|
Quick, driver,
to Madison Avenue
WINCHESTER, UK
— The ambulance
rushes into the bay, its siren blaring, and you just
can't tear your eyes off that flashy OTC hemorrhoid
vasoconstrictor ad on the side panel. Come again? Yes,
in the latest healthcare 'deficit-busting' scheme, the
Hampshire Ambulance Service is trying to get approval
from the Department of Health to use their paramedic
vans as rolling billboards. The ailing ambulance service
is desperate to raise money to lower its whopping ú90,000
($207,000 Cdn) deficit. Only companies promoting health
goods would be allowed to purchase ad space.
Doin'
doughnuts: cruller to be kind?
PALM BEACH —
Krispy Kreme is teaming up with local Florida schools
on a campaign to promote unhealthy eating. Sound like
the ravings of a honey glaze-addled brain? The doughnut
magnate says they're on the level and will be offering
kids a free doughnut for every A they earn (maximum
half dozen per grading period). The icing on the fritter
is that Krispy Kreme is providing free doughnut posters
for classrooms to decorate with 'sprinkles of success'
when they reach their academic goals.
Bargain
basement bypasses
SINGAPORE —
A Singapore hospital is raising its medical tourism
profile by slashing prices on 10 standard operations
and procedures, from cataract treatment to bypass surgery.
The Raffles Hospital, a private facility with 380 beds,
is aiming to treat 300,000 foreign 'customers' a year.
Facing off with nearest competitor, Thailand, Raffles
is sweetening the deal with comprehensive holiday packages
for patients and their families, including airport transfers,
swanky hotels and even tours of the area. For more on
medical tourism see "Waiting
list fatigue sends Canadians abroad for surgery".
Blowing
the roof off ADHD
URBANA, IL —
Parents of children with ADHD are learning what's so
great about the great outdoors thanks to a report in
the September issue of the American Journal of Public
Health. A survey filled out by parents of 452 children
(ages 5-18) with ADHD revealed that leisure activities
that take place in a natural outdoor setting significantly
improve their symptoms independent of other variables.
Bird
flu not above frequenting cathouses
ROTTERDAM, THE
NETHERLANDS — If little Fluffy is feverish
and all sniffles this winter there's a small chance
it could be more than the common cat cold — it
could be bird flu. Dutch researchers have discovered
that house cats can catch and spread the virus. Virologists
infected kittens with the H5N1 strain of the avian flu
and injected virus from fatal human cases into their
windpipes. Six cats developed an infection and then
transmitted it to other healthy cats living with the
sick animals. Results were published in the September
2 issue of Science.
Dying
to mate
LONDON —
Singletons of the world take heed: new data hints that
not having a steady squeeze could be worse for your
health than smoking. A British study, in an upcoming
issue of the Journal of Health Economics, looked
at the lifestyles of 10,000 Britons over a 10-year period.
For both sexes, the tumbleweed lifestyle did as much
damage as a steady smoking habit, with the never married,
divorced or separated 10% more likely to die during
the study period than their married counterparts. But
the chicken-and-egg question remains — what came
first, Bridget Joneses or the fag-for-breakfast diet?
Yogurt
bacteria bullies baddies
KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN
— Research hints that the microbial makers
of yogurt can go mano-a-mano with ulcer-causing H
pylori. A study published in the September issue
of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
shows that people who regularly eat yogurt with Lactobacillus
acidophilus or Bifidobacterium lactis have
fewer cases of H pylori infections. Seventy
subjects were given yogurt with the bacteria twice daily
after meals for six weeks and then tested at baseline,
at four weeks and at eight weeks to determine bacterial
load.
Testosterone
smashes apathy?
PITTSBURGH —
Frankly my dear, men with low testosterone don't give
a damn. So says a study in September's issue of the
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
Of 49 non-demented elderly men with Parkinson's disease,
those who were considered more apathetic — by their
own as well as a close acquaintance's admission —
had significantly lower levels of free testosterone.
This finding opens the door to testosterone replacement
therapy for lethargic Parkinson's patients.
Hypertension
breaks cold, cold hearts
DIJON, FRANCE
— Hypertensive folks now have a great excuse
not to shovel the snow. A two-year-long study of 700
people with high blood pressure found they were more
likely to have a heart attack when the temperature fell
below -4°C. The French researchers, who presented
their work August 30 at the European Society of Cardiology
meeting in Munich, point out that low pressure systems
that usher in the cold can also cause blood pressures
to soar.
Moonshine
meds set Britain aghast
LONDON —
For the first time in decades counterfeit drugs have
been found in Britain. Stocks of phoney sibutriamine,
a weight-loss drug, were seized by the government and
in a separate incident a fake batch of ED drug tadalafil
pills was sussed. National Health Service authorities
analyzed both fakes and found no harmful ingredients,
but officials fear disastrous consequences should criminals
move into the business of selling sham versions of drugs
whose inefficacy could lead to patient deaths.
A
dish best served hot
ZURICH —
A Swiss study finds that revenge truly is sweet
— at least for men. Researchers monitored brain
activity in 15 men during an elaborate game of double-cross.
They discovered that the act of planning revenge sparked
enough satisfaction to motivate the gents to get even.
The researchers also found that, contrary to popular
lore, revenge isn't actually best served cold. Greater
satisfaction comes from heat-of-the-moment settling
of scores. The results of the study appear in the August
27 issue of Science.
|
