March 28th - April 3rd

Palermo, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) - Investigate the eating habits of children in order to prevent obesity, tumours and chronic-degenerative diseases: this is the objective of a school eating education project approved by the City of Palermo. The initiative will involve about 350 students between the ages of 10 and 13 from three junior high schools in the Palermo school district. “Anthropometric data will be collected from the children - said Health and Citizens’ Services councillor, Nino Nasce’ - and we will also give a questionnaire to collect information on eating habits and food choices and there will also be specific lessons on typical products”.

Rome, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) - Let’s put more fruit and vegetables on the dinner table. Apples, oranges, broccoli and radishes shouldn’t be missing from the daily menu especially if you want to reduce the risks of pancreatic cancer, one of the most threatening cancers with a 5 year survival rate from diagnosis less than 5%. However, this eating advice is only for men because eating more fruit and vegetables doesn’t seem to lower the probabilities of pancreatic cancer in women. Instead, in men, eating a sufficient amount of these foods could cut cancer risks in half. This is the result of a study conducted by the University of Montreal (Canada) on 585 pancreatic cancer patients and 4,779 healthy adults and published in the International Journal of Cancer.

Rome, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) - Two innovative robotics surgery interventions were carried out at the Misericordia Hospital of Grosseto in the Local Health Authority 9 district. For the first time in the world, a press release from the Hospital states, two right lobe hepatectomies were performed using robotics. The team, led by Dr. PierCristoforo Giulianotti, operated on two patients, the 51 year old M.S and the 69 year old S.R., affected by metatheses of the right lobe of the liver. In both cases a completely robotized mini-invasive technique (Da Vinci Intuitive) was used avoiding profound abdominal incisions and reducing blood loss and post-op pain. This favoured the resurgence of normal organic functions and the patients are regularly recovering from surgery.

Rome, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) - A super-bacterium responsible for numerous epidemics in the 1950s and 60s is not extinct. An international team of researchers, coordinated by the Department of Biology and Biochemistry of the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, again found the same physiognomy of the type 80/81 penicillin -resistant aurea staphylococcus, which was thought to be extinct, in an antibiotic resistant aurea staphylococcus clone, which causes infections caught in crowded places. This could be a descendent of the old, dangerous bacterium.

Rome, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) - About 600,000 women die every year in the world from complications during childbirth with an incidence of 5 deaths every 100 pregnancies. The most common causes of death, besides haemorrhage, are thromboembolism and cardiac problems. This is a rare problem in industrialized nations but it still hasn’t been wiped out and where pregnancy is still not a completely safe condition. The safety and rights of the mother and child will be discussed during a conference in Rome from April 4th to the 8th at the Didactic Centre of the Italian Anaesthesiologists Obstetricians Club (CIAO) in Piazza Oderico da Pordenone. In particular, a press memo states, the topic of epidural analgesics during childbirth will be discussed on World Health Day on April 7th which this year has the theme of the health of the mother and child. In the USA, 2.5 million women choose to go through childbirth without pain every year, in France this technique is chosen by about half of the expecting mothers while in Italy the percentage is still at 3.7%.

Rome, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) -What’s the password? It’s prevention, prevention to keep active and in good health. We have to have self-respect and take care of our well-being, cultivate interests, practice sports and socialize. These are the suggestions launched at the “Altraeta’” (The Other Age) Salon, three days dedicated to tourism , sports, health and free time for those over 55, scheduled at the Genoa International Expo Centre from April 8th to the 10th with the sponsorship of the Liguria Region, the Province, City and Chamber of Commerce of Genoa.

Rome, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) - A new rapid test to diagnose the first signs of kidney failure and intervene early has been experimented by the researchers of the Cincinnati Paediatric Hospital who have identified a protein that acts as a “spy” unveiling the disorder in children affected by kidney failure following heart surgery. This lifesaving method, furnishing a result in only a few hours instead of the traditional test which requires days, could also function on adults.

San Francisco, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) - The risk of pancreatic cancer is higher for women who enter into menopause after the age of 45, almost two times more than women who enter into early menopause. In women that are also smokers, this risk is 11 times greater if they have never used oral contraceptives or never been treated with substitute hormones. This is the conclusion of an American study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology that investigated the possible association between the factors linked to the female reproductive cycle and the development of pancreatic cancer. 241 pancreatic cancer patients diagnosed between 1995 and 1999 were compared to a control group of 818 women from the six counties of the San Francisco Bay area.

Rome, Apr. 2nd (Adnkronos) - A “weapon” has been discovered to fight lactose intolerance and improve the absorption of the nutritive substances found in milk. In their study, the researchers of the Catholic University of Rome added beta -galactosidase, an enzyme extracted from the ‘Kluyveromyces lactis’ yeast, to milk. This yeast can separate lactose into glucose and galactose, due molecules easily absorbed by the intestine. The results of initial testing on patients, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrated that this technique aids the digestion of milk and reduces the frequency of gastroenterological disorders by 10. The two authors of the research, Giovanni Gasbarrini and Massimo Montalto of the Sacred Heart Catholic University of Rome explain that “the data collected indicates the lactose intolerance can be effectively treated without side effects simply by adding the beta-gactosidase enzyme obtained from K. lactis to milk”.

Rome, Apr. 1st (Adnkronos/Adnkronos Health) - The side effects of medicinal products will be under a close watch thanks to a network of hospital pharmacies aiming at integrating the national pharmaceutical control systems to better monitor those products at a greater risk. There will also be a “Risk Manager” in the hospitals, who through new control, quality and safety systems, will analyse the “dangers” tied to each product to guarantee more patient safety. This is a proposal launched by the hospital pharmacists of the Old Continent, meeting today and tomorrow in Rome for the 1st International Conference on orphan and risk molecules “Current Challenge in Hospital Pharmacy: the Role of the Pharmaceutical Industry’.

Palermo, Apr. 1st (Adnkronos) - The Campaign against Osteoporosis has begun in Palermo, promoted by the Health and Citizen Services Councillorship, headed by Nino Nasce’. “The project will last 12 months - explained Mr. Nasce’ - and it is aimed towards reducing the medical and social impact of a asymptomatic, progressive and potentially disabling pathology affecting mostly women over the age of 60”.

Trento, Apr. 1st (Adnkronos) - The Special Measles - German Measles - Mumps Immunization Campaign set up by the Independent Province of Trento - Health Councillorship, in collaboration with the Provincial Health Agency and the Provincial Permanent Consulting Board for Immunization Policies, starts this month. The theory behind the campaign is that there are two more efficient strategies to contrast infectious diseases: one is the constant control of the potable water and the other is prevention through immunization.

Milan, Apr. 1st (Adnkronos) - Malpractice lawsuits against doctors are up all over Italy with compensation for damages reaching € 2.5 billion every year. However, the Lombardy Region is going against this trend. According to a study promoted by the Region, there were 11,000 requests for compensation for damages and 10,000 precautionary charges from 1999 to 2004 for a total cost of almost € 46 million. However, from the year 2001 to 2004, requests for compensation dropped from 2,018 to 1,805: in three years “lawsuits went down 11%”, the president of the Lombardy Region, Roberto Formigoni, estimates today speaking at “Doctors on the Stand - Lawsuits and Health: The Lombardy Region’s Policies” Conference in Milan.

Rome, Apr. 1st (Adnkronos) - 2.5 million Italians suffer from psoriasis, a skin disease characterized by the formation of patches of thick , red (inflamed) skin covered by silvery scales occurring anywhere on the body. Because of its characteristics, this chronic skin disease can greatly affect the quality of life of the patients.

Rome, Apr. 1st (Adnkronos) - A blood collection initiative organized by the Blood Donors and Volunteers Association of the Italian Police Force ended this morning in Rome at the Anagnina anti-crime station. The campaign began in Vercelli on March 10th following the event organized for the Icaro project relative to road safety. The inter-force staff of the investigation sector of the Public Safety department, together with a significant number of citizens wanting to participate in this day dedicated to solidarity, contributed to this blood donation day.

Trieste, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - 84% of the 18 year olds drink alcoholic beverages, 44% admit to getting drunk at least once during the last month, mostly on beer and then on high proof spirits. These are the not so comforting results of an investigation conducted on 750 young people aged 14 to 20 in the province of Trieste attending the high schools. The study, which is still being carried out, is by the Legal Substance Abuse Unit of the Trieste Local Health Authority 1. Another fact emerges from the investigation: the teens interviews confessed that they began drinking between the ages of 10 to 16 with a peak at 14 years of age.

Rome, Mar. 29th (Adnkronos/Adnkronos Health) - ‘’The problem of obesity cannot and mustn’t become a political issue but has to see the involvement of all the political parties, just as in Italy when both the majority and minority forces approved the outline law I presented” , an initiative that seems “ is being followed all over Europe”, affirmed Senator Mauro Cutrufo (UDC), commenting the news of an anti-obesity law that will be presented in France by the socialist member of parliament Jean-Marie Le Guen.

Bologna, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) - Due to the 2004 Financial Act and the following government regulations, the prescription pads used by all the doctors of the Emilia Romagna Regional Health Services will change starting tomorrow. The current green prescription pads will be substituted by a new model for the prescription of medicines, specialized medicine visits and examinations, hospitalization and thermal spa treatments. The information on the new red prescriptions will include the patient’s full name, address and social security number.

Florence, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) - The economic-financial plan for the transfer of the Pisa University Hospital Agency and the S.Chiara a Cisanello University Pole, one of the most important renovation and expansion operations by the Tuscany Health Services of the last years, will cost € 300 million, The Program Agreement undersigned today in the Paradisa Room of the Cisanello a Pisa Hospital details the necessary investments for the transfer and the infrastructure construction (viability, transport, hydraulic renovation, depuration) and establishes the tasks and costs of the numerous agencies a part of the project.

Potenza, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) -A new technique for the treatment of varicose veins has been applied for the first time at the San Carlo of Potenza Hospital. The technique is called EVLT (Endovascular Laser Treatment), and it was carried out by a team of the Vascular Surgery Unit of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department, directed and coordinated by the doctor-in-chief, Sergio Caparrotti. The method consists in the removal of the damaged vein using “thermal ablation” produced by a laser which causes internal coagulation and so transforming the vein into a fibrous cord. This procedure can be carried out in local anaesthesia.

Bologna, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) - The colorectal cancer screening campaign has started in the Poretta and San Giovanni in Persiceto districts. This campaign has been promoted by the Bologna Local Health Authority which invited the first 1,106 residents between the ages of 65 and 69 to participate in the initiative. This campaign is for men and women between the ages of 50 and 69 and it took off on March 21st with an invitation to participate sent to 1,106 residents, 528 in the Poretta and 578 in the San Giovanni districts, accompanied by a pamphlet illustrating the regions and methods used by this new screening campaign set up by the Emilia Romagna Region (the third following the ones for breast cancer and uterus cancer), for the first time involving also men.

Catania, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) - The new radiotherapy department of the Superiore Hospital in the Nesima, Catania hospital district will be inaugurated tomorrow morning. The modern centre, the only one of its kind in the city, was realized in a structure that is equipped with technical instruments, two linear accelerators for the assistance methods of the specialized field. The “B Tower” was recently inaugurated and the transfer of services and of the operative units from the other hospitals in the city has already begun.

Rome, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) - A DVD with information for the early diagnosis of breast cancer can be found free of cost in Italian newsstands. This initiative is promoted by the Equal Opportunities Ministry, in collaboration with the Europe Woman Italian Forum, in the ambit of the women’s health information campaign, announced on International Women’s Day on March 8th.

Venice, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) -Over € 5 million in European Funds financing 21 projects in the field of health cooperation in the EU obtained; a series of initiatives realized in Europe regarding government relations, the exchange of information, common professional training initiatives: concrete action plans activated and realized such as the opening in Venice of the European Health Investment Office of the World Health Organization: these are some of the elements that characterised the European actions of the Veneto Region in the field of health. They are illustrated in the Report on “Social - Health Relations and the Participation in the Decisional Process of the European Union 2000-2005”.

Palermo, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) -The Hypothyroidism Prevention project has begun in Palermo, promoted by the Health and Citizens’ Services Councillorship, headed by Nino Nasce’. “The project, which will last about 6 months - explained Mr. Nasce’ - aims at furnishing the students of the junior high schools from 11 years of age up, medical education on the diseases caused by lack of iodine”.

Rome, Mar. 31st (Adnkronos) - ‘’More than 1 million cases of cancer a year in the world are tightly related to viral infection and another 5% can be attributed to bacterial and parasitic infection”, affirmed in an interview with “Il Messaggero” newspaper, Francesco Cognetti, the scientific director of the Regina Elena Institute of Rome, leader in the research that resulted in the experimentation of the first vaccine against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the most wide -spread sexually transmitted disease in the world, causing , besides condylomas, also cervical cancer.

Milan, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - It looks like a cart pulled by a jeep but in 15 minutes it becomes a sophisticated first aid facility: a mini-hospital equipped to manage great medical emergencies. It is called UTES (Medical Emergencies Technological Unit) and it will begin working in an experimental phase in Lombardy in the ambit of the Regional health services and civil protection department. It was created by a volunteer belonging to ANPAS Lombardy and realized thanks to financing by a private company. This new medical apparatus was presented this afternoon in Milan in the presence of the Lombardy health councillor, Carlo Borsani.

Rome, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - Italian women still do not protect themselves against one of the most wide-spread female cancers, cervical cancer. Only 50% of the women between the ages of 25 and 60, the ages where a pap-test should be carried out regularly, do so at least once every 5 years. Only 60% has had this medical test at least once in their lifetimes. Prevention is more of a common habit in Northern Italy where 75% of the women undergo testing than in Southern Italy where the percentage does not surpass 35. This is a profile made by Sergio Pecorelli, a professor at the University of Brescia and the head of a board set up by the Health Ministry on cervical cancer prevention, for the “Human Papilloma Virus” Conference being held at the Regina Elena Cancer Institute of Rome.

Rome, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) -The results of the experimental phase of the first vaccine against a sexually transmitted disease are positive and actually the new vaccine should soon be available within the next 15-20 months. This vaccine protects against condyloma the most transmitted and wide-spread infection in the world. This vaccine also prevents cervical cancer because both are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is also responsible for other types of cancer, for example cancer of the larynx.

Palermo, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - Sicily is the Italian region registering the highest neonatal mortality rate. According to statistics, there are about 8 deaths per 1000 infants, a figure registered also due to the problems tied to neonatal transportation in case of emergency. This will be one of the topics during the 5th International Neonatal Physiopathology Congress and 1st National Neonatal Transportation Congress of the Italian Neonatal Sciences Society on April 1st and 2nd at the “Buccheri La Ferla” Hospital in Palermo. The various aspects of the problems related to neonatal emergency transportation, among which the technical, organizational and medical-legal ones will be discussed.

Naples, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - The fact that the death rate is higher in Giugliano, Qualiano and Villaricca due to dumps cannot be proven scientifically but the figures relative to the last 15 years underline the fact that the death rate is higher here than in other Italian provinces. This is the result of an investigation lasting 1 Ŋ years and published in the November-December issue of the bi-monthly scientific journal “Epidemiology and Prevention”, distributed in Italian and English in Europe. The complete and final study is at lanuovaecologia.it, the Legambiente online newspaper.

Lamezia Terme, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - 4 completely renovated operating rooms and an automated analysis laboratory were inaugurated this morning at the Cosenza Hospital and the new equipment., “among the best in Italy in efficiency and quality” was illustrated by the General Manager of the Hospital, Antonio Belcastro.

Milan, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - Thyroid cancer hits about 2,000 Italians yearly, equal to one-fifth of all the cases registered in Europe, with peak percentages among the 30-50 year olds and a 4 times greater incidence in women. There are good treatments available, so good that 9 out of 10 patients are still surviving 20 years after diagnosis. But when the surgical removal of the thyroid is not enough to completely eliminate the cancer tissue, traditional treatment with radioactive iodine creates problems and lowers the quality of life of the patients.

Milan, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - Over 20 million patients in the USA and Europe, mostly the “over 75” elderly with 5,000 cases a year in the Old Continent for every 100,000 inhabitants: these are the numbers revolving around cardiac decompensation. “A pandemic illness - the experts warn - considering that among all of the vascular pathologies, totally responsible for 44% of the deaths in the Western world, cardiac decompensation is the main cause of death and the only one still on a constant upswing”.

Rome, Mar. 30th (Adnkronos) - 171,128 anti-BSE tests were carried out in Italy in 2005 from January 1st to yesterday and since the beginning of the year two cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or Mad Cow disease, have been confirmed with other two samples undergoing testing and for which final results will be available in the next 48 hours. This was announced in a press release by the Health Ministry.

Florence, Mar. 29th (Adnkronos) - ‘’We can’t change humans but we can change the conditions in which they work”. This is a summarized version of a concept by James Reason, one of the most important experts in the analysis of the human factor in accidents and it is behind all of those actions that have the aim of avoiding errors in the medical field. These actions are taken not to punish those eventually responsible but to identify the needed interventions to carry out on working conditions and to make procedures as safe as possible. This will be discussed from March 30th to April 2nd in Florence at Palazzo degli Affari during an international conference on the topic “Ergonomic Health Systems and Patient Safety”.

Milan, Mar. 29th (Adnkronos) - Anorexia and bulimia affects 3 million people in Italy, above all women and teens. The “Self-Confidence Tour” is departing from Milan to help fight these eating disorders through a travelling public awareness campaign organized by Dove in collaboration with Donna Moderna and the Minotauro Association. A large van will be stationed on Via Beltrami, on the corner of Piazza Castello, today to Thursday, March 31st from 10 am to 7 pm, where doctors and psychologists will be available for personal consultations. The van - a press release from the promoters informs - will travel to Turin, Genoa, Mestre, Bologna, Ancona, Frosinone, Naples and Bari.

Rome, Mar. 29th (Adnkronos) -Teachers and students will take lessons from dentists so that the importance of correct oral hygiene can be learnt starting in the elementary school grades. This is the objective of ANDI (the National Italian Dentists Association) in collaboration with Mentadent through the initiative “Educate and Prevent - School Program”.

Milan, Mar. 29th (Adnkronos) - ‘’Defibrillators are immediately needed on the 118 ambulances”, the automatic types that can be used also by non-medical personnel. This was affirmed by Davide Boni, the leader of the Lega Nord in Lombardy who added “delays on the matter means risking losing human lives”.

Rome, Mar. 29th (Adnkronos) - Lip piercing is not without consequences. Actually, it harms the gums and can shrink them, causing the teeth become loose. Warning teens and pop stars against decorating their faces is a study from Ohio State University, conducted on 58 young adults. This is not the first study to point a finger against lip and tongue piercing which is becoming quite popular but can cause even mortal infections.