Some public health officials are advocating mandatory influenza vaccination of healthcare workers, because current vaccination rates are so low and the potential benefits to patients so high. In 2003, vaccination rates among healthcare workers averaged only about 40 percent.
Read (Reuters)
My wife, who’s a public health nurse, received her “mandatory” flu shot last week.
A first-trimester screening test can reliably identify fetuses likely to be born with Down syndrome, providing expectant women with that information much earlier in a pregnancy than current testing allows, according to a major study being released today, 11/09.
The first-trimester approach identified 87 percent of Down babies when used at 11 weeks, whereas the later quadruple test identified 81 percent. The two tests together picked up 95 percent of cases. Both produced false positives in about 5 percent of cases.
Read (Washington Post)
When my wife was pregnant with each of our 3 children, we told the doctor that we didn’t want to know the results of the Down Syndrome test, because the results would not have changed our decision about having the children, and it would have just added stress to the pregnancies.
Sudden increases in physical exertion appear to activate clotting factors in the blood of patients with coronary artery disease, indicating that physical exercise by these individuals should be regular and consistent.
Read (Reuters)
An HIV test that can be used at home and promises results in 20 minutes could help more people get treated sooner, but raises concerns about how well patients could cope with the test findings on their own.
Read (Reuters)
The latest follow-up report on lung function in New York City firefighters shows that firefighters who served in rescue efforts in the World Trade Center collapse are showing “accelerated pulmonary function decline.”
Read (Reuters)
Scientists have found that the tongue has taste buds for fat, which might explain why we like fried foods.
Read (BBC)
The best protection against a pandemic is a method of making flu vaccines developed in the 18th century that takes nine months to produce flu shots and relies on millions of chicken eggs. Scientists are working on a quicker gene-therapy process.
Read (Wired)
Childhood growth patterns are strongly related to the risk of developing heart disease later in life, researchers say.
[Read](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4379892.stm) (BBC)
Eating vegetables from the cabbage family can reduce the risk of lung cancer for people with a certain genetic make-up.
Read (BBC)
Help may soon be on its way for women who live with the pain of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and for those who live with them. Researchers have begun to investigate what happens in the brain as a woman’s hormones surge before her period.
Read (Nature)
Many families, even ones with insurance, do not realize how vulnerable they are to high medical costs until the bills arrive.
Read (New York Times)
Caloric restriction, which attempts to boost longevity by cutting food intake by 15 percent, is gaining popularity despite a lack of studies proving its effectiveness.
Read (Wired)
Dangerous levels of bacteria have been found in drinking water aboard 15% of planes at US airports, an investigation carried out by the US Environmental Protection Agency has found.
Read (New Scientist)
Treatment with household bleach reduces the allergy-inducing ability of mold spores.
Read (Science Daily)
High levels of air pollution are reducing the number of boys born and could be linked to increased rates of miscarriage.
Read (BBC)