Health News

Maternal Immunisation ('Cocooning') Before Pregnancy Halves Risk Of Whooping Cough In Infants Less Than 4 Months Of Age

Date: Mar-21-2013
The results of a study of the impact of a pertussis vaccine "cocooning" strategy for adults in New South Wales shows that a mother receiving the whooping cough vaccine before delivery lowers the risk of whooping cough (pertussis) infection in very young infants...

Study Shows That Measles Can Spread Beyond Those Seated Immediately Around An Infectious Person On Aeroplanes

Date: Mar-21-2013
New research published at this week's Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) in Canberra, Australia, demonstrates that direct contact tracing of aeroplane passengers seated immediately around an infected person, as is currently recommended in Australian and other international public health guidelines, is not an effective strategy to prevent further cases. The research is by Dr Gary Dowse, Communicable Disease Control Directorate, Department of Health, Perth, WA, Australia, and colleagues...

Type 1 Diabetes May Be Linked To Infectious Disease Burden

Date: Mar-21-2013
Countries with lower mortality from infectious disease exhibit higher rates of type 1 diabetes, according to a new study by Dr. A. Abela and Professor S. Fava of the University of Malta. The findings, collating data from three major international studies and presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Harrogate UK, suggest that the as yet unexplained global rise in type 1 diabetes may be linked to reduced exposure to pathogens in early life...

Human Babies May Be Less Prone To Obesity If Given Solid Foods Later

Date: Mar-21-2013
Consumption of foods high in carbohydrates immediately after birth programs individuals for lifelong increased weight gain and obesity, a University at Buffalo animal study has found, even if caloric intake is restricted in adulthood for a period of time. The research on laboratory animals was published this month in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism; it was published online in December...

Major Discovery For Alzheimer's Disease

Date: Mar-21-2013
The Journal of Neuroscience has published a study led by researchers at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, the first and only U.S. extension of the prestigious Max Planck Society, that may hold a stunning breakthrough in the fight to treat Alzheimer's disease. The study potentially identifies a cause of Alzheimer's disease - based on a newly-discovered signaling pathway in cellular models of Alzheimer's disease - and opens the door for new treatments by successfully blocking this pathway...

African Experts Say African Immunization Systems Fall Short

Date: Mar-21-2013
In Africa, issues of vaccine supply, financing, and sustainability require urgent attention if the Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved, according to African experts writing in this week's PLOS Medicine. Shingai Machingaidze, Charles Wiysonge, and Gregory Hussey from the University of Cape Town in South Africa commend African countries for their progress in immunisation programmes but infectious disease outbreaks, for example, polio and measles outbreaks, as well as high vaccine dropout rates across the region, indicate failures within the immunisation system...

Studies For Approval Of New Drugs For Chronic Use Have Insufficient Patients To Evaluate Safety

Date: Mar-21-2013
For medicines intended for chronic use, the number of patients studied before regulatory approval is insufficient to properly evaluate safety and long-term efficacy, requiring the need for new legislation, according to a study by European researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine...

Depression Associated With More Rapid Functional Decline In Alzheimer's Patients

Date: Mar-21-2013
More symptoms of depression and lower cognitive status are independently associated with a more rapid decline in the ability to handle tasks of everyday living, according to a study by Columbia University Medical Center researchers in this month's Journal of Alzheimer's Disease...

Vitamin D Levels In Hip Fracture Patients Not Improved By Living In A Sunny Climate

Date: Mar-21-2013
While it is well known that a majority of hip fracture patients of all ages and both sexes have insufficient or deficient levels of vitamin D, a new study presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) looks at whether or not living in a warm, sunny climate improves patient vitamin D levels...

Chronic Fatigue In Adults May Be An Increased Risk For Survivors Of Childhood Leukemia And Lymphoma

Date: Mar-21-2013
Chronic fatigue, a persistent lack of energy that does not improve with rest, is at least three times more prevalent among adult survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma experienced during childhood or adolescence than in the general adult population, according to an article in Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (JAYAO), a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. JAYAO is the Official Journal of the Society for Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. The article is available online on the iJAYAO website...