Health: Blood Tests Could Detect Sexually-Transmitted Oral Cancers
Antibodies to a high-risk type of a virus that causes mouth and throat cancers when transmitted via oral sex can be detected in blood tests many years before onset of the disease, according to a World Health Organisation-led team of researchers. In a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the researchers said their findings...
Health: Vegetable Fats Tied to Less Prostate Cancer Spread
After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, men who eat a diet high in vegetable fats, such as those in nuts and olive oil, may be less likely to have their disease spread, a new study suggests. Researchers found that replacing some carbohydrates with those healthy fats was also tied to a lower risk of dying...
Health: Vegetarian Diet Tied to Fewer Deaths over Time
Source: Reuters People who limit how much meat they eat and stick to mostly fruits and vegetables are less likely to die over any particular period of time, according to a new study. “I think this adds to the evidence showing the possible beneficial effect of vegetarian diets in the prevention of chronic diseases and...
Heart Device Approval Delays Leave US Doctors Frustrated
Americans accustomed to immediate access to the newest technology may be shocked to find that is not the case when it comes to devices that treat ailing hearts. US approval requirements for cardiac devices are much more stringent than in Europe, where there is no centralised decision-making body. But a growing number of US heart...
Health: Does Prostate Cancer Treatment Help Older, Sick Men?
Older men with other illnesses may not live long enough to benefit from aggressive prostate cancer treatments, such as prostate removal or radiation, and they’d have to live with their side effects, says a new study. “If you’re going to die of a heart attack in five years, what’s the point of going through radiation?”...
Health: Eating Insects Could Help Fight Obesity
The thought of eating beetles, caterpillars and ants may give you the creeps, but the authors of a UN report published on Monday said the health benefits of consuming nutritious insects could help fight obesity. More than 1,900 species of insects are eaten around the world, mainly in Africa and Asia, but people in the...
Health: FDA Warns on Use of Certain Migraine Drugs During Pregnancy
The US Food and Drug Administration warned on the use of migraine drug valproate sodium in pregnant women as it could result in lower IQ scores in the baby. The FDA said the results of a recent study showed that children exposed to valproate products in the womb had lower IQ at the age of...
Health: Should Old, Sick Patients Get Skin Cancer Surgery?
More than two-thirds of people with non-melanoma skin cancer underwent surgery to treat the condition, according to a new study – including patients who were at least 85 years old or had multiple other chronic diseases. Researchers found 43 per cent of those patients with limited life expectancies died within five years of their diagnosis...
Health: Heart Bypass Surgery or Stents?
The average person with multiple diseased arteries in the heart does slightly better following coronary artery bypass surgery than after having stents inserted, a new study suggests, but the optimal procedure varies by patient. Researchers found slightly more heart patients survived at least five years after bypass surgery – 74 per cent, versus 72 per...
Health: FDA Approves Return of First Morning Sickness Drug
US health regulators have approved a drug to treat morning sickness that was withdrawn from the market 30 years ago amid claims, since debunked, that it caused birth defects. Hot Deals The drug, Diclegis, made by Duchesnay Inc, a private Canadian company, is a generic version of a product that was initially approved in the...
Health: A*Star, GlaxoSmithKline to Develop New Medicines for Emerging Markets
by Ernie B. Calucag A*STAR’s Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have signed a five-year strategic agreement to develop new evidence based formulations (EBFs) specifically for emerging markets. EBFs are medicines which are reformulated to provide additional patient benefit. Hot Deals The collaboration is expected to enhance ICES’ technical expertise and...
Health: Statin Side Effects Can Often Be Overcome
Most people who stop taking cholesterol-lowering statins – because of side effects or for another reason – are able to restart the same drug or a similar one without lasting problems, a new study suggests. That’s important because for people who need statins, quitting them for good increases the chance of serious heart problems, researchers...
