Health News

H7N9 bird flu alarm raised by first report of human spread

Date: Aug-07-2013
This week the BMJ publishes the strongest evidence yet of probable person-to-person transmission of the new bird flu virus H7N9 in a family cluster in Eastern China, where the virus first emerged earlier this year. The event concerns a father who most likely contracted the virus from live birds, and his daughter, who likely caught it while caring for him in hospital. However, the Chinese scientific and public health team that investigated the case conclude that since no outbreak occurred, the ability of H7N9 to transmit itself is "limited and non-sustainable"...

Most Americans would not wish to live to 120

Date: Aug-07-2013
The US has a rapidly aging population with falling birthrates and unprecedented longer life expectancies. Some futurists even predict humans will remain healthy and productive past their 120th birthday as medicine advances. Yesterday's exceptionally long lives could become tomorrow's norms. But in contrast to this, a new survey finds Americans don't necessarily want to live much longer lives. When asked whether they personally would want medical treatments to extend their lives by decades - so they could live to be 120 or more - 56% of adult Americans aged 18 and over said no...

Freezing the fat away: Study suggests cryolipolysis is safe and effective for noninvasive body contouring

Date: Aug-07-2013
Since the approval of the first cryolipolysis device in 2010, what have been some of the trends in fat removal through controlled cooling? Have physicians seen the same safety and efficacy in practice as they have in clinical trials? And just how in-demand is this non-invasive body contouring procedure? Plastic surgeons from Southern California sought to answer these questions by conducting the largest, most comprehensive review of cryolipolysis to date, focusing on 528 consecutive patients treated with the CoolSculpting® device (manufactured by Zeltiq) at a single, mul...

An evidence-based response to intimate partner violence - WHO guidelines

Date: Aug-07-2013
In June 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) published Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Against Women, providing evidence-based recommendations to guide clinicians. "This guidance is important because a clinician may be the first professional contact for persons exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV)," write Gene Feder, M.B., B.S., M.D., F.R.C.G.P., of the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, and colleagues...

Mental disorders but not deployment-related variables associated with suicide risk among current and former U.S. military personnel

Date: Aug-07-2013
In an examination of risk factors associated with suicide in current and former military personnel observed 2001 and 2008, male sex and mental disorders were independently associated with suicide risk but not military-specific variables, findings that do not support an association between deployment or combat with suicide, according to a study in the August 7 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence/human rights...

Breast cancer surgery linked to swollen arm syndrome

Date: Aug-07-2013
Breast cancer survivors who have extensive surgery are four times more likely to develop the debilitating disorder arm lymphoedema, a QUT study has found. The findings in a new paper Incidence of unilateral arm lymphoedema after breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the prestigious journal The Lancet Oncology, reveal the invasiveness of surgery to treat breast cancer increases the risk of developing arm lymphoedema...

Medics' mission to roll out cervical cancer screening in Uganda

Date: Aug-07-2013
Academics and healthcare professionals from Manchester and London traveled to Uganda this week (6 August) to push on with ambitious plans to try to help the country's Ministry of Health roll out cervical cancer screening to all women by 2020. The team is travelling to the East African country, as part of the Ugandan Women's Health Initiative (UWHI), which runs a range of projects in women's health and has a major focus on prevention of cancer of the cervix...

Pharma Pricing & Reimbursement Conference, 21st-22nd of October 2013, London

Date: Aug-07-2013
19 Years of Success: European Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement: Getting Ready for Value-Based Pricing.  Novartis, Eli Lilly & Co, Quintiles, Astra Zeneca, Imperial College London, White & Case will meet at SMi's 19th Annual Pharmaceutical Pricing & Reimbursement Conference in London...

Research examines importance of identifying need, providing delivery of mental health services following community disasters

Date: Aug-07-2013
A review of articles on disaster and emergency mental health response interventions and services indicates that in postdisaster settings, a systematic framework of case identification, triage, and mental health interventions should be integrated into emergency medicine and trauma care responses, according to a study in the August 7 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence/human rights.  "Mental and physical consequences of major disasters have garnered increasing attention to the need for an effective community response. It is estimated that much of the U.S...

How switch proteins are extracted from the membrane

Date: Aug-07-2013
Researchers from the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (RUB) and from the MPI Dortmund have for the first time successfully reproduced the recycling process of proteins regulating cellular transport in a biophysical experiment. In doing so, they traced in detail the way the central switch protein Rab is being extracted from the lipid membrane. The team of PD Dr Carsten Kotting, Prof Dr Klaus Gerwert (Department of Biophysics, RUB) and Prof Dr Roger S...