Gambian leader says to build herbal AIDS-cure hospital

BANJUL (Reuters) – AIDS patients would be offered an herbal cure at a 1,111-bed hospital in Gambia that the president said on Tuesday he plans to build despite medical concerns the treatment is dangerous.President Yahya Jammeh said in 2007 he had found a remedy of boiled herbs to cure AIDS, stirring anger among Western medical experts who claimed he was giving false hope to the sick.“With this project...

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New Year’s Resolutions For Better Health

New Year’s resolutions are typically so singular, self-focused and private. How about making a resolution or two this year that has benefits beyond yourself? Here are some suggestions with lots of links to get you started.You can help stop the spread of disease. Resolve to get up-to-date on your vaccines. While children have a full slate of vaccines, many adults don’t realize they have regular immunization...

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Tumor boards may add little to VA cancer care

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Getting doctors together to discuss the best treatments for cancer patients in U.S. Veterans Affairs hospitals was only linked to a minor improvement in care in a large new study.Analyzing the records of 138 VA medical centers, researchers found that the presence of a so-called tumor board – a group of cancer treatment experts – only affected seven out of 27 measures of...

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State’s first flu death is Tulsa County resident

A Tulsa County resident between the ages of 19 and 64 is the first person in Oklahoma to die from the flu this season.Since Sept. 30 there have been 24 hospitalizations due to flu reported in Tulsa County, the most for any county in the state.Oklahoma County has reported 10, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.There have been 75 flu hospitalizations throughout the state. Twenty-one...

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Few tests done at toxic sites after superstorm

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — For more than a month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said that the recent superstorm didn’t cause significant problems at any of the 247 Superfund toxic waste sites it’s monitoring in New York and New Jersey.But in many cases, no actual tests of soil or water are being conducted, just visual inspections.The EPA conducted a handful of tests right after the storm,...

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Colorado Woman Billed Medicaid for Dead Father

A Colorado woman was convicted this week for felony forgery for submitting fraudulent documents to Medicaid regarding personal health care services provided to her father after he died. It was the second announcement of Medicaid fraud-related convictions made by the Colorado Attorney General’s office in less than a week. Here are the details.* According to the office of Colorado Attorney General John...

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Lauded cancer researcher, Springfield native, dies

A Springfield High School and Wittenberg University graduate whose research transformed the treatment of breast cancer and saved and prolonged the lives of women afflicted by it died Sunday in Cincinnati.Elwood Jensen was 92.Known as the “Father of the Nuclear Receptor Field,” Jensen was one of three researchers to share the 2004 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, what some call the American...

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Experts: Kids are resilient in coping with trauma

WASHINGTON (AP) — They might not want to talk about the gunshots or the screams. But their toys might start getting into imaginary shootouts.Last week’s school shooting in Connecticut raises the question: What will be the psychological fallout for the children who survived?For people of any age, regaining a sense of security after surviving violence can take a long time. They’re at risk for lingering...

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NICE may reject Roche’s Avastin for advanced ovarian cancer

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog said it may reject Roche Holding AG‘s drug Avastin for treating advanced ovarian cancer in combination with two standard chemotherapy drugs.In the latest of a series of setbacks for the medicine, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said Avastin used with chemotherapy drugs paclitaxel and carboplatin is...

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Daylight savings tied to bump in heart attack rates

(Reuters) – Setting the clock ahead for daylight savings time may set the scene for a small increase in heart attacks the next day, according to a U.S. study – which suggests that sleep deprivation may be to blame.Researchers at two hospitals in the U.S. state of Michigan, whose findings appeared in the American Journal of Cardiology, reviewed six years of records and found that they treated an average...

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California home for developmentally disabled faces abuse inquiry

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California health officials have threatened to shut down part of the state’s oldest home for developmentally disabled adults due to evidence of physical abuse and neglect, in a move that could displace nearly 300 of its residents.The state-run Sonoma Developmental Center could lose its license to run one unit if it does not fix the problems, according to a letter the state...

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Newtown Shooting: Young Kids Cope With Horror

Witnesses at Sandy Hook Elementary School reported horrific scenes as a shooter took 27 lives today — the shattering sounds of gunshots, children locked in the bathrooms and parents crying outside in the parking lot.Experts say that the young children who saw events first-hand can have lasting psychological scars, but those whose home lives are stable and supportive will have fewer long-term scars.“It...

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Mandela’s Infection May Be Pneumonia

Nelson Mandela is being treated for a lung infection, a term often used synonymously with pneumonia.Elderly people are at an increased risk for infections in general – more so if the person has many chronic medical problems, but as people age their immune systems are less capable of fighting off infections.South African officials say Mandela’s lung infection is “recurring.” The former president is...

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In Search of a Better Condom

It’s hard to believe, but the condom is still the only way to protect against pregnancy and HIV at the same time. But researchers say they believe they can develop a kind of 21st-century contraceptive that offers superior protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and that people will like enough to use consistently.A paper describing early work on the project was published earlier...

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More “fiscal cliff” talks but neither side giving ground

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner’s office held more negotiations on Monday on ways to break the “fiscal cliff” stalemate, although neither side showed any public signs that they were ready to give ground.The talks gained urgency after Republican Boehner met at the White House with President Barack Obama on Sunday, raising hopes of progress in...

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Health workers march in Spain’s capital against cuts, reforms

MADRID (Reuters) – Thousands of health workers, on strike since last month, marched on Sunday in Madrid to protest against budget cuts and plans from the Spanish capital’s regional government to privatize the management of public hospitals and medical centers.It was the third time doctors, nurses and health workers have rallied since the local authorities put forward a plan in October to place six...

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When drugs for depression fail, talking therapies help

LONDON (Reuters) – Patients with depression who fail to benefit from antidepressant drugs may do better if they are also treated with a type of “talking” psychotherapy called CBT, according to new research published on Friday.In the first large-scale trial to test the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, alongside medication for depression, scientists said they found that the combination...

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Medicare emerging as prime target in U.S. “fiscal cliff” talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With rival Democratic and Republican deficit plans increasingly focused on Medicare, experts say the two sides could be edging toward common ground on important changes to the popular health insurance program for seniors and the disabled.None of the changes are assured and any specific decisions would come only after resolution of the “fiscal cliff,” the combination of tax hikes...

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Fossil fuel subsidies in focus at climate talks

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Hassan al-Kubaisi considers it a gift from above that drivers in oil- and gas-rich Qatar only have to pay $ 1 per gallon at the pump.“Thank God that our country is an oil producer and the price of gasoline is one of the lowest,” al-Kubaisi said, filling up his Toyota Land Cruiser at a gas station in Doha. “God has given us a blessing.”To those looking for a global response to climate...

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Diabetes may be linked to hearing loss: study

(Reuters) – Diabetes has already been tied to an increased risk of kidney and cardiovascular troubles, nerve damage and vision loss, and now a Japanese study finds diabetics to be more than twice as likely as those without the disease to have hearing impairment.In a review of past research on the issue, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, scientists found that younger...

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