Health News

Cities challenged to be "diabetes aware"

Date: Mar-07-2014
The world's cities will soon have the opportunity to be officially designated "diabetes aware". They will be challenged to show that their public services and businesses encourage healthy lifestyles for people with diabetes and those at risk.The new scheme is being created by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the European Connected Health Alliance (ECHAlliance) who plan to launch it on World Diabetes Day, 14 November 2014. IDF and the ECHAlliance want to create a global network of "diabetes aware" cities using mobile health tools to promote diabetes awareness and support.

Eating red and processed meat - what do scientists say

Date: Mar-07-2014
Recent reports warn about a link between eating red and processed meat and the risk of developing cancer in the gut. These reports have resulted in new nutritional recommendations that advise people to limit their intake of red and processed meats. A recent perspective paper, authored by 23 scientists, published in the latest issue of journal Meat Science underlines the uncertainties in the scientific evidence and points to further research needed to resolve these issues and improve the foundation for future recommendations on the intake of red meat.

Sight-saving eye drops could replace injections

Date: Mar-07-2014
Drug treatments for diseases that cause blindness could be delivered by eye drops instead of uncomfortable and costly eye injections, say UK researchers. The team reports how it tested this innovation on animals in the nanotechnology journal Small.The breakthrough could make a huge difference to the millions of people worldwide who, like author Stephen King and actress Dame Judi Dench, suffer from blindness-causing diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which affects 20% of people over the age of 75.

What makes us feel vulnerable to terrorism?

Date: Mar-07-2014
How do we perceive our vulnerability to terrorism? Is it through our sense of place, such as urban neighbourhoods where we live or offices where we work (as evidence has previously suggested); or is it actually through mobility, when we are travelling between places, the contradictory notion of 'placelessness'? Recent research published in Urban Geography addresses this very question.

Public Health England launches toolkit to manage hospital infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Date: Mar-07-2014
Experts at Public Health England (PHE) have launched a toolkit for hospitals to detect, manage and control antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections caused by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE). The use of many different types of antibiotics in hospitals creates evolutionary pressures that encourage the development and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. This process is a natural consequence of the use of antibiotics and cannot be stopped, only managed. Enterobacteriaceae are a group of bacteria carried in the gut of all humans and animals, which is perfectly normal.

Researchers capture 'most complete' picture of gene expression in cancer cell cycle

Date: Mar-07-2014
Uncontrolled cell growth and division is a hallmark of cancer. Now a research project led by the University of Dundee has provided the most complete description to date of the gene activity which takes place as human cells divide. Researchers have managed to gather data which details the behaviour of protein molecules encoded by over 6000 genes in cancer cells, as they move through the cell cycle.

RCGP to develop unique online info hub to help UK GPs support carers

Date: Mar-07-2014
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has been awarded more than £380,000* from the Department of Health to develop a unique online information 'hub' to help GPs improve the support and services they provide for carers. The hub will collate all the information GPs, primary healthcare staff, practice teams, commissioners and Health & Wellbeing Board representatives might need to identify and support carers, bringing together RCGP resources as well as signposting to external resources. Health professionals will be able to use it free of charge.

Plant extract offers hope for infant motor neurone therapy

Date: Mar-07-2014
A chemical found in plants could reduce the symptoms of the rare muscle disease, spinal muscular atrophy, which leaves children with little or no control of movement in their lower limbs. Scientists at Keele University have contributed to an international study led by the University of Edinburgh showing that a plant pigment called quercetin - found in some fruits, vegetables, herbs and grains - could help to prevent the damage to nerves associated with this childhood form of motor neuron disease.

Researchers show that infecting just one tumor with a virus could boost the systemic effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy

Date: Mar-07-2014
A Ludwig Cancer Research study suggests that the clinical efficacy of checkpoint blockade, a powerful new strategy to harness the immune response to treat cancers, might be dramatically improved if combined with oncolytic virotherapy, an investigational intervention that employs viruses to destroy tumors.

Lung transplantation: A treatment option in end-stage lung disease

Date: Mar-07-2014
In the past five years, the number of lung transplantations carried out has increased by about 20%. In the end stage of various lung diseases, transplantation is the last remaining option for treatment, and it can both prolong life and improve its quality. Marc Hartert and colleagues have studied how patients do after a lung transplant, and their review appears in the current edition of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.What they found is that deaths in the 90 days after an operation for lung transplantation have gone down over the past 25 years from 19.4% to 10%.