Health News

Sleeping too much or too little linked to chronic diseases

Date: Oct-07-2013
A new study finds that too much sleep, as well as too little sleep, is linked to leading chronic diseases, such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity and anxiety in those aged 45 and over. The study defines too much sleep as 10 hours or more, and too little as 6 hours or less. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report their findings in the October issue of the journal SLEEP. Study co-author Dr. Janet B...

Health authorities pledge to improve access to health care for LGBT people

Date: Oct-07-2013
Health authorities from throughout the Americas pledged to promote equitable access to health care for lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBT), during the 52nd Directing Council meeting of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which is being held this week in Washington, D.C. Ministers of health and other delegates from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean approved a resolution in which they committed to promote equal access to health care in their countries' policies, plans and legislation. PAHO Director Carissa F...

New data show Gilenya® (fingolimod) reduced brain volume loss by one third and confirm link between brain volume loss and MS disability

Date: Oct-07-2013
Novartis has announced new data indicating that continued treatment with Gilenya® (fingolimod) led to a reduction in brain volume loss in people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and was associated with a higher proportion of people remaining free of disability progression compared to placebo.1 These data were presented at the 29th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Copenhagen, Denmark...

Secukinumab showed superior efficacy over etanercept in clearing skin, according to pivotal Novartis Phase III psoriasis results presented at EADV

Date: Oct-07-2013
Novartis has nnounced the results from the head-to-head Phase III FIXTURE study showing secukinumab (AIN457), an interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor, showed superior efficacy to etanercept in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis1. Etanercept is a NICE-approved anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy, used to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis2. These significant results are being presented today at the 22nd Congress of the European Association of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) in Istanbul, Turkey1...

Walking tied to lower risk for breast cancer

Date: Oct-07-2013
A large study published recently in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention found that walking was linked to a lower risk for breast cancer in women who have gone through menopause, and for whom walking was their only form of physical activity in leisure time. The findings add to a growing pile of evidence linking regular exercise with lower risk for breast cancer...

Zilico's cervical cancer diagnostic device lands CE Mark

Date: Oct-07-2013
Zilico Ltd has received EC certification from its Notified Body for its cervical cancer diagnostics device, ZedScan I.  The UK company's ground-breaking system offers quicker and more accurate detection of cervical neoplasia in real-time, enabling clinicians to improve patient management. The ZedScan I system is used alongside colposcopy on women identified with an abnormal smear result. ZedScan offers clinical benefits by identifying the optimum biopsy site and so reducing the number of cervical biopsies required whilst also facilitating a wider use of 'select & treat'...

iSEQUENCES app for Autism releases a new iPad version and is now available for Android

Date: Oct-07-2013
The Planeta Imaginario Foundation has launched an enhanced version of iSEQUENCES. This educational app for children with Autism and Asperger's syndrome enables them to practice 100 different sequences about everyday situations. All this is taught by the character Tatus and his friends. The new iPad version has new configuration options to better adapt the app to each child. The Android version allows children to use iSEQUENCES on a wide range of tablet devices. This makes the app accessible to many more families beyond the more than 40...

European Commission approves licence variation for use of Zonegran® (zonisamide) in children with partial epilepsy

Date: Oct-07-2013
The European Commission (EC) has approved the paediatric licence variation of Zonegran® (zonisamide), a novel anti-epileptic drug (AED) with multiple mechanisms of action and a chemical structure unrelated to any other AED [1]. Zonisamide is now indicated as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial seizures, with or without secondary generalisation, in adolescents and children aged six years and above in addition to its existing license in adult patients [1].  Epilepsy is a common condition in children and adolescents, affecting around 10...

New data highlight significant hidden impact of relapses on people with multiple sclerosis

Date: Oct-07-2013
A new UK study has revealed that people with MS do not always report their relapses despite the domino effect on their health, financial security and support networks.[1,2] The study also uncovered that inadequate patient reporting of relapses may bias views of clinicians on the adequacy of disease modifying treatments...

Employers not doing enough to address the stress taboo, UK

Date: Oct-07-2013
New statistics from the mental health charity Mind released on October 4, 2013 suggest that stressed workers are suffering in silence and employers aren't doing enough to tackle stress. 45 per cent of workers polled by the charity said that staff are expected to cope without mentioning stress at work and a third (31 per cent) said that they would not be able to talk openly to their line manager if they felt stressed.  Mind has also found a huge difference in the perceptions of managers and other staff about how mental health is addressed in the workplace...