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NHS Days (MSW)

01 Nov - 01 Dec
Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Lung cancer is known as the “invisible” or “forgotten” disease but lung cancer is a stark reality for more than 37,000 new patients in the UK every year – that’s one every 15 minutes.

BBC Health

Windpipe transplant breakthrough

Surgeons in Spain claim a major breakthrough by giving a woman a new windpipe with tissue grown from her own stem cells.

Nurses warn over needle injuries

Nurses are calling for safer needles to be used after a poll suggested nearly half have been accidentally jabbed.

Lung disease diagnosis confusion

Most GPs have difficulty differentiating chronic severe lung disease from asthma, a survey finds.

C.diff 'a factor in more deaths'

C.difficile infection is a greater contributory factor to deaths in Scottish hospitals than currently recorded, an expert warns.

Technology to eradicate malaria

Emerging technologies could boost supplies of essential plant-based drugs to combat and ultimately help eradicate malaria, says a report.

Drug-resistant ward bug concern

Hospitals need to be vigilant against an emerging drug-resistant bacterium, warn infection control experts.

Pupils targeted in superbug fight

Schools are being urged to teach pupils about infection control as experts step up the fight against superbugs.

Computer virus affects hospitals

Three London hospitals are forced to shut down their computer systems because of a computer virus.

Motor neurone disease clue found

Scientists have identified a molecule which could be key to understanding the cause of motor neurone disease.

What a way to go. British toilet habits revealed

Reading, chatting and texting are among the favourite activities of Britons on the toilet, a survey suggests.

Yahoo Health

Doctors transplant windpipe with stem cells (AP)

In this image released by the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008, a patient's collapsed lung, at right, is seen prior to a windpipe transplant which used tissue grown from the patient's own stem cells. European doctors have performed a windpipe transplant with tissue grown from the patient's own stem cells, eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs. (AP Photo/Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, HO)

AP - Doctors have given a woman a new windpipe with tissue grown from her own stem cells, eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs. "This technique has great promise," said Dr. Eric Genden, who did a similar transplant in 2005 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. That operation used both donor and recipient tissue. Only a handful of windpipe, or trachea, transplants have ever been done.

Ginkgo fails to prevent Alzheimer's in large study (AP)

AP - The dietary supplement ginkgo, long promoted as an aid to memory, didn't help prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease in the longest and largest test of the extract in older Americans. "We don't think it has a future as a powerful anti-dementia drug," said Dr. Steven DeKosky of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who led the federally funded study.

Panel urges revised warning on facial filler risks (AP)

AP - Cosmetic surgery patients who think facial fillers are a magical antidote to aging must be better informed of possible risks, government health advisers said Tuesday.

Family history can trump breast cancer gene test (AP)

Doctors examine an X-ray in a file photo. Women with a family history of breast cancer but who test negative for two genetic mutations commonly linked to it still have a very high risk of developing the disease, Canadian researchers said on Monday. (File/Reuters)

AP - If breast cancer runs in the family, women can be at high risk even if they test free of the disease's most common gene mutations, sobering new research shows. The genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are linked with particularly aggressive hereditary breast cancer, and an increased risk of ovarian cancer, too.

Doctors hoping for new era of artificial ankles (AP)

Dan Sivia shows off the leg he had ankle replacement surgery, Friday, Nov., 14, 2008, at his home in Waukegan, Ill. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

AP - What was left of Dan Sivia's ankle simply didn't work. He limped through his 30s by sheer force of will, one foot almost completely immobile from repeated broken bones and surgeries. Then a doctor offered his last hope: An ankle replacement. A what? Sivia knew about hip, knee, even shoulder replacements. But ankles?

Medicare wants limits for weight loss surgery (Reuters)

Reuters - Medicare, the U.S. government's largest payer of health care, said on Monday it does not plan to cover weight-loss surgery in diabetic patients who are not dangerously overweight, saying there is not enough evidence to show it can improve their health.

Counseling on alcohol key to teens' sexual health (Reuters)

Reuters - When health care providers are talking with adolescents about sexual health, alcohol must be a part of the conversation, conclude two researchers from the UK based on a survey of boys' and girls' attitudes about sexual relationships.

Clinical Trials Update: Nov. 17, 2008 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of CenterWatch:

Canola Oil Consumed During Pregnancy Lowers Breast Cancer Risk for Offspring (HealthDay)

HealthDay - TUESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Women whose mothers consumed canola oil during pregnancy and breast-feeding may be less likely to develop breast cancer than those whose mothers consumed corn oil, a new study suggests.

Robots may come to aging boomers' rescue (HealthDay)

HealthDay - TUESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- In the not-so-distant future, American seniors may turn to helpful, uncomplaining robots to fill the worrisome "care gap" that many face today.

MedPage Today

Airway Transplant Shows Potential of Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering

BARCELONA (MedPage Today) -- A tissue-engineered airway, using autologous stem cells, has restored lung function and quality of life for a 30-year-old mother of two who suffered from tuberculosis.

Vertigo in Ménière's Responds to Time, Surgery

VALENCIA, Spain (MedPage Today) -- In Ménière's disease, episodes of vertigo tend to become less frequent over time, but when they don't subside, endolymphatic sac surgery can reduce major spells.

Kennedy Appoints Hillary Clinton to Shepherd Health Insurance Reform

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), no stranger to healthcare reform efforts, was named today by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) to head a working group on insurance coverage for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).

CTS: Women Outlive Men During Lung Cancer Trials

CHICAGO (MedPage Today) -- Men involved in clinical studies of inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer appear to be at a 23% greater risk of mortality during a trial than comparable women, researchers said here.

Bariatric Surgery May Decrease Pregnancy Complication Risks

LOS ANGELES (MedPage Today) -- If obese women have bariatric surgery before becoming pregnant, they can reduce their risks of maternal and neonatal complications, suggested researchers here.

Undescended Testicles in Infants Linked to Genetic Abnormalities

PADOVA, Italy (MedPage Today) -- Bilateral or persistent failure of testicular descent in infants and toddlers may signal the presence of a genetic mutation, such as Klinefelter syndrome.

Forget Ginkgo Supplements for Dementia Prevention

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (MedPage Today) -- The popular plant supplement Ginkgo biloba does not prevent cognitive decline or halt progress to Alzheimer's disease, researchers here found.

Bevacizumab Increases VTE Risk

STONY BROOK, N.Y. (MedPage Today) -- Bevacizumab (Avastin) raised the risk of venous thromboembolism by more than 30%, regardless of dose in a meta-analysis, researchers here said.

AACR: HIV Linked to Increased Risk of Non-AIDS Malignancy

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- People living with HIV have an increased risk of non-AIDS cancer, a researcher said here.

CTS: Sorafenib Shows No Advantage in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

CHICAGO (MedPage Today) -- It's three strikes for the oral multikinase inhibitor sorafenib (Nexavar) for treating advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in the ESCAPE trial.

Daily Mail

How three cups of green tea a day can help you lose weight - even if you keep eating junk food

Three cups of green tea a day could help keep obesity at bay, scientists claim.

Ginkgo herb is 'no help' against Alzheimer's disease

A Chinese herb claimed to improve memory and mental sharpness does not prevent Alzheimer's disease, scientists have found.

GPs 'are focusing on patients who bring in bonuses', claims Civitas report

Family doctors are playing the system at the expense of patients' lives to earn performance bonuses, a report claims.

Health alert over sunbed worshippers who are now injecting themselves with illegal tanning drug

Sun-lovers starved of the real thing are putting their health at risk by injecting themselves with an illegal tanning drug.

Having a big brother 'cuts your chances of children'

Whether you idolise or resent him, there's no doubt a big brother can really shape your childhood. But it seems an elder sibling's influence can have a much more profound effect in later life.

Smoker's friend: How broccoli and cabbages may offer 'special cancer protection' to heavy smokers

Broccoli and similar vegetables appear to offer special protection from cancer for smokers. They found that former smokers and, especially, people still smoking heavily got special benefits.

New superbug version of E.coli found on British dairy farm

A new superbug version of E.coli which could trigger life-threatening infections has been found on a dairy farm. It is the first time it has been discovered in this country.

Thought meningitis only struck children? Read on...

One Saturday evening Dee Waterton started to feel feverish and decided to have an early night. By lunchtime the next day, she was nearly dead.

Health experts demand review into wrinkle fillers as patients report facial paralysis and severe allergic reactions

Health experts have ordered an urgent review into the use of injectable fillers amid reports of facial paralysis, disfigurement and severe allergic reactions.

Scalpel, forceps... infection. We know about bugs on hospital wards, but what about the operating table?

When factory manager Tony Kitchen had an accident at work, there was no doubt he'd been seriously hurt. But he didn't expect surgery to make his condition worse.

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