Earlier this year, an idea proposed by a local participant of a REACH diabetes support group was made into a Spanish-language community play to raise awareness about diabetes among the local Latino population. The play, which debuted this spring, is now returning, this time to southeast Seattle, an area disproportionately impacted by diabetes.
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc. today announced its opposition to the Public Health Council’s adoption of a regulation requiring providers to report cases of HIV infection by name to the Department of Public Health, instead of the code that has been in use since 1999.
Investigators are presenting more than 380 abstracts on preliminary findings in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases at the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Nov. 9-15. Following are highlights of some key investigations on anaphylaxis, food allergy and insect allergy.
Experts believe the world is overdue for influenza pandemic. However, unless effective action against pandemic flu is taken now, we are in “dire straits,” according to a paper published in the November 10 issue of Science. The articled titled, “Next Flu Pandemic: What to Do Until the Vaccine Arrives?,” calls for research during the regular season flu season to better understand the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, hand washing, face masks, and the like.
Even as the mosquito season draws to a close, Public Health ? Seattle & King County continues to find birds infected with West Nile virus. A dead crow found near downtown Kent on October 26th and tested at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory last week was determined to be positive for West Nile virus. This is the sixth positive bird finding in King County since early October, and is an indication that the virus is likely spread throughout the region.
New evidence to explain how a common tropical fish mends a broken heart may suggest methods for coaxing the damaged hearts of mammals to better heal, researchers report. The researchers found that the hearts of zebrafish harbor progenitor cells that spring into action to restore wounded heart muscle. Cells from a membrane layer that surrounds the heart, called the epicardium, follow suit, invading the wounded cardiac tissue and stimulating the growth of new blood vessels.
The heart health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids — found in salmon, tuna and other cold-water fish — have long been touted. But according to the November issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource, new research indicates that omega-3 fats might not be as beneficial as previously believed.
A new study finds that the majority of food advertisements appearing during preschool television programs link food with happiness.. In “Food-Related Advertising on Preschool Television: Building Brand Recognition in Young Viewers,” researchers analyzed television programming, including advertisements and sponsor promotions, on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Disney and Nickelodeon between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Spring of 2005.
A Cross-sectional study “Seasonal patterns and preterm birth: a systematic review of the literature and an analysis in a London-based cohort” conducted by SJ Lee,a PJ Steer,b V Filippia at Eighteen maternity units in a London health region from 1988 to 2000. The objectives of this study included a systematic review of the countries in which a seasonal pattern of preterm birth has been reported and an analysis on the seasonal variability of preterm birth in a London-based cohort.
A woman in her 50s gave birth last year to a baby she had carried for her daughter, who is unable to bear children, the head of a maternity clinic in Nagano Prefecture announced Sunday. The revelation could stir further debate about births by surrogate mothers, which are opposed by both the health ministry and the nation’s obstetrician association.