Health News for September 25, 2007

Ancient snakebite treatment may harbour cure for HIV
Scientists from Australia, Europe and the US have found that a Chinese herb, which has been used to treat snakebites and boils for centuries, has the potential to fight HIV/AIDS. ANI

WHO and partners call for improving patient safety
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners have called for increased research to improve patient safety at a major international conference in Porto, Portugal. ANI

Interpregnancy weight gain linked to birth of male second child
Women who gain weight from the beginning of the first pregnancy to the beginning of the second pregnancy are more likely to give birth to a baby boy during their second pregnancy, according to a study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. ANI

Being victimized for being gay increases suicidal behavior in college students
A new research suggests that victimization for sexual orientation among gay, lesbian and bisexual college students is a major risk factor for suicidal behavior. ANI

Non-biased people less likely to form racial prejudices
Researchers investigating how some individuals are able to avoid prejudicial biases despite the pervasive human tendency to favour ones own group have found that non-biased people are less likely to form negative affective associations as compared to their biased counterparts. ANI

Physiotherapy provides short-term benefits after knee surgery
A review of earlier studies has found that Physiotherapy can help improve the day to day lives of patients who have undergone knee replacement surgery due to osteoarthritis. ANI

Hormone therapy enhances sexual focus, not memory in younger mid-life women
Hormone therapy in early post-menopause increases sexual interest, but has no effect on memory, a new study has revealed. ANI

Cancer cells in blood offer cheaper detection of breast cancer recurrence risk
Researchers at the University of Munich in Germany have found that circulating tumour cells (CTC), cancer cells circulating in the blood, can be detected before and after chemotherapy treatment, and so can be helpful in identifying patients who are likely to have a recurrence of cancer after the procedure. ANI

Mechanism that stimulates tumour growth identified
A team of Italian scientists has found a widespread mechanism that stimulates tumour growth in humans, and believe that this finding can lead to the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. ANI

Discovering biomarker of adenoma may help detect colorectal cancer
A new research has revealed that the absence of a newly discovered protein - mimecan - and upregulation of another protein - TXNDC5 - were involved in the early development of colorectal adenomas and cancers. ANI

Personalized approach may improve colon cancer screening rates
A simple, personalized intervention is one of the best ways to encourage an individual to get screened for colorectal cancer, according to researchers at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. ANI

Breath-analysis may help monitor blood sugar in diabetes non-invasively
A new study at the University of California, Irvine has shown that breath-analysis may serve as an effective, non-invasive method for monitoring blood sugar levels in diabetes. ANI

Too much sleep can also double the risk of death
Researchers from the University of Warwick and University College London have found that while a lack of sleep doubles a persons risk of death from cardiovascular diseases, too much of sleep can also have the same mortality effect from predominantly non-cardiovascular diseases. ANI

Current flu vaccine not effective in preventing influenza among elderly
UKs National Health Services scientists have revealed that available influenza jabs have not done enough to prevent flu among the elderly. ANI

Long haul flights triples chances of developing deep vein thrombosis
A team of researchers have revealed that taking long-haul flights nearly triples the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that forms within a vein. ANI

Acupuncture better at treating low back pain than conventional therapy
A new study has revealed that six months of acupuncture is more effective than conventional therapy for treating chronic low back pain. ANI