Thousands of residents and medical workers in Spain angered by the plans to privatize part of the National Health Service and by the huge budget cuts marched on Sunday through many of the most famous squares located in Madrid. Over 5,000 people formed a rally in Puerta del Sol, after marching from the Cibeles and Neptuno squares. Organizers put the total attendance at the protests at about 25,000, with many dressed all in blue and white hospital scrubs. Organizers called the march the white tide... 

Ariad Pharmaceuticals new experimental drug for leukemia succeeded in eliminating the cancer from the bone marrow of close to 50% of the patients who had a chronic type of the blood disease and had stopped responding to other medications. The drug, Ponatinib, was used in the study that involved 444 patients of which 267 had chronic myeloid leukemia that was treated previously by older types of medications. It showed that 56% of the patients with the chronic leukemia achieved the goal of the study,... 

Taking painkillers like ibuprofen to prevent pain while exercising is a common practice today amongst athletes at many different levels of ability. A number of athletes believe the painkillers will improve their performance as it lessens pain. However, the practice might be hazardous, according to research just released that focused on the anti-inflammatory medication ibuprofen prior to and after workouts. The authors of the study said that they had concluded that consumption of anti-inflammatory... 

A recent study shows that older people who have an established heart disease and ate a heart healthy diet that was rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish were at a much lower risk of having a follow up heart attack or dying than people who ate a much more unhealthy diet. The results showed that those people with the best heart healthy diet were 35% less likely to die of a heart attack or stroke, 14% less likely to have a heart attack, 28% less likely to experience heart failure and 19% less likely... 

Males with cryptorchidism, a condition where their testes do not descend when they are born, are three times more apt to develop cancer of the testes later in their adult life. The study’s results have urged researchers to ask whether the boys who have the condition should have routine checks to monitor the risk of cancer. The condition is the most common male birth defect. Six percent of newborn males are affected by the condition. Cryptorchidism risk factors include the mother using tobacco during... 

A recent study says that an active lifestyle helps to preserve the grey matter in the brain and lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Over 35 million people around the world suffer from dementia, with those numbers expected to at least double before 2030, says data released by the World Health Organization. The most common cause behind dementia is Alzheimer’s disease and that is incurable. An important marker for brain health is the volume of grey matter. Grey matter... 

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a HeartWare International heart pumping apparatus for patients that are waiting for a heart transplant. The ventricular-assist system by HeartWare, which is placed inside the patient, helps pump blood in damaged hearts. The device has already been in the European market. The U.S. FDA said the benefits that are life saving of the device outweigh any risks seen in studies, which includes possible stroke. The regulatory agency also... 

A new experimental breakthrough treatment using nanoparticles that are covered in proteins to trick the body’s immune system, has managed to stop the immune system from attacking myelin and halt the progression of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in mice. Researchers said the new approach might also help other applicable autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and asthma. The study’s results have suggested that nanoparticles are as effective of a way of treating diseases as using the patient’s... 

A rare mutation that has been found in one of every 200 Icelanders who are 85 years of age or older increased the risk by three times of developing Alzheimer’s, the debilitating disease, said researchers. The mutation, in TREM2, an immunoregulatory gene, was much more common in patients with Alzheimer’s disease than in the general population of those 85 and older in Iceland. The function of the gene is inside the body’s central nervous system therefore the mutation could lead to a higher predisposition... 

The first potential vaccine for malaria in the world proved only to be effective 30% of the time in babies from Africa in a recently concluded trial. The results called into question if the vaccine can be a weapon in the world’s fight against the deadly disease. The poor result was very surprising to many, as GlaxoSmithKline has been working on its development for more than three decades. It leaves a significant amount of years of work ahead for scientists before a vaccine against malaria could... 

Just one month after researchers in Boston released data showing that cancer risk could be lowered by multivitamins, new data published on Monday from the same study resulted in disappointing news: using multivitamins does not offer benefits for the prevention of heart disease. In the study, there were 15,000 physicians, all male and all over 50 years of age. They were selected randomly to take one Centrum Multivitamin daily or a placebo for on average of 11 years. Researchers found the multivitamins... 

A drug, which was initially developed to help with some cancer types, now appears to aid people with multiple sclerosis, says a new study. The drug, known as alemtuzumab, proved to be effective in patient trials for reducing MS relapses, an important feature of medication for MS, as the disorder sees its symptoms appear on a sporadic basis. Patients in one trial, who received the medication, were almost half as apt to have a relapse in a two-year period as patients who were given interferon, which... 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found blackish green foreign matter in what were supposed to be sterile drug vials. They found germs growing in vials of steroids that had been supposedly tested for their sterility. They found mold growing in a “clean room,” which is where vials are to be filled. Those are only a few of the many observations the FDA made during its inspection of the NECC – New England Compounding Center. The products of the Massachusetts company are alleged to be the source... 

A recent UK study that had more than one million women indicated that women who smoke into their middle age have death rates three times higher compared to non smokers and risk dying a decade earlier.   Data from the recent study also contained positive news. The data showed that if a woman stopped smoking prior to 40, it reduced the risk of her dying from a tobacco related death by 90% and if she quit prior to reaching 35, that risk was reduced by over 97%. Just one day after the study was published... 

The effort of developing a blood test that would reveal a risk factor for a woman for developing breast cancer might be another step close to reality, but still has a long way to go, according to information released from a new study. Researchers found blood hormone tests might predict the level of risk for developing breast cancer that is postmenopausal for up to 20 years following the blood sample being taken. However, there are limitations in the study and it needs to be expanded and replicated,... 

Most people have tried everything from vitamin D to Zinc to Vitamin C to ward off the common cold. However, scientists say that you can now take at least one of the items of the list. In a study that was the most rigorous to date, researchers investigated whether vitamin D protects against the common cold. The study found out that healthy adults taking large doses of the vitamin were no less apt to come down with colds, flu or sinus infections, than those who had taken a placebo. Dr. David Murdoch... 

A new form of genetic analysis by researchers of breast cancer found four distinct forms of the disease. Experts said this explains why a drug therapy for one type of the cancer might not work to help cure another form. The new findings are just the latest rewards for a huge project of cancer-gene mapping that is offering hope of even more effective forms of treatment for the disease, with drugs that are already available. What is probably the most intriguing discovery thus far by the Cancer Genome... 

For a number of generations, it was understood that children would have longer lives on average than their parents. However, evidence is mounting that the trend has reversed for the least-educated whites in the country, a group that is increasingly troubled and whose life expectancy has dropped since 1990 by four years. For many years, researchers have documented that America’s most educated were making the most significant gains in increasing life expectancy. However, researchers now say that... 

Next year, the way kidneys that have been donated are allocated to those in need of a transplant, could change. The change would make the fittest organ available to those with the longest probability of living with the new kidney. The United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) made the announcement this week. The organization, which is non-profit, manages U.S. organ donations. Over 93,000 people living in the U.S. are currently on a waiting list for a kidney and the supply is far outweighed by the demand.... 

One of seven high school students in Los Angeles who have a cell phone has sent photos or a test message that are sexually explicit, according to a survey. In addition, the survey said that sexters are more apt to take part in sexual behavior that is risky. The Los Angeles teens that had sent the text or photos that were racy were seven times more apt to be active sexually than those teenagers who claim to have never sexted. What the surveyors wanted to find out was if a link existed between taking... 

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. approved a new drug for treating relapses of the debilitating disease multiple sclerosis. The medication known as Aubagio is taken once a day. Genzyme, a Sanofi Aventis subsidiary, manufactures Aubagio, which is intended for use in treating adults who have the disease. Results from a clinical trial showed that the rate of relapse for patients taking Aubagio was nearly 30% lower than those patients who had taken just placebos. Multiple sclerosis... 

Washington’s American University has announced that it will not change or create any new policies pertaining to breast feeding because of the controversy created by one if its professors who breast fed her baby while a class was in session. The school said that it does not have any specific policy that governs breast feeding, but it follows the guidelines of Washington D.C. and the federal government. Neither one of them allows nor prohibits breast-feeding in specific environments. The college... 

A study released on Wednesday said it does not appear as though the fish oil pills full of omega-3 fatty acids have a significant effect on preventing strokes, heart attacks or death. The new results come as sales of the supplements with fish oil are booming. Americans in 2011 spent over $1.1 billion for the supplements, which was an increase of over 5% from sales in 2010. Researchers in the recent study reviewed 20 clinical trials that studied the health outcomes of individuals taking the omega-3... 

A recent study in Sweden shows that close to 50% of all the women tested had some type of sleep apnea ranging from mild cases to very severe. Scientists in Sweden monitored over 400 adult females’ patterns of sleep overnight. The researchers concluded that 50% of the women experienced at least five different episodes of sleep apnea per hour. Sleep apnea is defined when an individual stops breathing for at least 10 seconds while sleeping. The percentage of women who experience sleep apnea increases... 

If a recent study using mice can apply to people, then problems with sleeping could be an early sign for Alzheimer’s, say researchers. Plaques, clumps of protein in the brain, are considered to be a crucial component of the debilitating disease. The recent study showed that as plaques first develop, mice start having problems sleeping. The researchers claim that if that link were to be proven if could help doctors. Looking for hints to the early onset of Alzheimer’s is considered to be very crucial...