Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest featured health news - the top stories http://www.medicalnewstoday.com admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170136.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170136.php A dental abscess, or tooth abscess, is an accumulation of pus that forms inside the teeth or gums. The abscess typically originates from a bacterial infection, often one that has accumulated in the soft pulp of the tooth. Bacteria exist in plaque, a by-product of food, saliva and bacteria in the mouth which sticks to the teeth and damages them, as well as the gums. Dentistry Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170163.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170163.php A team of US scientists that has developed the first map of bacterial diversity across nearly 30 sites of the human body from hair, to ears, nostrils, mouth, armpits, intestines, navels, backs of knees and soles of the feet, was surprised to find big person to person differences in variously sited bacterial populations among healthy individuals. Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170058.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170058.php Kellogg , the global cereal and convenience food producer based in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA, has announced it is going to stop putting claims on its US packets of Rice Krispies that say the cereal supports children's immunity. Nutrition / Diet Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170005.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170005.php Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease in which the patient's own immune system attacks the thyroid gland, causing it to produce too much thyroxine. Thyroxine (T4) is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that has four iodine molecules attached to its molecular structure. T4, as well as other thyroid hormones help regulate growth and control metabolism in the body. Endocrinology Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170037.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170037.php An article published Online First and in the January edition of The Lancet Neurology reports that MRI scans on infants who's brains were oxygen deprived can predict with 80 percent accuracy the likelihood of death or disability by eighteen months. Children whose brains are starved of oxygen at birth suffer less brain injury if they undergo therapeutic cooling. Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170018.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170018.php Researchers in Australia have identified a link between allergic asthma in 3 to 5 year-old children and exposure to folic acid that their birth mothers took as supplements during late pregnancy. They said the timing of when folic acid is taken in pregnancy might be important. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169892.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169892.php Animal health officials in the US have confirmed that a cat has tested positive for 2009 H1N1 swine flu virus, and while this is the first report of a cat being diagnosed with this flu strain, animal health experts say this should not come as a total surprise. Swine Flu Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169904.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169904.php A new study led by US researchers suggests that green tea extract may be a promsing agent for preventing oral cancer in patients with a pre-malignant condition known as oral leukoplakia. Cancer / Oncology Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169869.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169869.php Exophthalmos, or exophthalmia, is a protruding eyeball anteriorly out of the orbit (eye socket). The Greek word ophthalmos means "eye" and the Greek word ex means "out". Exophthalmos can be either bilateral (both eyes bulge out) or unilateral (just one eye bulges out). Doctors use an exophthalmometer to measure the degree of exophthalmos. Eye Health / Blindness Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169890.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169890.php An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports that when on-demand radiographs are dictated by the patient's clinical status, the number of radiographs carried out is a third less, without compromising patient care or safety. Current guidelines recommend routine daily chest radiographs for mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units. Radiology / Nuclear Medicine Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169891.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169891.php An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports that long-term follow-up of children enrolled in Mexico's conditional cash transfer (CCT) program 'Oportunidades' has shown a range of benefits for child health and development. Public Health Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169872.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169872.php The nucleoside analogue entecavir (Baraclude, Bristol-Myers Squibb) achieves a high response rate and progressive decline in liver stiffness in patients with chronic hepatitis B, according to results from the first study in 'real-life' clinical practice reported at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (31 October - 3 November, 2009). Liver Disease / Hepatitis Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169853.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169853.php Eythema infectiosum is also known as parvovirus infection, slapped cheek disease, or fifth disease. It is a disease caused by the parvovirus B19 and includes such symptoms as low-grade fever, tiredness, rash on the cheeks (hence "slapped cheek"), and also a rash all over the person's body. Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169766.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169766.php H1N1 pandemic swine flu vaccine supplies are "on track to hit the 10 million increase" according to the Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a telephone conference on Tuesday, CDC Director Tom Frieden told the press that: "As of today there are 31.8 million doses of flu vaccine available. Swine Flu Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169822.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169822.php Two new studies from the US published this week negate concerns that have been around since early studies done decades ago suggested that low cholesterol leads to some types of cancer: one in fact affirms that undiagnosed cancer is the likely cause of lower total cholesterol while the other Cholesterol Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169824.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169824.php Bedwetting is a common childhood condition. It occurs when there is an accidental loss of urine during sleep. Bedwetting is also known as nocturnal enuresis or nighttime incontinence. It is normal in children who are under five years old. At this age, nighttime bladder control may not be established. Bedwetting is the most common pediatric-health issue. Urology / Nephrology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169738.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169738.php An editorial published today in BMJ Clinical Evidence reports that more flu viruses could qualify as pandemic strains as a result of recent changes to the World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria for a flu pandemic. A change from, for example, A [H2N2] influenza to A [H3N2] is a process known as a "shift". Swine Flu Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169739.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169739.php Research published ahead of print in Tobacco Control reports that smokers who switched to a low tar, "lite" or "mild" brand of cigarette have about a 50 percent lower chance of giving up smoking in general. Around 84 percent of US market share is now made up of these so-called low tar cigarettes. Smoking / Quit Smoking Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169539.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169539.php Research published ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reports that smoking during pregnancy considerably increases the risk of having a child with behavioral problems. This is noticeable in children as young as three years of age. More than 14,000 mother and child pairs took part in the Millennium Cohort Study. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169546.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169546.php The latest issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) reports that the use of low-dose aspirin to protect against heart attacks and strokes in individuals yet to develop obvious cardiovascular disease, should be abandoned. Low-dose aspirin is widely used to prevent further episodes of cardiovascular disease in people who have already had problems such as a heart attack or stroke. Cardiovascular / Cardiology