a health official said on Tuesday.
The spate of deaths of infants, ranging from newborns to 18 month olds, was worrying because the normal mortality rate at the Indira Gandhi Memorial hospital in Agartala, capital of Tripura state, is about 15 a month, he said.
China needs better bird flu education
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China needs better public education about the dangers of bird flu to ensure people who are infected receive timely treatment, a Chinese medical expert said on Tuesday.
In the two most recent human deaths, the victims waited too long before being treated, said Zhong Nanshan, a SARS expert and president of the Chinese Medical Association.
Cloned pigs could produce healthier bacon
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In what sounds like a bacon lover’s dream, scientists have genetically engineered piglets to carry a heart-healthy form of fat normally found in fish.
However, it will likely be some time before the results appear on supermarket shelves, if ever.
But the research, reported in the journal Nature Biotechnology, marks the first time that livestock have been genetically altered to produce omega-3 fatty acids—a type of fat, found largely in fish, that has been linked to lower heart disease risk.
China says it will ban sale of human organs
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China said on Tuesday it will ban the sale of human organs and strengthen oversight of its transplant market, which critics say has become a haven for illegal trade and centers on organs of executed prisoners.
Ministry of Health regulations that take effect on July 1 require the written consent of donors and restrict the number of hospitals allowed to perform transplant operations.
Cases must also be discussed by an ethics committee, said the regulations posted on the ministry’s Web site (http://www.moh.gov.cn).
Stress, not “sick” building, may make workers sick
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Work-related stress, rather than building conditions, may be what’s behind the constellation of symptoms known as “sick building syndrome,” according to researchers.
In a study of more than 4,000 UK government employees, researchers found that high job demands and perceptions of poor support were more closely related to sick-building symptoms than were the physical conditions of the workplace.
The findings suggest that “sick building syndrome” may in fact be a misnomer, the researchers report in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Patient’s perceptions may delay stroke treatment
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People who think they can control their dizziness, speech disturbance or other symptoms that suggest they have had a stroke are less likely to seek immediate medical care, a team of Israeli researchers reports.
Delays in seeking treatment for stroke may not be due to patients’ inability to identify stroke symptoms, as has been thought, but may also be influenced by patients’ perceptions of those symptoms, according to the findings of a study in the current issue of the medical journal Stroke.
“Delay in seeking medical help in response to the appearance of stroke symptoms is a complex issue, which we believe is affected by many different types of factors including demographic, clinical, perceptual, social and behavioral variables,” Dr. Lori Mandelzweig, of Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, told Reuters Health.
Second Egyptian dies from bird flu virus
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A second Egyptian has died from the bird flu virus, Egyptian Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali said on Monday.
An official from the World Health Organisation (WHO) told Reuters the second Egyptian victim of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain was a woman who had been in a critical condition on a ventilator before her death on Monday morning.
“This is the second death due to bird flu in Egypt,” Egypt’s state news agency MENA quoted Gabali as saying.
Finasteride reduces hair loss in women
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When given in combination with oral contraceptives, finasteride, an orally administered drug approved for male-patterned baldness, can improve female-pattern hair loss in most women, according to the results of a small study reported in the March issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
At present, the main treatment for female-pattern hair loss is topical minoxidil, which is effective, but tolerability can be an issue, senior author Dr. Antonella Tosti and colleagues, from the University of Bologna in Italy, note. Whether treatment with agents such as finasteride, which show activity against male hormones, might promote hair growth in women has been unclear.
Heart patients take their meds, but won’t exercise
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Older patients with heart failure are more likely to take their medications as directed and to keep their office appointments, but they are less likely to follow advice to exercise and to check their weight regularly, according to a new study. Depression, the authors suggest, may contribute to the patients’ lack of compliance.
Non-compliance with heart failure medication and diet recommendations contributes to worsening symptoms, leading to hospitalization in many instances. To pinpoint patient-related factors that influence compliance with heart failure regimens, Dr. Martje H. L. van der Wal from University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands, and colleagues surveyed 501 older heart failure patients.
Intensive care innovations win Microsoft award
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An academic team which includes key researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Hull has taken both first and second prizes, in a nationwide innovation competition run by Microsoft.
Dr Paul Dark, a Clinical Lecturer in Intensive Care Medicine from Manchester Medical School based at Hope Hospital, and Drs John Purdy and Rob Miles of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Hull, mentored and supported students to develop innovative, software-based products to support intensive care. The students then entered their ideas into Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, a technological ‘Olympic games’ which sets top young technologists from around the globe on the world’s toughest problems.
Egyptian program to eliminate elephantiasis successful
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Organizers of a 20-year global effort to eliminate a parasitic infection that is a leading cause of disability have an early victory to savor: a five-year Egyptian elimination campaign has mostly succeeded, according to a new report in the March 25 issue of The Lancet. Infection with the parasites, threadlike filarial worms, can lead to the dramatic, disfiguring swelling known as elephantiasis.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Ain Shams University in Egypt found that after five years of annual mass treatments with two drugs, rates of filarial infection sharply declined in Egypt.
Men need more info on prostate cancer options
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When it comes to treating localized prostate cancer, treatment decisions frequently do not appear to reflect patient preferences, investigators report in an upcoming issue of Cancer.
“I think fear is a big factor, and I don’t think patients have the information to discriminate between what it means to have prostate cancer versus what it means to have other types of cancer that are more aggressive,” Dr. Steven B. Zeliadt told Reuters Health.
There is no “gold standard” for the best treatment of localized prostate cancer. The treatment choices include surgery (radical prostatectomy), X-ray therapy, implantation of radioactive pellets (brachytherapy) and “watchful waiting,” the authors of the study note. Despite a plethora of studies examining how men decide on a treatment plan when they are diagnosed with localized prostate cancer, there is no consensus on what issues actually guide their decisions.
First human implant of new style Australian artificial heart
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On 22 March 2006, a 48 year old male patient suffering NYHA Class IV Heart Failure became the first recipient of HeartWare’s HVAD mechanical circulatory assist device.
The implant was conducted at the Vienna General Hospital and the surgical team was led by Dr Georg Wieselthaler, Clinical Director of Mechanical Circulatory Support at the University of Vienna.
The successful implant marks the start of HeartWare’s CE mark clinical study. The trial protocol calls for the implantation of the device in twenty patients suffering advanced heart failure. The implants are to be conducted at the Vienna General Hospital (Austria), the Royal Perth Hospital (Australia), the Hannover Medical Centre (Germany) and Harefield Hospital (UK). HeartWare expects to complete patient enrolment in the trial by the end of 2006.
Alcohol plus energy drink only masks drunkenness
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People who combine energy drinks with their alcohol may feel more sober than they truly are, a new study suggests.
In experiments with young male volunteers, Brazilian researchers found that the men were no less impaired when they drank a mix of alcohol and the energy drink Red Bull than when they downed a standard mixed drink.
Prescription Sleep Aids Not Always Best for Insomniacs
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Studies show that many Americans are struggling to get a good night’s sleep, and an increasing number of those people are turning to fast-acting prescription sleep aids.
Seeing a doctor for an instant insomnia “cure,” however, shouldn’t be the first course of action, says a Purdue University expert.
“When new products come out on the market, doctors tend to rely upon them because samples are readily available and doctors are short on time,” says Gail Newton, an associate professor of pharmacy practice in Purdue’s School of Pharmacy.
