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Sleep apnea's effects on memory storage
Sleep apnea is a common condition that up to now has been associated with a myriad of health problems including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, depression, and fatigue among others. A new study published by UCLA researchers in the June 27 edition of the journal Neuroscience Letters showed that for people with sleep apnea showed tissue…
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Artificial blood
We hear the commercials on radio and TV asking people to donate blood. It is sometimes followed by a brief notice or announcement that they are looking for blood of a particular type. This ongoing public canvassing for blood donations illustrates the issue of blood product shortages. There is always a need for blood products…
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Diabetes control studies at odds with heach other
New results from the world’s largest ever study of diabetes treatments show that intensive blood glucose (sugar) control protects patients against serious complications of the disease. This in contrast to another study recently published, the ACCORD study, that indicated the opposite for certain patients. The results of the new study called ADVANCE was presented at…
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How clinical studies should report their findings for the real world
What questions should we be asking when presented with the myriad of results from clinical studies? Are they presenting information that is important to patients? For example, in diabetes research, how often are quality of life outcomes and risk of death used as primary outcomes of the research? A report published in the June 4th…
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Detecting the early onset of tooth decay without the need for dental x-rays
As with many disease processes, the ability to detect and diagnose them early on can dramatically reduce complications, treatment costs and morbidity. At the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Conference in Toronto in early July, a new device was presented that can detect the early onset of tooth decay without the need for dental…
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CIHI report on funding initiatives for wait times
A Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) study released on June 25, 2008 looked at the outcomes of providing funding in several key areas of health care provision: hip and knee replacements, sight restoration, cancer and cardiac revascularization. The study also looked at whether the focus on these areas had an effect on wait times…
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CIHI study on Hormone replacement therapy use in Canada
A new study from the Canadian Institute of Health Information reports that hormone replacement therapy or HRT has decreased by 60 per cent among women aged 65 and older over the past five years. This drop occurred after the publication of the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, which found the health risks of using…
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Lack of support for people with traumatic brain injuries
An estimated 500,000 people in Ontario who have brain injury are unsupported in the community. Many end up on the streets or in prison, or inappropriately placed in nursing homes or psychiatric facilities. Many individuals post-ABI ‘fall through the cracks’ because society does not provide them with the community resources they need – supportive housing,…
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New flu vaccine production process
Although the media have not paid much attention to avian flu recently, research into an H5N1 avian flu vaccine continues. Results of a phase I and phase II trial on a new human vaccine against H5N1 bird flu virus made from cell culture instead of embryonated eggs show that it is safe and effective against…
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