Health

The two types of diabetes

(AFP) The number of adults with diabetes has quadrupled since 1980 according to the World Health Organisation in its first-ever global report on the disease. Videographic explaining the two types of diabetes.

Sting like a bee – alternative therapy in Gaza

RAFAH, Gaza (Reuters) – In the Gaza Strip town of Rafah, beekeepers harvest honey as hundreds of bees swirl around them – but the honey isn’t the only thing they’re after. There is a center in Gaza City that treats its patients using bee sting which are said to have healing qualities. “There are (around) 18 or 20 antibiotics in bees. So some doctors opened big centers in the world, some in Germany, some in […]

Smokers have harder time getting work: study

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — People who smoke may find it harder to get work, and make less money than non-smokers, according to a US study out Monday. The findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine were based on more than 250 unemployed job-seekers in the San Francisco area. About half smoked cigarettes — on average 13 per day — and the other half did not smoke. Researchers checked in with […]

Zika spread, impact ‘scarier than we initially thought’ – U.S. health officials

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (Reuters) – The spread and impact of the Zika virus is wider than initially anticipated, U.S. health officials said on Monday (April 11). Dr. Anne Schuchat, a deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters at the White House that the type of mosquito in which the virus is carried is present in more U.S. states than initially thought. U.S. scientists now believe the mosquito is present […]

DOH urges candidates to take a break from campaigning

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health advised candidates and their supporters to have a break or rest period during their campaign in order to avoid heat stroke. The DOH added that the hours between 10 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon should be avoided due to the high amount of ultraviolet radiation. Said department also added that the candidates and their supporters should also regularly consume water. (Eagle News Service Described by […]

GM adenovirus used by doctors to attack tumor cells

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) – Researchers in Argentina say they have genetically modified an adenovirus – which can cause colds, conjunctivitis and bronchitis – to home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue. Scientists have long been intrigued by the idea of using viruses to alert the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. That interest has taken off in recent years as advances in genetic engineering allow them […]

Diabetes cases reach 422 million as poorer countries see steep rises

Reuters – The number of adults with diabetes has quadrupled worldwide in under four decades to 422 million, and the condition is fast becoming a major problem in poorer countries, a World Health Organization study released on Wednesday (April 6) showed. In one of the largest studies to date of diabetes trends, the researchers said ageing populations and rising levels of obesity across the world mean diabetes is becoming “a defining issue for global public […]

Broken hearts at higher risk of failing: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — The death of a life partner may trigger an irregular heartbeat, itself potentially life-threatening, said new research Wednesday into the risk of dying from a broken heart. A trawl of data on nearly a million Danes showed an elevated risk, lasting about a year, of developing a heart flutter. Under-60’s whose partners died unexpectedly were most in peril. The risk was highest “8-14 days after the loss, after which it gradually […]

FDA staff raises no major concerns over Intercept’s liver drug

BY AMRUTHA PENUMUDI The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s staff reviewers did not raise any major red flags over Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc’s liver drug on Tuesday, sending the stock up as much as 19 percent. The drug, obeticholic acid (OCA), is being reviewed for use in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, a rare liver disease resulting from an autoimmune destruction of the bile ducts. Several analysts said the documents released by the staff leaned towards […]

Insulin cost in U.S. more than doubles between 2002-2013

BY ANDREW M. SEAMAN (Reuters Health) – The cost of the hormone insulin, one of the most important treatments for diabetes, rose nearly 200 percent between 2002 and 2013, according to a new study. While other diabetes medications also increased in price, total spending on insulin in 2013 was greater than the combined spending on all those other drugs, researchers report in JAMA. “The large increase in costs can largely be explained (by) much greater […]

Zika mystery deepens with evidence of nerve cell infections

CHICAGO | BY JULIE STEENHUYSEN (Reuters) — Top Zika investigators now believe that the birth defect microcephaly and the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome may be just the most obvious maladies caused by the mosquito-borne virus. Fueling that suspicion are recent discoveries of serious brain and spinal cord infections – including encephalitis, meningitis and myelitis – in people exposed to Zika. Evidence that Zika’s damage may be more varied and widespread than initially believed adds pressure on […]

Brazilian health ministry administers swine flu vaccines amidst cuts

  SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) – Further to the outbreak of the Zika virus, Brazil is battling an increase in cases of flu with anticipated vaccination services, despite sweeping budget cuts for health. State health authorities in Sao Paulo initiated their annual vaccination services early this year to protect some 3.5 million people who are most at risk. An extra round of vaccinations began on March 23, ahead of the start of planned services mid-April. The […]