Health and social care

In Belgium, 3 workers between 55 and 64 years old of 4 fall ill before retiring. From a survey conducted by the Maisons Médicales appears that most suffer from a chronic disease. Then there are muscles bones problems, mental illness and cardiovascular ones.

A study conducted by the World Health Organization concluded that women living with HIV can safely continue to use hormonal contraceptives to prevent pregnancy. The WHO recommendations regarding the use of dual protection, mechanical and hormonal, to avoid the risk of transmission.

Difficult, if not impossible to completely heal from nervous anorexia. Indeed in Europe, even among those undergoing intensive care, as much as 30% cannot defeat the disease and 10% lose their lives. Alarming figures which, according to a group of Austrian researchers, are mainly due to inappropriate therapies that link [...]

In Poland 50% of patients suffering from post-op unbearable pains do not receive any adequate medication. The alert is sent out by the National Association of the Pain Treatment which through its own initiative issues guarantee certificates to those hospitals whose staff is adequately trained to alleviate the suffering of [...]

In Austria, 400,000 is the number of people who suffer or are suspected to suffer from a rare disease in their lifetime. This is signaled by the Medical University of Vienna, that on the 2nd and 3rd December organizes a National Conference about this type of sickness.

There is a new guide which includes 7 ways to reduce infections among people who inject drugs. 1) Free access to facilities and equipment, 2) Vaccinations for hepatitis A/B, tetanus, flu and HIV-infected individuals for pneumococcal disease, 3) treatment of drug dependence, 4) Facilitate access to test screening, 5) Treatment [...]

A week may be infinite for those waiting for the result of an HIV test. So much that in France 20% of people who have undergone this examination have not returned to the hospital to collect the outcome. An escape from the truth which obviously can be very expensive. That's [...]

In France so-called "quack doctors" are multiplying. Professionals who offer their seriously ill patients alternative treatment options that are quite bizarre. The most popular among them is the "biological decoding", used by several gurus on cancer patients. It is basically a method that, instead of relying on a pharmaceutical therapy, [...]

French prisons are outlaw. But this is not because of the prisoners’ discipline, but because these have the high risk of contracting an infectious disease. A study published by the Institute of Health Surveillance shows how French jails have deficiency in the application of preventive measures of diseases such as [...]

More prevention and early detection. This is the simple but effective recipe that has allowed Germany to have one of the lowest rates of HIV infection in Europe. In Germany, about 73 thousand people live with this disease, of which 59 thousand are men and 14 thousand are women. In [...]

Serenely accompany their guests to a better life. It is the goal of the first private intergenerational hospice opened up in Germany on the initiative of an expert in mystical traditions. In the nursing home Ursa Paul, in fact, people of all ages are physically and psychologically prepared to peacefully [...]

In Germany in the first half of 2011 the number of organ donors has decreased of 12% compared to the previous year. A worrisome data, according to the Minister of Health, who is now proposing the dispatch to each insured’s home of an informative flyer about donation, together with [...]

56% of people suffering from epilepsy in Ireland feel themselves uncomfortable telling their colleagues and employer about their conditions and 52% said they have been stigmatized as result of epilepsy. These data come from a survey carried out by Brainwave, the Irish Epilepsy Association. Despite the large diffusion, 37,000 case, [...]

Through a video published on YouTube starts the International Day of Rare Diseases on February 29th. The demonstration of solidarity and awareness is ready to receive patient’s organizations from more than 50 nations, gathered under the slogan "Rare but strong together" to let the people know the more than 6000 [...]

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a new medical technique, made in Italy, for the recovery of limb mobility in stroke patients. Combined with more traditional therapies, TMS prevents, in fact, that the healthy motor cortex replaces the injured part, making it unable to receive stimulations from the brain. This news [...]

The research “HIVoices”, conducted during last summer, aims to understand what gay men affected by HIV think and how they live in Italy. Among other things, it shows that more than 1 person out of 20 does not know the reason of the his contagion.

The DMD is the most common childhood muscular dystrophy caused by insufficient production of dystrophin. It’s a degenerative disease that affects about 1% of the population in Italy. From 11th to 20th of February is open a fundraising project, sponsored by Parent Project, which aims to finance the Civic Aud [...]

In Italy, at least 15 million people suffer from chronic pain. These are mainly women: 53.7% against 46.3% of men. To be noted, however, that only half of them addresses to a doctor in order to relieve this suffering or decide to undergo proper treatment. Not to mention that very [...]

In Spain, 80% of people with epilepsy are under 18. Furthermore, on 250 000 patients, 60 000 are under 14. This was announced by the Asociación Española de Pediatría (AEP) that highlights the huge advances in therapy dedicated to children and emphasizes how important is fielding different treatment strategies according [...]

Even who is top of the class have some skeletons in the closet. In Spain, the world leader in organ transplantation, it does not assuage the controversy surrounding the alleged illegal business related to bone marrow donations. DKMS, the German association with offices around Europe, is the center of the [...]

In Spain multiple sclerosis affects about 46 thousand people. And 1,800 new cases are diagnosed each year. The Federación Española para la Lucha contra la Esclerosis Multiple shows optimism, because new treatments allow to delay the symptoms of the disease. Despite in the Iberian Peninsula it is the second leading [...]

33% of Spaniards suffer from chronic pain. The majority has hurt his back and shoulders. The Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios (OCU) announces, further, that, in the last year, 7 of 10 patients have turned to his doctor for a consultation on this type of disorder.

The outcome of the first complete X-ray of the Spanish population with Down syndrome is good. The Iberian Peninsula passes the test with flying colors. First about education. Ten years ago half of these people over 16 years old could not read or write. Today, however, there are many who [...]

Women with a pre-existing diabetes have higher probability, about 7%, to have children with birth defects than other woman which have only 2% probability. These are the findings of a new study carried out by some researches of Newcastle University. They recommend to mother-to-be to keep their blood sugar levels [...]

In the UK, in 10 years, the cases of sexually transmitted diseases among the over-50 are duplicates. The research, published in the British Medical Journal, shows an increase in infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and herpes, up to full-blown cases of AIDS. It shows the non-use of condoms as [...]

Scientific research about autism do not seem to know limits. After the discovery of a revolutionary educational method, a new tool, again from England, arrives to diagnose the disease in the first six months of the infant's life. All through an innovative test of the brain. A team of British [...]

The traditional method of learning through pictures for autistic children could soon be replaced by the technique known as "inner voice". That consists in educating this special category of children to think aloud and talking to himself in order to better face and overcome everyday problems. This is a capacity [...]

New technologies applied to medicine may lead results unthinkable until recently. This is the case of the so-called "intelligent pill" that can indicate precisely when and how taking a particular drug. How it works is soon told. The patient simply has to swallow a special "placebo tablet" with a microchip, [...]

In 2010 the number of people dying of AIDS-related causes fell to 1.8 million worlwide, down from a peak of 2.2 million in the mid-2000s. Annual new HIV infections fell 21% if compared to 1997. Furthermore, at the end of 2010, an estimated 34 million people were living with HIV [...]

The fight against HIV is a small but important step forward thanks to the use of antiretroviral drugs in people that are at risk of infection but not yet sick. This brackthroug is a result of “Prep project” partners, sponsored by the Gates Foundation with $ 63 million, and [...]

The World Health Organization (WHO) published a series of recommendations for the prevention of  HIV among same-sex partners. According to WHO, the criminalization of homosexuality in many countries of the world would be a real barrier to the access to HIV treatment  and prevention. The guidelines made by the organisation [...]