Rebif® (interferon beta-1a), a disease-modifying medication used to treat relapsing forms of multiple Sclerosis (MS), is now available in the UK to treat individuals with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), a potential early indicator of MS, announced Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany…
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Filed under: Multiple Sclerosis on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »
Following the AHVLA’s confirmation of the discovery of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) on four sheep farms in Norfolk, Suffolk and East Sussex, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has renewed its call for heightened vigilance. Scientists believe that the virus is vector-borne, even though they have not ruled out other routes of transmission…
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Filed under: Veterinary on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »
According to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and prostate expert Marc B. Garnick, MD, physicians who advise PSA tests for men being screened for prostate cancer must base their decision more on available evidence when recommending screening, biopsies and treatments, instead of holding on to long held beliefs that PSA-based testing benefits all…
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Filed under: Prostate on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »
Although it is believed that rapid improvement in socio-economic conditions are responsible for the high prevalence of heart disease in the Gulf states, cultural factors are also to blame according to researchers. Professor Hani Najm, Vice-President of the Saudi Heart Association, whose yearly conference starts on Friday 27 January, explained: “We’re sitting on a time bomb…
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Filed under: Cardiovascular on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »
Tea, the second most consumed drink after water, may help lower blood pressure. Scientists at The University Of Western Australia and Unilever, state in Archives of Internal Medicine, that drinking black tea three times a day may drastically lower a person’s systolic and diastolic blood pressure…
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There has been a large drop in the rate of leg and foot amputations among Americans aged 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes, according to a new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the February issue of Diabetes Care. The study reports that between 1996 and 2008 the rate of such amputations fell by 65%…
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Nicotine is a nitrogen-containing chemical - an alkaloid, which is made by several types of plants, including the tobacco plant. Nicotine is also produced synthetically. Nicotiana tabacum, the type of nicotine found in tobacco plants, comes from the nightshade family. Red peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes are examples of the nightshade family…
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Filed under: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »
African-American patients with high blood pressure follow their medication regimen more effectively with a combination of positive affirmations and patient education, concludes a study published Online First in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In comparison to white people, African-Americans are disproportionately affected by hypertension…
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Filed under: Compliance on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »
An article, which is part of the JAMA/Archives journals ‘Less is More’ series that is published in the January 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that in the U.S. overusing the health care services appears to be an understudied problem given that research literature is limited to only a few services and rates of overuse vary widely…
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Filed under: Public Health on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »
Avastin and Sutent, two cancer drugs, do not lead to longer survival in breast cancer patients, probably because they encourage an increase in the number cancer stem cells in breast tumors, according to a study carried out on mice by researchers from the Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (early edition)…
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Filed under: Breast Cancer on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »