People with asthma are being urged to take their condition seriously this winter as new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics highlights concerning levels of asthma-related deaths. The latest Australian asthma death toll recorded 411 deaths in 2009 - 131 males and 280 females…
In addition to its damaging effect on the environment and its illegal smuggling into developing countries, researchers have now linked e-waste to adverse effects on human health, such as inflammation and oxidative stress - precursors to cardiovascular disease, DNA damage and possibly cancer…
While celebrating World No Tobacco Day with encouraging words on progress made to stem the growth of tobacco usage globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) says enormous challenges still remain for the public health treaty to really do what it was created for - to become the planet’s most powerful tobacco control tool…
Attending frequently with medically unexplained symptoms is distressing for both patient and doctor and effective treatment or management options are limited: one in five patients have symptoms that remain unexplained by conventional medicine…
When children with asthma get the flu, they often land in the hospital gasping for air. Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have found a previously unknown biological pathway explaining why influenza induces asthma attacks…
Over 680 patients and a considerable number of employees were exposed to TB (tuberculosis) at Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. According to local media reports, exposure started in November 2010 and continued for several months - the employee did not know he was infected until April 2011…
Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who practice yoga showed statistically significant improvements in disease activity, according to a small study presented at the EULAR 2011 Annual Congress…
As health care systems worldwide face budget cuts, accurate measurement of treatment value or benefit is increasingly important for economic evaluations. A novel scoring system has been developed to report treatment benefit, also known as utility, from a questionnaire administered to patients having an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)…
The province of British Columbia was right to take a cautious approach to coverage of the inhaled medication Spiriva, suggests a study to be published today in the journal Value in Health, the official journal of ISPOR. Researchers at the University of British Columbia studied the impact of the province’s coverage of the drug on costs and use of health services…
University of Granada researchers have proven that music therapy combined with other relax techniques based on guided imagery reduces significantly pain, depression and anxiety, and improves sleep among patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Thus, this therapy enhances patients’ quality of life…
