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Using community-based health advocates, delivering information within same-gender groups or adapting dietary and lifestyle advice to fit a particular community's likely diet can help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels, certainly for up to six months, following health education. This conclusion was reached by a team of Cochrane Researchers after they considered the data in 11 trials that involved 1,603 people.

In 2000 the World Health Organization (WHO) stopped recommending metrifonate for treating urinary schistosomiasis because the drug did not appear to be as effective as the treatment of choice, praziquantel. Now a systematic review published in the latest edition of The Cochrane Library indicates that both metrifonate and praziquantel are effective at treating the infection. The team of researchers who carried out this study suggest that metrifonate may be a valid addition to the current one-drug strategy against urinary schistosomiasis.

Cognitive behaviour therapy is effective in treating the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, according to a recent systematic review carried out by Cochrane Researchers.

Despite the routine delivery of babies by caesarean section, there is no consensus among medical practitioners on which is the best operating method to use. In a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library, researchers call for further studies to establish the safest method for both mother and infant.

"Caesarean section is a very common operation, yet there is a lack of high quality information available to inform best practice," says researcher Simon Gates of the Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Warwick.

During hysterectomy operations, surgeons often remove a woman's ovaries as well as her uterus. Cochrane Researchers now say there is no evidence that removing the ovaries provides any additional benefit and warn surgeons to consider the procedure carefully.

"Until more reliable research is available, removal of the ovaries at the time of hysterectomy should be approached with caution," says lead researcher, Dr. Leonardo Orozco of the OBGYN Women's Hospital San José in Costa Rica.

In Caesarean deliveries the placenta is usually removed by hand or by a technique known as 'cord traction'. A recent systematic review by Cochrane Researchers shows that cord traction poses less risk to the mother than manual removal.

Women often undergo early caesareans or induced labour following detection of decreased amniotic fluid volume, because this is seen as a sign of foetal distress. While no gold standard exists for measuring amniotic volumes, a new Cochrane Systematic Review suggests that the single deepest vertical pocket (SDVP) technique is better than the commonly used amniotic fluid index (AFI) method.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston believe they have uncovered the Achilles heel in the armor of the virus that continues to kill millions.

New research documents the decline in physical activity among children, with less than a third meeting recommended physical activity guidelines by the time they are 15 years old, according to a study in the July 16 issue of JAMA.

The activity level of a large group of American children dropped sharply between age 9 and age 15, when most failed to reach the daily recommended activity level, according to the latest findings from a long-term study by the National Institutes of Health.

The analysis is one of the largest, most comprehensive of its kind to date.

The researchers evaluated the children to determine whether they achieved the minimum 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommended for children.

WELLINGTON – Animals thrive on the banks of waterways. And those same tree-covered, green grassy areas are keys to maintaining healthy watersheds for creeks and rivers.

Landowners must learn how to manage these properties to strike an ecological balance that benefits wildlife and livestock and still protects watersheds, Texas AgriLife Research scientists say.

Dr. Bill Pinchak, AgriLife Research range animal nutritionist, said landowners should take a holistic approach.

Although sickle cell disease is a single-gene disorder, its symptoms are highly variable. In a study published online July 14 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), in collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, report five gene variants that could potentially be helpful in predicting sickle cell disease severity, perhaps even leading to better treatment approaches in the future.

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have identified a set ofgenes in breast and colon cancers with a deadly combination oftraditional mutations and "smothered" gene activity that may resultin poor outcomes for patients.

A new study in the Journal of Communication reveals that access to an integrated system of internet health resources helps patients more than simply providing a list of URLs to accredited sites..

Women exposed to high levels of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls – a group of banned environmental pollutants) are less likely to give birth to male children. A study published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health found that among women from the San Francisco Bay Area, those exposed to higher levels of PCBs during the 50s and 60s, were significantly more likely to give birth to female children.