Michael Yarborough, a 58-year-old business owner from Waxahachie, Texas, was fortunate. A routine check-up three years ago revealed prostate cancer, but a side effect of his successful surgery was “driving him nuts.”"After surgery to remove the cancer, I started experiencing incontinence,” said Mr. Yarborough, who operates a landscaping company. “Although my case was far better than most, the condition, simply put, drove me nuts. [click link for full article]

An FDA advisory panel in July gave its stamp of approval for the osteoporosis drug raloxifene to be used as an oral chemopreventive agent for invasive breast cancer in older women at high risk for the disease and those with osteoporosis.However, that recommendation came with several qualifications. [click link for full article]

Neighborhood property values predict local obesity rates better than education or incomes, according to a study from the University of Washington published online by the journal Social Science and Medicine. For each additional $100,000 in the median price of homes, UW researchers found, obesity rates in a given ZIP code dropped by 2 percent. [click link for full article]

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, has announced the final selection of the Board of Directors for the Mental Health Commission of Canada - the commission has just been created. The Prime Minister made the announcement to a gathering of international health experts and leaders at the 2007 International Initiative on Mental Health Leadership Exchange and Conference. [click link for full article]

A study to be published in an upcoming edition of the Scandinavian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology reveals that Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all), pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduces “climacteric symptoms” such as hot flashes, depression, panic attacks, cholesterol and other common symptoms associated with women entering menopause transition. [click link for full article]

The split-bolus (cross sectional imaging) MDCT urography technique reduces both radiation dose and number of images produced, according to a recent study conducted by radiologists from Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, CA and VA Palo Alto Health Care System in Palo Alto, CA.”Since CT urography was first conceived, in the late 90s, there have been a multitude of protocols described in the literature. [click link for full article]

Sleep disorder and ear, nose and throat specialists at Thomas Jefferson University are examining an innovative procedure to treat obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.In the procedure, known as Genial Bone Advancement Trephine (GBAT), a small portion of the lower jaw which attaches to the tongue is moved forward, to pull the tongue away from the back of the airway, increasing the airway space. [click link for full article]

Gamma globulin, a type of antibody isolated from blood samples that used to be routinely given to health care workers and international travelers to protect them from infectious diseases, is a highly effective treatment for pinkeye with little apparent toxicity, according to a study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. [click link for full article]

In a report that is among the first to describe the prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis B and C viruses in Afghanistan, a researcher from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine voiced concerns that increasing injection drug use and accompanying high-risk behavior could lead to an HIV epidemic in Afghanistan.”Our findings suggest that interventions to reduce high-risk behaviors among injection drug users are urgently needed in Afghanistan,” said Catherine S. [click link for full article]