Over-the-counter eye drop sales shoot up, but do little goodNovember 30th, 2009 LONDON - The use of antibiotic eye drops for conjunctivitis has increased by almost half since they became available over the counter in 2005, says new data. This is despite the fact that evidence from clinical trials from around the same time showed the eye drops to have minimal benefit.
Guidelines say less frequent Paps OK to detect cervical cancer - every 2 years for under-30November 20th, 2009 more images
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Report: 20-somethings can go 2 years between Paps
WASHINGTON — First mammograms. Now — in an apparent coincidence — Pap smears.
Now, dissolving dressing for wounds to speed up healingNovember 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A revolutionary new wound dressing, developed at Tel Aviv University, can not only speed up the healing process of antibiotics but can dissolve when its job is done. Prof. Meital Zilberman of TAU's Department of Biomedical Engineering has developed a new wound dressing based on fibres she engineered, which can be loaded with drugs like antibiotics to accelerate the healing process, and then dissolve their own.
How bacteria resist attackNovember 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa can 'switch on' production of molecules that kill white blood cells - preventing the bacteria being eliminated by the body's immune system, say researchers the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark. P. aeruginosa is responsible for many hospital-acquired infections and also causes chronic infections in those with pre-existing medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis (CF).
Psychiatric medication can increase premature child deliveryOctober 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pregnant women with a history of depression who used psychiatric medication tripled their odds of premature child delivery, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Washington, University of Michigan and Michigan State University found that a combination of medication use and depression - either before or during pregnancy - was strongly linked to delivery before 35 weeks' gestation.
Novartis to pay up to $485M for rights to US firm's antibiotic for drug-resistant bacteriaOctober 8th, 2009 Novartis buys rights to next-generation antibioticBASEL, Switzerland — Novartis AG said Thursday it has bought worldwide rights to a new antibiotic drug developed by U.S. company Paratek Pharmaceuticals to treat drug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA.
Antibiotic could be the new stroke treatmentOctober 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The antibiotic minocycline may offer new and more effective treatment for stroke patients, says a new study. The research, published in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience, describes the safety and therapeutic efficacy of the drug in animal models.
Antidepressant use during pregnancy puts newborns at increased health riskOctober 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Use of antidepressants during pregnancy might put the newborn child at increased health risk, according to researchers. The study led by Dr Najaaraq Lund showed that exposure to certain class of antidepressants can increase the risk of preterm birth, and can affect the overall health of the newborn.
Million premature babies die every yearOctober 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - More than one million infants die worldwide every year because they are born too early, according to a recently released White Paper, The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth. The document shows that in 2005 an estimated 13 million babies were born preterm -- defined as birth at less than 37 full weeks of gestation.
1 million premature babies worldwide die every yearOctober 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Over one million infants who are born too early die each year, according to a new White Paper. Titled 'The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth', it shows that in 2005, an estimated 13 million babies worldwide were born preterm - defined as birth at less than 37 full weeks of gestation - which was almost 10 percent of total births worldwide.
Report finds nearly 13 million babies worldwide born premature, 1 million dieOctober 4th, 2009 Report: 13 million babies worldwide born prematureWASHINGTON — They call it kangaroo care: A premature baby nestles skin-to-skin against mom's bare, warm chest. In Malawi, mothers' bodies take the place of too-pricey incubators to keep these fragile newborns alive.
Labor Dep't wants exemption for new Chrysler health care plan for retireesOctober 2nd, 2009 DOL seeks exemption for Chrysler health care planWASHINGTON — The Labor Department said Friday it was seeking an exemption to facilitate Chrysler's move under bankruptcy proceedings to transfer company securities into a new retiree health care trust. To help Chrysler Group LLC carry out its plan, the department is seeking an exemption from provisions of a federal law prohibiting such benefit plans from holding large assets in the form of employer securities.
Labor Dept wants exemption for new GM health care plan for 700K retirees and dependentsSeptember 17th, 2009 Labor Dept wants exemption for GM health care planWASHINGTON — The Labor Department said Thursday it was seeking an exemption for General Motors' new retiree health care plan that would carry out the automaker's plans to transfer company securities into the health care trust. The United Auto Workers' retiree health care trust fund received a 17.5 percent ownership stake in the new GM as part of the company's government-led efforts to emerge from bankruptcy protection last summer.
How to make antibiotics more effective at lower dosesSeptember 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at the NYU School of Medicine say that they have gained significant insights into a mechanism that plays an important role in making human pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus anthracis resistant to numerous antibiotics. Writing about their work in the journal Science, they have said that their study provides evidence that Nitric Oxide (NO) is able to alleviate the oxidative stress in bacteria caused by many antibiotics, and that it also helps to neutralize many antibacterial compounds.
Common drug can function as 'off switch' for Parkinson therapyAugust 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A common antibiotic can act as an "off switch" for a gene therapy that is being developed for Parkinson's disease, according to a study on rats conducted by University of Florida researchers. The findings of the study have explained how new, therapeutic genes that have been irrevocably delivered to the human brain to treat Parkinson's can be controlled if the genes unexpectedly start causing problems.
