health - "medicine"

Brasilia/Havana - Brazilian and Cuban authorities are to provide free sex-change operations as part of their healthcare plans. In Brazil, the Federal medicine Council has approved sex-change operations since the late 1990s, but the procedure could on...

Aid agencies in Zimbabwe said Friday the government order for humanitarian groups to suspend work would cut off care and medicine to those living with AIDS.

A new report suggests risk factors for binge eating and purging may vary between boys and girls and by age group in girls. The research is found in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. 'Concerns about weight and body shape are common in pre-adolescents and [...]

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of health (NIH), has launched Time to Talk, an educational campaign to encourage patients - particularly those age 50 or older - and their health care providers to openly discuss the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM ).

In this collection, the writer-physician Sherwin B. Nuland explores phenomena that can't be explained by modern science - and challenge his profession's often unreflective reliance on technology.

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), issued a statement in response to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Early Communication regarding an ongoing safety review of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) blockers (marketed as Remicade, Enbrel, Humira and Cimzia) and the possible association between the use of these medicines and the development of lymphoma and other cancers in children and young adults.

Data published in this week's New England Journal of medicine demonstrate that the first-in-class direct renin inhibitor Rasilez® (aliskiren), known as Tekturna® in the US, may have potential kidney-protective benefits that are independent of its already proven ability to provide powerful blood pressure reductions[1],[3]. Damage to the kidneys caused by diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in developed countries, affecting more than 1.

A study published in the latest issue of Hypertension demonstrates that the leading angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) Diovan® (valsartan) in combination with the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) improves artery elasticity (i.e. reduces stiffness), a sign of artery ageing, in patients with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease compared to those taking another widely-used high blood pressure medicine, amlodipine[1].

With an estimated 14 million cases worldwide, you would think more would be known about scleroderma, a chronic, debilitating disease that can lead to the hardening and tightening of skin and connective tissue. But it seems that we don't know enough: 'We don't have all the answers and that is the reason why we need to do more research,' says Carol Feghali-Bostwik, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

The European Medicines Agency has reviewed the risks associated with the use of heparin medicinal products contaminated with oversulphated chondroitin sulphate (OSCS). Heparins are used to prevent and treat blood clots. They are used widely in patients who could have, or have had a heart attack, in patients who have undergone major surgery, or patients on dialysis.