Weighing up the way to go
Austria is the only 'old' EU Member State that has not implemented a national breast cancer screening programme.
Prevention
Mobile mammography goes digital
Financed by the Ministry of Health, nine regional screening organisations arrange and implement the Dutch national breast cancer screening programme, in which, every two years, all women from 50-75 years of age are invited for a free mammogram at one of the 62 screening points, of which 56 are mobile vans.
No reimbursement for digital screening
Interviewed by Daniela Zimmermann, Executive Director of EH, Jean Hooks, General Manager, Global Mammography at GE Healthcare, examined reasons behind the slow uptake of digital technology in some European countries, comparing this with its early adoption in the USA
PET and recurrent cancer
More sensitive dissemination tests are needed for patients with locoregionally recurrent (LRR) breast cancer, according to a paper by Dutch researchers published online by the European Journal of Cancer (Volume 40, Issue 10 , 7/2004).
Ultrasound CT for early diagnosis
Karlsruhe, Germany - A new type of ultrasound computed tomography (CT) system promising to improve diagnosis significantly is currently being developed at the Research Centre Karlsruhe.
Tuberculosis blood test gains EU approval
TB causes three million deaths annually, ranking it higher than any other infectious disease. And TB has resurged in Europe. In August, the British Thoracic Society, British Lung Foundation and TB Alert highlighted its increase in over the last 15 years in the UK alone.
Obesity
The disturbing international comparative study on health behaviour in school children (HBSC), conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), European regional offices, have been presented by the research director for Germany, Professor Hurrelmann, Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Bielefeld, at the 3rd German Congress for Health Services Research.
Worldwide about 600,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed annually
Mammography plays a critical part in diagnosing breast cancer. Although this does not prevent the disease, diagnosing breast cancer as early as possible can save lives.
Why screen?
Mammography as a diagnostic procedure to evaluate detected tumours is not an issue. But because the technique is performed, in screening programmes, on apparently healthy people, for ethical reasons it becomes an issue.
Ploughing vigorously forward
The UK - In the 1990s, the nationally co-ordinated NHS Breast Screening Programme was already saving lives - a 21% fall in breast cancer mortality over the last decade and, with the cervical screening programme, this was viewed as among the best cancer screening programmes in the world. However, in that period, the country's cancer services, as a whole did not match up to those of other European…
BP: A poor indicator for cardiac disease
Blood pressure (BP) screening, either alone or in combination with other cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol levels, does not determine a person's chance of having a heart attack or stroke, reports Professor Malcolm Law and colleagues at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in the Journal of Medical Screening.
CHF: A major healthcare burden
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a major healthcare problem with 1-2% of the population affected in Western countries. Because it increases with age, the prevalence of CHF is escalating with our aged populations.
Alga may help
A European study involving 500,000+ people aged between 25-70 years, in 20 European countries, has confirmed a connection between dietary fibre consumption and colon cancer protection.
The high cost of bipolar disorder
The most expensive behavioural healthcare diagnosis, for sufferers and their insurers, is bipolar disorder, according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (160:1286-1290, July 2003).
High-cal intake: Hope for bowel cancer?
France - Less than 50% of those affected by bowel cancer survive beyond five years after diagnosis. However, new research* surprisingly suggests that a high calorie diet may increase chances of survival for longer.
'Polypill' cuts cardiac attacks by 80%
A newly invented 'Polypill', composed of currently available drugs, may act as a 'vaccine' against heart disease, according to new research published in the British Medical Journal (28 June. BMJ 2003;326:1419).
Stimulating cell metabolism
G-ogo sport, a new innovation from Dr. Goettfert Systems, uses a pulsing magnetic field to stimulate cell metabolism.
New approaches for gentler healing
By Professor Horst Neuhaus MD, Head of Internal Medicine at the Evangelical Hospital, Dusseldorf, describes highlights during April's 33rd Congress of the German Society of Endoscopy and Imaging Procedures (DGE-BV).
Article • Collection
Focus on environmental medicine
Harmful substances in the soil, water and air also endanger people's health. In recent years, environmental medicine has been increasingly concerned with the consequences of climate change.
Article • Infection prevention
Hygiene: far more than just hand washing
Hand washing and disinfection are among the most important measures to prevent infections with viruses or bacteria. However, an important aspect of hygiene in the clinical environment is also the sterile reprocessing of instruments. Read more about effective hygiene measures and new findings – especially in the context of the Covid 19 pandemic.