Being active for at least 30 minutes every day reduces your risk of developing some types of cancer. Fitness experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have designed an exclusive exercise plan based on this evidence that will fit into almost anyone's lifestyle. "You don't need to go to a gym or do sprints every day to get your 30 to 60 minutes in," says Karen Basen-Engquist, Ph.D., professor of behavioral science at M. D. Anderson. Doing everyday activities can count as exercise, but only if they are done at a moderate intensity...

A new national study suggests that preschool-aged children are likely to have a lower risk for obesity if they regularly engage in one or more of three specific household routines: eating dinner as a family, getting adequate sleep and limiting their weekday television viewing time. In a large sample of the U.S. population, the study showed that 4-year-olds living in homes with all three routines had an almost 40 percent lower prevalence of obesity than did children living in homes that practiced none of these routines...

In response to the Prime Minister's speech on health and social care reform at the King's Fund, Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director for Age Concern and Help the Aged, said: 'Gordon Brown's speech today will bring hope to millions of older people and their families who are being failed by a crumbling and inadequate care system. 'People in later life dignity and fairness and Gordon Brown has clearly pledged that his party will reform the care system to help achieve this...

Differences might exist in the amount of pain medicine given to Latino and white children after surgery, found a new, small study in which Latino children received 30 percent less opioid analgesics (morphine or morphine-like drugs) than white children did. During surgery, administration of non-opioid analgesics (such as acetaminophen) and opioid analgesics was similar between Latino and white children, said lead study author Nathalia Jimenez, M.D., of Seattle Children's Hospital...

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have signed a license agreement with Genentech, a wholly owned member of the Roche group, and Roche, that grants the companies exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and market human monoclonal antibodies to treat and protect against group 1 influenza viruses. These viruses include the strains for the current seasonal and H1N1 influenzas. Genentech and Roche also have a non-exclusive right to manufacture, develop and market diagnostic tests for group 1 influenza...

Four leading national health professional associations have collectively recommended the adoption of the World Health Organization (WHO) Growth Charts for monitoring the growth of Canadian children in all primary health care and clinical settings. The Collaborative Statement - Promoting Optimal Monitoring of Child Growth in Canada - Using the New World Health Organization [WHO] Growth Charts- is supported by Dietitians of Canada (DC), Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and Community Health Nurses of Canada (CHNC)...

Leanne Metcalf, Director of Research at Asthma UK, says: 'There is now a large body of evidence suggesting a link between female hormones, including the use of HRT, the development of asthma and its severity. However this is the first large-scale and long-term study to suggest that it is oestrogen-only HRT which significantly increases the risk. 'It's still too early to say exactly how the menopause or taking HRT affects asthma symptoms and who is likely to be affected...

Continued and detailed engagement with the profession is vital to the success of the Steele Review pilots. That's the verdict of Dr John Milne, Chair of the British Dental Association's (BDA's) General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC). Setting out the profession's priorities for 2010, Dr Milne said that there has been a promising start to the evolution of high street dentistry, including good engagement with dentists on the development of care pathways and a pledge that pilots will be given time to work and be properly evaluated...

Cancer Research UK's commercialisation and development arm, Cancer Research Technology (CRT), announced it has teamed up with biopharmaceutical business, AstraZeneca in a major, multi-project alliance, in which around 30 scientists will be focused on creating a stream of new anti-cancer drugs. The three-year alliance will work on a portfolio of projects carefully selected by CRT from Cancer Research UK's portfolio of biological research in the emerging field of cancer metabolism...

The chronic side-effects of radiotherapy for early breast cancer, as reported by women themselves, are not any worse when treatment is given in a lower overall dose in fewer but larger treatments according to a trial part funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the Lancet Oncology. The study was part of the 4,451 patient START 1 trials, which were co-ordinated by the Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research and funded by Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council and the Department of Health...

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced that the company has donated nearly $900,000 in medical devices and surgical supplies to help meet urgent medical needs in Haiti. In response to numerous spine and crush injuries, the company provided spinal surgical implants such as rods, hooks and screws to treat spinal fractures, facilitate spinal fusion and stabilize and strengthen the spine. Spinal orthopedic implants and replacement devices were provided for trauma reconstruction...

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a new treatment being offered at Geisinger Medical Center (GMC) and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center (GWV), can dramatically reduce symptoms of movement disorders. Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders can be incredibly difficult for patients to manage, and medical treatment options can be limited and/or ineffective. "Deep Brain Stimulation is a neurosurgical procedure in which a thin wire electrode is inserted into the affected area of the brain," said Kelly A. Condefer, neurologist, GMC...

Cerebral palsy (CP) has increased in infants born prematurely in the United States, according to data presented by researchers from Loyola University Health System (LUHS). These findings were reported at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago. They also were published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Researchers reported that CP is associated with inflammation of the connective tissue in the umbilical cord...

A recent electronic survey of US asthma experts demonstrated the need for better access to levalbuterol, the fast-acting medicine used to treat the narrowing of airways (bronchospasm) caused by asthma, for selected patients. 100% of the doctors surveyed reported that some of their patients suffer "annoying" side-effects, such as hyperactivity and jitteriness with a similar and more commonly prescribed drug - albuterol...

A new tool may help standardize the use of computed tomography (CT scans) in children with minor head injury and help reduce the number of scans, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). More than 650,000 children with minor head injuries resulting in loss of consciousness, amnesia, disorientation and/or vomiting are seen each year in emergency departments at North American hospitals...

APCER Pharma announced that LPC Pharma Group is outsourcing its http://www.pharmacovigilance/drug safety operations to APCER. APCER is a leading global provider of comprehensive drug safety, regulatory services and risk management programs for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and consumer products companies. LPC, based in Luton, specialises in the supply of branded and generic medicines across the UK...

In a new approach to developing treatments for breast cancer, prostate cancer and enlarged hearts, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine researchers are zeroing in on a workhorse protein called RSK. When activated, RSK is involved in cell survival, cell proliferation and cell enlargement. These properties contribute towards cancer progression, heart enlargement and tumors associated with a genetic disease called Carney complex. Loyola researchers have discovered that a regulatory protein binds to RSK. This regulatory protein effectively keeps RSK's activity in check...

The first head-to-head comparison of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies produced from plants versus the same antibodies produced from mammalian cells has shown that plant-produced antibodies can fight infection equally well. Scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Arizona State University conducted the comparison as a test of the potential for treating disease in developing nations with the significantly less expensive plant-based production technique. The results are reported online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...

A University of Adelaide forensic pathologist has sounded a worldwide warning of the potential lethal dangers of herbal medicines if taken in large quantities, injected, or combined with prescription drugs. A paper by Professor Roger Byard published in the US-based Journal of Forensic Sciences outlines the highly toxic nature of many herbal substances, which a large percentage of users around the world mistakenly believe are safe...

Scientists from the UK and The Netherlands have identified for the first time a variant of a gene that is linked to biological ageing in humans and suggest the discovery will help us better understand cancer and diseases of ageing. The findings of the study by researchers based at the University of Leicester and King's College London, UK, and also at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, were reported online in Nature Genetics on 7 February. The Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation sponsored the work...