Most shoppers assume that vegetables labelled ‘fresh produce’ are no more than four days old. The truth however is that most vegetables are about two weeks old by the time they reach marketplace from a farm. A survey found that roughly 80% of shoppers had this misconception about the so-called ‘fresh produce’.
Scientists from the Institute [...]

According to a survey of 928 board-certified physicians by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, a group of plastic surgeons specializing in cosmetic surgery, cosmetic enhancement procedures in the United States plunged for the second year in a row in 2009. Blaming it on the sagging economy, the board revealed a 2% decline in [...]

A new study published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared survival rates of live kidney donors to non-donors and revealed that the former do not face any risk of premature death and have a life span as much as their non-organ donor counterparts.
Although kidney donors face a higher risk [...]

Canada-based Cynoprod, in partnership with Jordanian investor Zaher Al Masri, has launched a dental manufacturing centre in Amman, Jordan. The investment cost of Cynoprod’s Jordan is estimated at $2m in addition to a research and development investment of over $130m.
source: ameinfo.com

New Saint Louis University research has found that beta blockers, a class of drugs used to prevent the progression of heart failure and manage arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) and hypertension (high blood pressure), are underused in heart failure patients who receive implantable cardiac devices.
Failure to take beta blockers prior to implanting a cardiac device can [...]

Life is a paradox. It is full of surprises, yet we never expect the unexpected. During our life cycle, there are certain medical conditions that we mentally gear up to, like natural menopause in women. There is access to plethora of information that make coping with the condition far easier. And [...]

Fast foods have been a rage for atleast two decades now. With fast food companies burgeoning today and offering palatable meals on a budget, it is hardly a surprise that they attract millions of us world over. Very recently, McDonald’s nationally rolled out a Dollar Breakfast Menu in January, followed by Burger King that tried to [...]

HOSPITALS, QUALITY AND ISO
Delivering the right care at the right time in the right setting is the core mission of hospitals. This can be achieved only by quality. Ensuring the safety of patients and hospital care providers and improving quality of patient care have become important objectives for health systems.
The Dictionary provides numerous definitions for [...]

Findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAI) annual meeting in New Orleans revealed that allergic reaction to meat might not be a very rare occurrence, instead eating meat might be the most common trigger for severe anaphylaxis.
The causative agent in meat responsible for recurring allergies is a carbohydrate- alpha-galactose, the [...]

Bisophenol A (BPA) is a chemical commonly found in polycarbonate plastic bottles and the aluminium lining of food andbeverage cans. A new research done on mice found that mouse pups born to mothers who were exposed to a high content of bisophenol A were at a higher risk of developing asthma.
The results of the study [...]

Feb 24, 2010 – Saudi healthcare market looks quite promising with plenty of investment opportunities. Saudi Arabia needs both foreign investment and expertise to develop its healthcare system to cope with an aging but well-to-do population. Although Saudi Arabia is quite developed in terms of healthcare infrastructure in comparison to gulf countries, increasing prevalence of [...]

A new and interesting study found that sleep is not important just for children; a mid-day nap of about 90 minutes benefits adults as well. This nap supposedly primes the brain and improves learning capacity and therefore boosts mental performance.
The University of California presented the study findings at the annual meeting of the American Association [...]

A study that included 150 women who were 12-14 weeks pregnant with major depression concluded that acupuncture might provide relief from depression when these women were randomly assigned to undergo the procedure.
According to the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, acupuncture is based on ancient Chinese medicine, and attempts to treat conditions by stimulating [...]

Strangely, the incidence of strokes has been going down in the old and going up in the young, a group that was previously never considered being at high risk for the debilitating and deadly condition, caused by a blood clot or bleeding in the brain.
According to new data, the incidence rates of strokes that occurred [...]

A U.S. National Institutes of Health draft consensus statement released a suggestion that most people who think they are lactose intolerant, may actually not be. This revelation paved a way for these individuals to continue consuming adequate quantities of dairy products to provide for their required dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D.
Lactose intolerance is [...]