C M G Buttery

From today’s BMJ in an article [BMJ 2010;341:c6014] authors, John Cawley, associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and Chad Meyerhoefer, assistant professor of economics at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, analysed data concerning nearly 14 000 non-elderly adults for 2000 to 2005.  They concluded that the annual medical expenditure [...]

While looking at my daily science progress  lists today I cannot help but be struck by the recommendations for whooping cough boosters for seniors, and meningitis boosters for adolescents. As we learn more about immunity and the value of immunizations the issue has become so complex that is as it is essential that all health [...]

As if we didn’t need one more reason to quit smoking or never start, a new article from the archives of internal medicine published online yesterday concludes that in a cohort of 5367 people during a mean follow-up of 23 years heavy smoking in midlife was associated with a greater than 100% increase in risk [...]

A component of the 10-year study, the 2009 retail food report, found that the presence of a certified food protection manager in four facility types was correlated with statistically significant higher compliance levels with food safety practices and behaviors than in facilities lacking a certified manager. For instance, compliance in full service restaurants was 70 [...]

In the Journal Science today is an interesting article from the school of public health at UC, Berkeley about environment and disease risks. The article suggests that the current epidemiologic approach to analyzing the course and possible intervention for chronic diseases focuses on nature rather than nurture and recommends that genetic studies should also be [...]

ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2010) — In a world first, a completely robotic surgery and anesthesia has been performed at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). The DaVinci surgical robot, which lets surgeons work from remote locations, was put to work this summer, whereas the anesthesia robot, nicknamed McSleepy, has been providing automated anesthesia since 2008. [...]

Can’t we find a different term for the portion of food on one’s plate? As I review my daily lists of research information there are several stories each day of different nutritional efforts to reduce diseases by eating different fruits, grains fish etc. But each one talks about eating several servings of one product at [...]

 CNN (reports that pertussis “has claimed the 10th victim in California, in what health officials are calling the worst outbreak in 60 years.” Notably, “all of the deaths occurred in infants under the age of three months, says Michael Sicilia, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health.” Sicilia also noted that “California Health [...]

America continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance-obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities and homicide-are not to blame, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “This study provides stark evidence that the U.S. health care [...]

Well worth watching. Why can’t we be as effective in the USA http://www.ted.com/talks/mechai_viravaidya_how_mr_condom_made_thailand_a_better_place.html