Parents, hospitals and private firms are being warned over risky and illegal collections of umbilical cord blood

Psychologists say they have treated hundreds of survivors of the 2005 London bombings for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Filed under: Research , Daily news Freezing breast tumors has helped stop the spread of cancer in mice and may be a suitable way of tackling cancer in humans, according to a new University of Michigan study . "Cryoablation (freezing) has strong potential as a treatment for breast cancer ," lead author Dr. Michael Sabel , an associate professor of surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a news release. "Not only does it appear effective in treating the primary tumor with little cosmetic concerns, but it also may stimulate an immune response capable of eradicating any cells that have traveled throughout the body, reducing both local and distant recurrence, similar to giving a breast cancer vaccine." Researchers tested two freezing techniques in mice with breast cancer. A cold probe was applied to the tumor in both instances. However, in the first method, tumors were frozen in about 30 seconds. The other freezing process took several minutes. Both freezing techniques helped eliminate tumors, but the mice that were treated with the fast-acting freezing technique had fewer tumors spread to the lungs and a higher survival rate than the mice treated with the slower freezing technique or those treated with surgery alone. Doctors from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center said that the better results associated with the quick-freezing method may be a result of changes in the immune system.

Hormone replacement therapy, commonly known as HRT is a treatment used to replace hormones that the body is no longer producing because of the menopause. The hormones that need replacing are estrogen and progesterone. The therapy is based on the notion that the treatment may prevent discomfort caused by diminished circulating estrogen and progesterone hormones...

Community support groups can reduce neonatal mortality, and lower rates of maternal depression-provided that the population coverage is wide enough and the programmes are appropriately designed. These are the conclusions of two Articles, published Online First in The Lancet. Participatory women's groups have shown promise in trials in Nepal, reducing neonatal mortality by about one-third...

Commenting on research showing that four in five adults regard Internet access as their fundamental right, Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director of Age Concern and Help the Aged commented: 'Age Concern and Help the Aged wants everyone to have access to the Internet as it is a fantastic resource that brings real benefits to people, whatever stage of life they are at. Unfortunately, the 6...

Booths # 23-25 at the Annual Dialysis Conference -- NxStage Medical, Inc...

By 2015, mother-to-child HIV transmission will be virtually eliminated and deaths from malaria and tuberculosis will continue to decline if health investments for the diseases are maintained or scaled up, according to an annual results report published Monday by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Agence France-Presse/Africasia.com reports (3/8)...

In a Washington Post opinion piece on Sunday, freelance writer Jamie Rich examined the Cameroonian practice of breast ironing, in which women use heated plantain leaves or hot stones to "flatten adolescent girls' developing breasts, intending to protect the girls from the dangers of sex, consensual or otherwise...

A new study from the US found that normal weight women in their 40s and older who drank a light to moderate amount of alcohol gained less weight and had a lower risk of becoming obese and overweight compared to their non-drinking counterparts...

The EU extends minimum parental leave from three to four months, but the specifics will vary across the 27-nation bloc.

Nicotine takes much longer than previously thought to reach peak levels in the brains of cigarette smokers, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center. Traditionally, scientists thought nicotine inhaled in a puff of cigarette smoke took a mere seven seconds to be taken up by the brain, and that each puff produced a spike of nicotine...

On International Women's Day, Politico published two opinion pieces discussing the benefits of U.S. aid to support women overseas. ~ Dana Perino, Politico: "Empowering one woman is an investment in the future of families and countries," Perino -- a former press secretary to President George W. Bush -- writes in an opinion piece discussing her work with Women ONE2ONE in Africa...

Building on previous studies that found racial differences in hospice use, a new study from the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife and Boston University School of Medicine finds that blacks and Hispanics use hospice for advanced heart failure at a rate of up to 50 percent less than whites, despite a markedly higher rate of incidence of the disease in these populations...

Medicare payment issues including rising costs, caps on physical therapy and other outpatient services for some patients are in the news. The Dallas Morning News reports that Medicare Advantage plans with drug benefits are getting more expensive: "Seniors in those plans will pay an average of $39.61 a month this year in premiums, up 14...

The US soft drinks industry says it has dramatically cut full-calorie beverages available in schools as part of a drive to tackle obesity.

"Nearly 100 million women across Asia have 'disappeared' because of a huge and growing gender gap that has fatally deprived them of access to health care and food and has led to widespread abortions of female fetuses, according to a U.N. report released Monday," the Associated Press reports. The U.N...

In a New York Times letter to the editor published on Monday, Guttmacher Institute President and Chief Executive Sharon Camp calls for the U.S. to "get serious about providing better health care and more educational and economic opportunities for black women...

Washington, D.C., soon will become the first city in the U.S. to distribute female condoms at no charge, the Washington Post reports...

The Society for Nutrition Education (SNE) has partnered with the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and American Society for Nutrition (ASN) to publish a position paper, "Position of the American Dietetic Association, American Society for Nutrition, and Society for Nutrition Education: Food and Nutrition Programs for Community-Residing Older Adults," focusing on access to safe...