Safer in Medical News

New test for safer biomedical research results

In cancer research, as in most other biomedical sciences, they are playing a key role: living cells, kept in sterile plastic containers with red culture media populating incubators in laboratories around the world. But do researchers always know what is really living in their culture dishes? Under...

Study Finds Weight-Loss Surgery Safer Than Thought

Death risk only 0.3 percent, chances of serious complications 4.3 percent,,,, WEDNESDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) -- For those considering bariatric surgery to combat significant obesity, a new study suggests the risk of complications may be much lower than what has previously been rep...

Smokeless tobacco safer than smoking

Smokeless tobacco products, as used in Europe and North America, do not appear to increase cancer risk. A large meta-analysis, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, has shown that snuff as used in Scandinavia has no discernible effect on the risk of various cancers. Products used in...

Seven Tips for Safer Home Swimming Pools and Hot Tubs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Now that summer is in full swing, stories about home pool or hot tub tragedies are making headlines across the county. With millions enjoying their summers by swimming in backyard pools and relaxing in hot tubs, the need for h...

New Anesthesia May Be Safer for Critically Ill

Lab tests of MOC-etomidate detected no sudden drops in blood pressure THURSDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- A new variation of a common general anesthesia has been developed that may be safer for some patients. Preclinical studies done on rats put under with MOC-etomidate, a chemi...

Mass. General team develops potentially safer general anesthetic

A team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physicians has developed a new general anesthetic that may be safer for critically ill patients. In the August issue of Anesthesiology , they describe preclinical studies of the drug called MOC-etomidate a chemically altered version of an exiting a...

Prostate Drug Appears Safer Than Thought

Finasteride does not cause more aggressive cancer, study contends WEDNESDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors don't have to be so cautious in prescribing the drug finasteride to men at risk for prostate cancer, a new study suggests. Physicians face a dilemma when trying to decide ...

Consumers are Looking to Boiron Arnicare(R) as a Safer Option as FDA Enforces Stricter Labeling for Many Pain Relievers

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa., May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Many over-the-counter pain relievers will be required to carry stiffer warnings as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implements its new labeling rules. The final ruling, made Tuesday, calls for stronger labeling on the dangers of liver...

New information points to safer methadone use for treatment of pain and addiction

New findings may significantly improve the safety of methadone, a drug widely used to treat cancer pain and addiction to heroin and other opioid drugs, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Washington in Seattle. The researchers ...

Menstrual Bleeding Treatment Safer Than Thought

Ablation technique is a less invasive alternative to hysterectomy, researchers note FRIDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Far fewer women than previously thought need additional surgery to stop excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding after undergoing an alternative to hysterectomy call...

Medical study shows epidurals and spinal anesthetics are safer than previously reported

The largest ever prospective study [1,2] into the major complications [3] of epidurals and spinal anaesthetics published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia today (Monday 12 January 2009) concludes that previous studies have over-estimated the risks of severe complications of these procedures....

U.S. Fire Administration Seeks a Safer 'Home Fire Season'

Fatal Home Fires jumped nearly 68% during cooler months WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- "Home fire season" starts now, and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) is working to make this year's cold months safer than last years -- when there was a dramatic increase in home fire deaths. Accor...

Cheap Condoms for a Safer Sex Industry

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, October 31 /PRNewswire/ -- - Safe4now Foundation Allows Prostitutes to Prevent Aids or STD Infection Though condom prices are decreasing rapidly all over the world, prostitutes and other women working in the sex industry still have to pay enormous costs to guara...

Engineer creating more sensitive, safer landmine detectors

COLUMBIA, Mo. Long after a conflict, landmines remain buried underground unless someone can locate and detonate them. According to the United Nations (UN), there are more than 100 million landmines buried in 68 countries around the world. The UN estimates that more than 2,000 people are killed o...

MicroRNAs make for safer cancer treatments

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Viruses -- long regarded solely as disease agents -- now are being used in therapies for cancer. Concerns over the safety of these so-called oncolytic viruses stem from their potential to damage healthy tissues. Now Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a way of controlling t...

CONSUMER REPORTS: Back to Basics For Safer Childbirth

Too many obstetricians and hospitals use potentially harmful high-tech or invasive procedures, new study finds YONKERS, N.Y., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to Consumer Reports, many obstetricians and maternity hospitals overuse high-tech procedures that can result in poor resul...

Kopernikus, observing our planet for a safer world

The new name of the European GMES Programme (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) has been unveiled: Kopernikus. The European Commission Vice President Gnter Verheugen announced the name today at the GMES 2008 Lille forum. Europe is presenting Kopernikus at the forum as the second fl...

Warfarin Safer Than Heparin for Some Strokes

When clot forms in heart and travels to the brain, heparin more risky, study finds MONDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- The widely prescribed blood-thinning drug heparin is associated with an increased risk of serious bleeding in patients who have suffered a cardioembolic stroke, new re...

WHO Creates New Surgical Tool to Make Operations Safer Everywhere

GENEVA and WASHINGTON DC, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- With major surgery now occurring at a rate of 234 million procedures per year - one for every 25 people - and studies indicating that a significant percentage result in preventable complications and deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) l...

Making the Outdoors Safer for Communities: the American Academy of Dermatology Announces 2008 AAD Shade Structure Program Grant Recipients

Applications Available Today for 2009 AAD Shade Structure Program SCHAUMBURG, Ill., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the ways to protect yourself from the damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun is to seek shade, especially during the peak sun hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. However, for many dayc...

New Technology Promises Safer Organ Transplants and Soft Tissue Surgeries

Soft tissue navigation systems to expand the $200 million surgical navigation market, according to Millennium Research Group WALTHAM, Mass., April 14, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group's US Markets for Surgical Navigation Systems 2008 report, the surgical nav...

Penn research offers road map to safer pain control, cost savings during colonoscopies

(PHILADELPHIA) At a time when several U.S. health insurers have discontinued payment for use of the sedative propofol during most screening colonoscopies, physicians at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that an alternative way to administer the drug could both sav...

Social Networking Sites Safer Than IM or Chat Rooms

Little sexual solicitation, harassment occur on MySpace and Facebook, study finds FRIDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- While social networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook have been singled out as places where teens could face sexual harassment, most of the unwanted solicitatio...

Making hospitals safer from infection

Pittsburgh, Penn. (December 20, 2007) One small water line feeding one hospital faucet alone can house millions of bacteria, said international Legionella expert Janet Stout, Ph.D., urging public health and infection control officers to be proactive against Legionella and other waterborne microb...

AHRQ Releases Toolkits to Help Providers and Patients Implement Safer Health Care Practices

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An array of toolkits designed to help doctors, nurses, hospital managers, patients and others reduce medical errors was released today by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The 17 toolkits, developed by AHRQ-funded experts who...

Drinking away anxiety -- a new program finds safer ways for college students to cope

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati are reporting on a pilot program aimed at curbing alcohol abuse among college students. Early promising results from this intervention program were presented Nov. 18 at the annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in ...

Nuclear medicine now safer than ever

Hospitals are now able to ensure that the correct dose is administered to the 670,000 patients that undergo nuclear medicine procedures every year due to a new device developed by scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The number of nuclear medicine procedures has increased by 3...

Possible safer target for anti-clotting drugs found

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have identified a new molecular target in blood clot formation, which seems to reduce clotting without excessive bleeding, the common side-effect of anti-clotting agents. The findings are reported in the September issue of...

AUDIO from Medialink and Pfizer: A New Prescription for Safer Drugs

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The way the government keeps our medicines safe may change if new congressional legislation goes through. Those changes were the subject of a forum in the nation's capital. Listen to this report from Pfizer at: http://media.medialink.com/WebNR.aspx?story=33...

AUDIO from Medialink and Pfizer: Prescription for Safer Drugs Discussed in Washington

NEW YORK, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Food and Drug Administration commissioners David Kessler and Mark McClellan were in Washington, DC today to discuss new legislation that strengthens prescription drug safety and revamps the FDA. Kessler and McClellan were the featured panelists in a co...

Making the difficult task of transporting a child with special needs safer

INDIANAPOLIS -- A new study by researchers from the Automotive Safety Program at Riley Hospital for Children and Indiana University School of Medicine published online July 13, 2009 in the journal Pediatrics reports that the parents of children with special health care needs are doing a good job...

Mussel-Based Glue May Make Surgery Safer

The natural medical adhesive might be applied using inkjet printer technology, researchers say WEDNESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Using such unlikely partners as marine mussels and printer inkjet technology, researchers say they've come up with medical adhesives that can be used w...

Oh Baby, Interventional Radiology Makes Childbirth Safer

C-sections and "Invasive" Placenta Condition Can Result in Excessive Bleeding and Be Life Threatening for Mothers SAN DIEGO, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Innovative, interventional radiology treatments are making childbirth safer for women who have C-sections that are complicated by ma...

Blocking toxic effects could make clot-buster safer

ATLANTA--Since the introduction of the life-saving clot-busting drug tPA more than a decade ago, evidence has been accumulating that tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) can be a double-edged sword for a brain affected by stroke. Although it remains the only FDA-approved treatment for acute str...

Angioplasty Via Wrist May Be Safer

It's seldom used but entails lower risk, speedier recovery, researchers say TUESDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The best way of accessing and treating ailing hearts with angioplasty may be through the wrist, a U.S. study finds. The catheterization technique reduces risk, bleeding, ...

VHA Foundation Launches National CEO Patient SafetyNetwork, Starting From the Top to Make Patients Safer

New Survey Finds that Hospital CEOs Recognize Patients' Safety Concerns, But Lack Confidence About Best Ways to Create Safer Environment PHILADELPHIA, May 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As patient safety incidents in America's hospitals continue to gain prominence, a new survey shows that fe...

Making emergency artery repair safer

Sacramento, Calif. December 6, 2007 Catheters outfitted with balloons, lasers, and miniature drills have made the treatment of blocked arteries virtually routine. These devices are used to clear plaque from many vessels including coronary, femoral, renal, and carotid arteries. Until recently, a ...

Small Incisions Make Heart Valve Surgery Safer

Death risk lowered for those who had undergone previous heart surgery, Belgian study finds MONDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Heart valve surgery using only two tiny openings significantly reduces the risk of death for people who have had previous cardiac surgery, Belgian surgeons re...

World's Biggest Condom to Take Off to Spread Safer Sex Campaign

What's billed as the world's biggest condom - a huge pink hot air balloon - is set Friday to fly above a Dutch festival to increase safe sex awareness . The balloon - which organisers hope will enter the Guinness Book of records - was commissioned by seven local branches of the public medica...

Fly Ash Bricks are Absolutely Safer Than Actually Predicted

A new study by an American researcher has revealed that bricks made from fly-ash particles captured as waste by coal-fired power plants might be safer than predicted. Rather than leach minute amounts of mercury as some researchers had predicted, the bricks do the reverse, pulling minute am...