What do you need to know before you join a clinical trial? Some patients are so desperate they think taking part in a clinical trial is better than nothing, but not all trials are useful. On the other hand, joining a trial might give you new options and gives researchers useful information that could bring [...]
Given that suicides by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars could outnumber the combat deaths, the Veteran’s Administration (VA) has been under a lot of pressure to do more prevention. The VA recently launched a Suicide Prevention Website. The site is not ideal, but there is plenty of information there and some useful downloads. [...]
Who should get priority access to swine flu (H1N1) vaccine this fall? An advisory committee has decided: pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, health care and emergency services personnel, persons between the ages of 6 months through 24 years of age, and people from ages [...]
The American Heart Association’s “Pocket First Aid and CPR” iPhone application sells for $3.99. Built using JiveMedia technology, the app provides a quick reference through video and detailed instructions on how to perform first aid for CPR, choking, bites, bruises, burns, seizures, diabetic emergencies, and more. You can also enter your and your loved ones’ [...]
Feeding Rhesus monkeys a low calorie diet can greatly extend their lives, a long-term study shows. The study began in 1989 with an analysis of the monkeys’ usual diets. Then, the researchers broke the monkeys into two groups, and started cutting calories from one group’s diet. The group on the restricted diet were eventually eating [...]
More Americans, including children, are obese according to a recent report from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. “Adult obesity rates now exceed 25 percent in 31 states and exceed 20 percent in 49 states and Washington, D.C. Two-thirds of American adults are either obese or overweight. In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. In [...]
Scientists have found 27 different regions in the genome where rare copy number variations – missing or extra copies of DNA segments – exist in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but not in those without the disease. These findings are reported in the most recent issue of PLOs Genetics, and came from additional analysis [...]
The U.S. has probably reached 1 million cases of H1N1 (swine) flu, according to an estimate reached through mathematical modeling by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The Associated Press reports that a CDC official shared that estimate at an advisory meeting today. Only about 28,000 cases have actually been reported in the U.S., which [...]
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a swine flu, or H1N1, pandemic on June 11 because of how widely the diseases has spread. WHO and other agencies are also trying to calm fears by pointing out that, so far, the virus does not seem to be turning more virulent. In response to WHO’s declaration, U.S. [...]
MediClim sends patients with certain chronic diseases alerts about impending weather that may worsen their ills.
