Today’s column is about rectums, mailing feces, snaky tubes and cancer; images that few of us like to linger upon. Our portable plumbing systems, though not as symbolic as the heart or the brain, are often taken for granted. That is, until something goes wrong.
This month, the government of Ontario [...]
Few Canadians are taking a controversial new cholesterol-lowering drug compared with millions in the United States, where the medication has been heavily promoted, according to a new study that suggests advertising may have a greater influence on the use of a medication than scientific evidence.
More than 33 million prescriptions for [...]
Laboratory tests using human breast cancer cells show the mushroom called Phellinus linteus has a marked anti-cancer effect, probably by blocking an enzyme called AKT. AKT is known to control signals that lead to cell growth.
Phellinus linteus — called song gen in Chinese medicine, sang-hwang in Korean and meshimakobu in Japanese — has previously been [...]
Previous studies of zinc treatment for common cold symptoms have yielded conflicting results, the authors explain.
Dr Ananda S Prasad from Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, and associates investigated the effects of zinc acetate lozenges in treating the common cold in 50 volunteers who had cold symptoms for 24 hours or less. The participants [...]
CHICAGO - Is it safe to have your arteries unclogged at a hospital that lacks heart surgeons who can operate if something goes wrong?
Many states ban this except in emergencies like heart attacks. But more small hospitals are trying it in non-urgent cases, and the largest study ever done of this, released on Saturday, suggests [...]
TRENTON, N.J. - Insurance companies are taking a harder look at advanced medical scans like CT scans, citing spiraling costs and safety concerns. And some doctors agree there’s emerging evidence that these scans are being over-prescribed.
“Costs are soaring in this area, quality concerns are mounting and safety concerns are mounting,” said Karen Ignagni, chief executive [...]
HONG KONG, China (Reuters): Berries of a common weed found in India may be effective in fighting mosquitoes that spread dengue fever, a study has found. In January, health officials warned that the disease was poised to move across the United States. It has been spreading aggressively in Latin America and the Caribbean, reaching epidemic [...]
Do your ears feel clogged? Do you often have to ask people to repeat themselves? Has your hearing abruptly decreased without an obvious explanation? If you answered yes to these questions, you may have an earwax impaction.
Judging from the popularity of Q-tips, ear candles, and other products sold to clean our ears, you might [...]
CHICAGO — Having a defibrillator at home can help a heart attack survivor live through a second crisis, but so can CPR and at a much lower cost. That’s the bottom line from the first test of using these heart-shocking devices in the home.The devices worked. But so few people in the study were stricken [...]
CHICAGO — Two big studies offer good news to people with high blood pressure, finding that novel ways to use cheap drugs already on the market can lower their risk of heart attacks, stroke and death — even if they are very old.Both studies were stopped early so the surprising benefits could be made known. [...]
