National Infant Immunization Week Reminds Parents of the Importance of Immunizations and Encourages them to Look to their Child?s Doctor for Information. – The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) last week.
Royal College of Midwives and NICE UK advise is to avoid alcohol whilst pregnant, and to stop drinking alcohol if they are trying to start a family. – Responding to the release of UK’s NICE antenatal guidelines for pregnant women, Mervi Jokinen of the Royal College of Midwives, UK, said: “We welcome the guidelines which are evidence based, but feel that more clarity is needed about pregnancy and alcohol.
A team of researchers at the University of Washington and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories has uncovered genetic errors that may shed light on the causes of schizophrenia. The scientists found that deletions and duplications of DNA are more common in people with the mental disorder, and that many of those errors occur in genes related to brain development and neurological function. – Schizophrenia, a debilitating psychiatric disorder, is caused by some genetic errors due to deletions and duplications of DNA are more common in people with the mental disorders, revealed by researchers at the University of Washington and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories.
STMicroelectronics and Veredus Laboratories Launch Market?s First Lab-on-Chip for Rapid Molecular Flu Detection at Point of Need – Following the success of the evaluation trials conducted at the prestigious National University Hospital of Singapore, Veredus Laboratories and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) announced the commercial availability of VereFlu, a portable lab-on-chip application for rapid detection of all major influenza types at the point of need.
Men are more likely to report eating meat and poultry items and women are more likely to report eating fruits and vegetables. – When it comes to what we eat, men and women really are different according to scientific research presented at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia. In general, men are more likely to report eating meat and poultry items and women are more likely to report eating fruits and vegetables.
Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm. – Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Cigarettes should be sold in plain, dull cardboard packs, with nothing but the health warning and the brand name allowed, researchers at the School of Public Health have argued in a major review published in the international research journal, Addiction. – Cigarettes should be sold in plain, dull cardboard packs, with nothing but the health warning and the brand name allowed, researchers at the School of Public Health have argued.
Pregnant women need more help to quit smoking. Midwives and doctors should do more to encourage pregnant women to give up smoking. – Midwives and doctors should do more to encourage pregnant women to give up smoking, research suggests. A survey by the Auckland Tobacco Control Research Centre (ATCRC) at The University of Auckland showed that only 11% of midwives and 71% of GPs suggest women abstain completely from smoking during pregnancy.
Sedentary, overweight or obese women can improve their quality of life by exercising as little as 10 to 30 minutes a day, researchers reported. – Sedentary, overweight or obese women can improve their quality of life by exercising as little as 10 to 30 minutes a day, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.
Illinois Governor Blagojevich announces Illinois Environmental Protect Agency to strengthen drinking water protections; Illinois EPA to assess presence of pharmaceuticals in water supplies and to promote disposal alternatives. – Following reports that found trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in the US’s drinking water, Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) is expanding its current monitoring of water quality to include sampling to determine levels of pharmaceuticals that may be in Illinois waterways.
Nonmedical users of prescription drugs are at heightened risk for drug abuse, whereas medical users without a history of nonmedical use are generally not at increased risk. Drug abuse screening should be routine for college students, especially among individuals with any history of nonmedical use of prescription drugs. – College students who take frequently abused medications without a prescription appear to have a higher risk for drug abuse than those who use such therapies for medical reasons, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The health effects of one strain of schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease common in developing countries, are seven to 46 times greater than previously estimated, according to new Brown University research. – The health effects of one strain of schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease common in developing countries, are seven to 46 times greater than previously estimated, according to new Brown University research.
