Previous studies have shown a link between low vitamin D status and heart disease. Now a new study shows that patients with high blood pressure who possess a gene variant that affects an enzyme critical to normal vitamin D activation are twice as likely as those without the variant to have congestive heart failure (see also University of Michigan Health System).

Swine flu is far less dangerous than originally feared, British officials said Thursday — about 100 times less lethal than the 1918 Spanish flu.

  A couple who claim social services “kidnapped” their baby daughter for adoption are due to flee Britain today to prevent their unborn child being taken into care.The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, intend to travel to Spain because they fear social workers will try to adopt their son, who is due in February.

The compilation of documents shows the influence of "Big Pharma" on the policy making decisions of the WHO, the UN body safeguarding public health. These confidential documents were obtained by the drug industry before their public release to WHO member states (scheduled to be released May 2010).

An ongoing U.S. Senate investigation headed by Senator Charles Grassley has sought disclosure of pharmaceutical funding paid to researchers, physicians, medical schools and medical journals. Some of the nation’s most prominent psychiatrists have now been exposed for extensive conflicts of interest amounting to millions in undisclosed pharmaceutical funding,

The list of local teens who believe they have experienced adverse reactions to the Gardasil vaccine has grown, with two sisters from Sandwich reporting medical problems following their shots. Brianna Faiella, 15, developed aches, fever and swelling a few hours after receiving a dose of Gardasil and the seasonal flu nasal spray vaccine Aug. 25. "By midnight, Brianna was barely breathing," says her mother, Mary Beth O'Brien. "Every joint and muscle in her body ached."

When Brent Leung started showcasing his groundbreaking new documentary film about AIDS, "House of Numbers" (www.HouseOfNumbers.com), he had no way to comprehend the wave of defamatory attacks that would be unleashed against him. Promoters of conventional AIDS theories (with all their vaccines and pharmaceuticals) have gone on a rampage against Leung, calling him an "AIDS denialist" -- with an obvious invocation of the similar-sounding "Holocaust denialist" phrase.

The Anti-Fluoridation Association of Mildura, along with other Victorian safe water groups, and a number of health and scientific professionals, are calling for the resignation of Dr. John Carnie, Victoria’s Chief Health Officer. The call comes as community discontent with the Government’s mandatory fluoridation policy grows.

Balranald Shire Council will halt the fluoridation of the town's water until community concerns are addressed.

A recent French study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has revealed that a "Mediterranean" diet rich in fruits and vegetables, fish, and olive and sunflower oils will reduce the risk of post-menopausal women developing cancer. Findings implicated the "Western" diet as contributing heavily to incidences of breast cancer.