A change in political control naturally creates change in the way things are run, and the jaw-jutting ‘Get tough’ nature of the UK’s new coalition Government is palpable. For hospitals, one early change relates to data reporting on MRSA bloodstream infections and C. Difficile. Up to now, these were published monthly by the National Health Service (NHS) Trust; soon they will be published…
In hospitals, MRSA is considered Public Enemy Nr 1, and the increase in nosocomial infections, worldwide, has drawn universal attention to this ‘superbug’. However, Staphylococcus aureus is not alone – other pathogens are proving their resistance to antibiotics, in the last decade, gram-negative enterobacteria, which form the enzyme extended-spectrum beta-lactimases (ESBL), have joined the…
The overall potential benefits of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations or frequent HPV screenings for women over the age of 41 are low, concludes a new study published online February 15 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study found that the rate of new infections preventable by vaccination declines with age. Furthermore, new infections among women at any age typically do…
While lower intelligence scores have been associated with a raised risk of cardiovascular disease, no study has so far compared the relative strength of this association with other established risk factors such as obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Now, a large study has found that lower intelligence scores were associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease and total mortality at…
A study published this week in Lancet suggests that low A1C levels may be just as dangerous as high A1C levels in diabetes patients with respect to mortality and cardiovascular outcomes. Upon review of the study, The Endocrine Society released a statement recommending against any wholesale change in glycemic goals and strongly encourages patients to discuss these issues with their diabetes-care…
Researchers from University Hospital in Umea, Sweden, have identified several cytokines, cytokine-related factors, and chemokines that increase significantly prior to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease onset. These findings confirm those of earlier studies which suggest that the risk of developing RA can be predicted and disease progression may be prevented. Complete findings of this study are…
"Cancer can be prevented too" is the theme of a new campaign being launched today in the lead up to World Cancer Day on 4th February, by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC). The campaign is backed by a new scientific report: 'Protection against cancer causing infections' which focuses on the nine infections that can lead to cancer.
Computer games, TV, fast food, lack of exercise – what will be the medical consequences of rising obesity in the young and what can be done about it? Pernille Due, at the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark in Copenhagen, studied 162,305 adolescents in 35 countries aged 11-15 years old.
The latest analysis of a vaccine’s safety, efficacy and immunogenicity indicates that Cervarix, a human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine offers sustained protection for over six years against infection by viral types HPV-16 and HPV-18, most commonly associated with cervical cancer.
The Council of Europe member states will launch an inquiry in January 2010 on the influence of the pharmaceutical companies on the global swine flu campaign, focusing especially on extent of the pharma's industry's influence on WHO. The Health Committee of the EU Parliament has unanimously passed a resolution calling for the inquiry.
Colorectal cancer is a suitable target for screening when it has a relatively high incidence – the second highest cancer incidence among women and third among men in Europe – and has a high mortality (~50% are expected to die of the disease), but can be cured if detected at an early stage.
New research on deaths from cancer in Europe concludes that the key priority for continuing to reduce mortality is cutting tobacco smoking. The study shows that, while deaths for men from lung cancer in the EU have declined overall, by 17 % from 1995 to 2004, they rose by 27% for women over the same period. It also reveals other significant differences in the mortality between different EU…
Breast and cervical cancer together account for more than one quarter of all female cancer deaths worldwide, with the majority – including more than 85 % of all cervical cancer deaths – occurring in developing countries. However, a small number of highly effective programs demonstrate that much can be done to reduce risk and increase sustainable access to diagnosis and treatment for these…
A young singer leans against the mixing desk in a recording studio in a laid-back manner. She listens to songs just recorded for her new album, moving her lips to the sound. Suddenly she stops, reaches for her head and seconds later collapses, unconscious. On hospital admittance physicians discover that a previously undetected aneurysm in her brain has ruptured.
Patients with atrial fibrillation, so at risk of stroke, are usually treated with medication to prevent coagulation. The Hanover Medical School (MHH) has devised an alternative treatment.
Strongly enforced legislation to restrict smoking produces rapid and substantial reductions in community rates of heart attack, according to a meta-analysis published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.
How can postoperative delirium and postoperative cognitive dysfunction be avoided? How is it best to address the problem of epilepsy? How can anaesthetists cope better with a patient death under anaesthesia? These difficult questions were among many addressed by specialists at HAI 2009, the annual conference of the German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI). Report:…
Bettina Döbereiner continues her reports on theories, policy strategies and current projects aired in the Berlin conference Reducing Health Inequalities. What do we really know about successful strategies?
A global vaccination programme against human papilloma virus (HPV), to include boys as well as girls, could lead to eradication of the virus and virtual disappearance of cervical cancer, according to Nobel Prize winner, Professor Emeritus Harald zur Hausen (University of California, San Diego) after recently delivering a keynote lecture at the 16th International Meeting of the European Society of…
ECCO 15 – ESMO 34, the joint congress of the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), is Europe’s largest oncology meeting; the event drew to Berlin 15,000 participants from 120 countries this September, when more than 2,000 presentations were made. Among the presentations on prevention, treatment and survivorship, proteomics, biomarkers,…
Bettina Döbereiner reports on theories, policy strategies and current projects aired in the Berlin conference Reducing Health Inequalities. What do we really know about successful strategies?
Philips has developed a proprietary technology for elastography that uses new strain analytics for signals captured on the IU22 volume linear transducer and yields a relative quantification of tissue stiffness, which is presented as statistical charts displayed alongside a colour-coded qualificative image superimposed on the B-mode screen.
As concern over the potential mutation of the latest form of influenza virus continues to vex governments and their healthcare organisations, WHO 2009 data has shown that acute respiratory infections, influenza and respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) epidemics coincide with epidemics of S. pneumoniae. In fact, half or more of flu-associated mortality in the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu epidemic is…
The European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology (ESCAIDE) aims to strengthen and expand the network of specialists, share scientific knowledge and experience internationally, and provide a dedicated platform for EPIET/FETP (field epidemiology training programme) fellows to present their work.
At the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) congress in Vienna, experts highlighted the important relationship between nutrition and functionality in the elderly. They discussed the importance of an effective and flexible screening tool for the measurement of nutritional status, the impact of nutritional status on fall and fracture risk, and the role physical exercise…