A Spanish woman has been given the world's first double hand transplant, doctors have disclosed.
The patient, known only as Alba, was said to be recovering well after the 10-hour, pioneering operation in which surgeons used microscopic technology to attach an anonymous donor's hands to her arms. The 47-year-old, whose hands were amputated after a laboratory explosion 20 years ago, was pleased with the results. "They look beautiful," she said.
Montreal - A 65-year-old Quebec man who received a new long-term mechanical heart last month is being described as the only living Canadian without a pulse.
Dr. Renzo Cecere implanted the "Heartmate II" mechanical heart into Gerard Langevin in an three-hour operation Nov. 23.
Officials at the McGill University Health Centre say the device, which is about the size of a flashlight battery, could last up to 10 years.
That is longer than other models which are thought to be good for only two or three years.
Toronto - While young Canadian women tend to experience depression and thoughts of suicide more than men, the men are more likely to act on their suicidal thoughts, says a new study on depression and suicide among teens.
The study, compiled by psychiatrists at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, found links between "suicidality" and age, income levels and where a teen lives in Canada.
Male teens in B.C. had the highest attempted suicide rate, while those in Quebec reported the highest rate of depression.
Nearly a quarter of the female teens from B.C. who took part in the study reported having had suicidal thoughts.
The leading sexual health care charity steps into a major row today by urging women to keep the "morning-after" pill alongside plasters and paracetamol in the bathroom, in case they have unprotected sex. [...]
However, critics said the BPAS was encouraging reckless behaviour and lack of self-control.
Vancouver- Twins Tatiana and Krista Hogan were a medical marvel when they were born sharing a skull. Now, seven weeks later, doctors say they have discovered a baffling "bridge" of tissue connecting the girls' brains, raising the spectre that they can transmit certain brain signals to one another.
Recent scans show that part of the infants' upper brain stems are connected by a corridor of tissue, doctors told reporters yesterday at the British Columbia Women's Hospital and Health Centre.
However, pediatric neurosurgeon Doug Cochrane said it could take months for doctors to determine what kind of information is carried along this brain bridge and what it means for the girls' future.
A contraceptive pill that promises to end the misery of menstruation for millions of women has been proved safe and effective for the first time.
The medicine, called Lybrel, was taken every day for a year and halted periods in more than half of the 2,000 women who used it.
It is the first pill specifically designed to eliminate the fertility cycle which many regard as central to womanhood. Ordinary oral contraceptives are taken for 21 days a month, with a break of seven days during which the woman has her period, preserving the biological rhythm.
Circumcising men cuts their risk of being infected with the Aids virus in half, and could prevent hundreds of thousands or even millions of new infections, researchers said yesterday.
Circumcising men worked so well that the researchers stopped two large clinical trials in Kenya and Uganda to announce the results, although they cautioned that the procedure does not make men immune to the virus.
Experts say the reduced risk may be because cells on the inside of the foreskin are susceptible to HIV infection.
Comment: Don't believe everything you read.
Kevin Zeese
AlterNetWed, 13 Dec 2006 12:00 UTC
The government's war on drugs is never-ending. Instead of enforcing drug prohibition, we should be spending money on treatment and rehab.
An increasingly popular doll with genitalia and pubic hair offers an alternative to Barbies for a gift that can educate about sexuality without damaging body image.
There's a slow poison out there that's severely damaging our children and threatening to tear apart our culture. The ironic part is, it's a "health food," one of our most popular.
Now, I'm a health-food guy, a fanatic who seldom allows anything into his kitchen unless it's organic. I state my bias here just so you'll know I'm not anti-health food.
The dangerous food I'm speaking of is soy. Soybean products are feminizing, and they're all over the place. You can hardly escape them anymore.
Comment: Don't believe everything you read.