A new ?372 million cross-government strategy to help everyone lead healthier lives was published today by the Health Secretary, Alan Johnson and the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls. – A new ?372 million cross-government strategy to help England’s population lead healthier lives was published by the UK Health Secretary, Alan Johnson and the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls.
American Heart Association goals to reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke by 2010 have been virtually met. – In an appropriate prelude to American Heart Month, which is just ahead in February, new mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, since 1999, coronary heart disease and stroke age-adjusted death rates are down by 25.8 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively.
New York City health officials are reviving a plan that would force restaurant chains to post calorie counts for their foods, right on the menu. – The Board of Health of New York City voted to require restaurant chains operating in New York City to prominently display calorie information on their menus and menu boards. The new regulation, which takes effect on March_31, 2008, applies to any New York City chain restaurant that has 15 or more outlets nationwide ? about 10% of all New York City restaurants.
A stressful job has a direct biological impact on the body, raising the risk of heart disease, research has indicated. – New research has produced strong evidence of how work stress is linked to the biological mechanisms involved in the onset of heart disease. The research published in Europe’s leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.
Researchers in the Department of Medicine and Department of Neurosciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that chronic pain can be successfully treated with novel targeted gene therapy. – Now, chronic pain can be successfully treated with novel targeted gene therapy. In an effort to find a more effective treatment for chronic pain, researchers at Mount Sinai developed a gene therapy technique that simulates the pain-killing effect of opiate drugs.
A saline nasal wash solution made from processed seawater appears to improve nasal symptoms and may help prevent the recurrence of respiratory infections when used by children with the common cold. – Children show faster resolution of some nasal symptoms during acute illness and less frequent reappearance of rhinitis subsequently, after nasal isotonic saline application to prevent reappearance of cold and flu in children during the winter.
Australian Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) recently advised that the incoming Government has put the GP MRI initiative on hold pending a review. – The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has written to Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, urging her to implement the previous Government’s policy to allow GPs to order Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans for their patients. Prior to last year’s election, it was announced that GPs would be able to directly refer patients for a Medicare-funded MRI scan of the knee or, where Multiple Sclerosis is suspected, of the brain.
If you are pregnant and need caffeine to get you going, try keeping it to one cup or less a day. Avoiding it may be even better. – High doses of daily caffeine during pregnancy ? whether from coffee, tea, caffeinated soda or hot chocolate ? cause an increased risk of miscarriage, according a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study controlled, for the first time, pregnancy-related symptoms of nausea, vomiting and caffeine aversion that tended to interfere with the determination of caffeine’s true effect on miscarriage risk.
Researchers find that treatment with probiotics has range of biochemical effects. The results of this study are highly promising to address personalized nutrition. – Probiotics, such as yoghurt drinks containing live bacteria, have a tangible effect on the metabolism. The research is the first to look in detail at how probiotics change the biochemistry of bugs known as gut microbes, which live in the gut and which play an important part in a person’s metabolic makeup.
Prodesse’s ProFlu+ Test for Respiratory Viruses receives FDA clearance for Marketing Real-Time Test, detects four viruses, including influenza; results available in about 3 hours. – Prodesse, Inc., the leader in multiplex real-time PCR for infectious disease, announced that it received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its ProFlu+? Assay.
