Screening tests sold by private health insurers may pose a risk to health, a specialist warns.

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We found a number of trials in this area and have therefore limited our response to a relative small number of the more recent trials. A 2006 Australian paper examined the effect of obesity in an obstetric population [1], this concluded:"Overweight a

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After stroke or transient ischemic attack, intensive lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) significantly reduces the risk of a second stroke or other vascular event, without an increase in brain hemorrhages, according to post-hoc an

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People's health will be rated as red, amber or green under a traffic light system to appear on an NHS website.

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Cardiac patients are less likely to die if taken to heart centres rather than local A&Es.

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University of Manchester researchers have identified a genetic variant in a region on chromosome 6 that is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common inflammatory arthritis affecting 387,000 people in the UK. [click link for full arti

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The Medical Defence Union (MDU) is offering its GP members free access to an online training tool to help them with legal and ethical dilemmas and earn CPD points in the process. The online module gives GPs the opportunity to answer tricky dilemmas,

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Objective  To determine whether medically disabled (Medicaid-funded) morbidly obese patients return to the workforce after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Design  Retrospective clinical data review. Setting  A tertiary referral cente

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Patients with a pulmonary embolism (PE; a blood clot in the lungs) are usually kept in hospital to receive anticoagulation with an injected drug, such as tinzaparin, until an oral anticoagulant becomes effective (warfarin). This has been the preferre

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Cardiff University has launched a course...

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The NHS may be placing too high a value on life, according to health economists and NHS managers.

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American Diabetes Association calls for greater awareness to the 75 million Americans who have diabetes or are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.WhatDiabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and around the world. One in four

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A NASA safety review released Wednesday found no evidence to support claims that astronauts were impaired by alcohol when they flew in space. NASA chief of Safety and Mission Assurance Bryan O'Connor conducted the monthlong review to evaluate allegat

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The UK urgently needs to reorganise stroke services to improve outcomes for patients, argues a senior doctor in this week's BMJ.Studies have found that the UK has the worst outcome in western Europe. In one study the differences in the proportion of

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In a randomized trial, 2161 patients with peripheral arterial disease were assigned to combination therapy with an antiplatelet agent and an oral anticoagulant or to antiplatelet therapy alone. At a mean follow-up of 35 months, the rate of myocardial

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Related Articles The challenge of managing drug interactions in elderly people. Lancet. 2007 Jul 14;370(9582):185-91 Authors: Mallet L, Spinewine A, Huang A Drug therapy is essential when caring for elderly patients,

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Objective To investigate the long term impact of the two week wait rule for breast cancer on referral patterns, cancer diagnoses, and waiting times. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting A specialist breast clinic in a teaching hospital in Bristo

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Editorial comment in the BMJ on two papers evaluating liquid slide preparation and semi-automatic (computerised) interpretation of the cytology.

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The MDU is warning its GP and hospital doctor members to ensure they consider a diagnosis of Lyme disease, which is most common in Spring and Summer. A number of complaints and claims have been reported to the MDU in recent years, which primarily all

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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline Plc's widely used drug for treating type 2 diabetes, increased the risk of heart death by 64 percent and the risk of heart attack by 43 percent, U.S.

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Once-a-year treatment with the drug Aclasta can significantly cut the risk of spinal and hip fractures caused by osteoporosis in post-menopausal women, reported three newspapers (3 May 2007). The newspapers were generally accurate in their reports of

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Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) results from a cell-mediated autoimmune attack against pancreatic beta cells. Previous animal and clinical studies suggest that moderate immunosuppression in newly diagnosed type 1 DM can prevent further loss of insulin

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Related Articles Renin-angiotensin system and cardiovascular risk. Lancet. 2007 Apr 7;369(9568):1208-19 Authors: Schmieder RE, Hilgers KF, Schlaich MP, Schmidt BM The renin-angiotensin system is a major regulatory sys

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Sanofi-aventis announced, at the ASCO Prostate Cancer Symposium, long term survival results of the large TAX 327 Phase III clinical trial. The overall survival benefit for the patients with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (mHRPC), recei

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This study showed that myocardial infarction was associated with a significantly higher mortality rate when patients were admitted on the weekend rather than a weekday. The higher mortality rate was explained, at least in part, by the lower rate of i

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