Interesting….

When scientists at Stanford University looked around for a good way to grow a cancer vaccine, they realized they could do no better than the plant that has caused more cancers than you can count. They were not trying to develop a cancer vaccine such as Gardasil, which gives the body immunity against an infectious agent (in this case, the papillomavirus) that can trigger cancer (in this case, cervical). That’s all well and good, but the true grail is a therapeutic vaccine, one that would prompt the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells and only cancer cells, or that would consist of antibodies that do so.

Reference: Lab Notes : Tapping Tobacco to Cure Cancer, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Honey has been used since ancient times to treat infected wounds but till date there was insufficient medical evidence to back its use as a modern day antibiotic.

A recent study the Journal of Clinical Infectious Disease tested medical grade honey Revamil™ (Bfactory) for its bactericidal activity. The authors found that honey was effective in killing a variety of bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium and multiple drug resistant gram negative bacteria.

Of note that the brand of honey used was medical grade and the honey available at grocery stores may be contaminated with bacteria and should not be used for medicinal purposes.

Reference: Clinical Infectious Disease

More conundrums on whether cardiac catheterization is safe for unstable angina (”near heart attack”) or non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (”small heart attacks”).

Heart disease is the number one killer of women each year in the United States. Cardiac catheterization is a routine procedure that allows doctors to find potential blockages in coronary arteries in order to help prevent new heart attacks and even death. A recent study finds that high risk women, who do have a heart attack, benefit from this procedure just as much as men. But for some women the procedure may not always be the best option.

Reference: JAMA

Some interesting data from the National osteoporosis foundation.

Osteoporosis, or porous bone, causes bones to become fragile and weak. A sufferer’s bones can break from a minor fall, or even a sneeze!

The disease is a major health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, or about half of people ages 50 and older. This graph shows the prevalence of osteoporosis and low bone density among Americans over the age of 50 by gender and ethnicity.

Doctor radio is new 24 hour channel launched by Sirius Satellite Radio.

As per the company:

What is Doctor Radio? Here are the symptoms it’s presenting:

• World-class Doctors from the NYU Langone Medical Center.
• Listeners calling with their medical questions.
• Real medical information delivered in a down-to-earth style.
• Amazing real-life stories from the ER, operating room and beyond.

Wall Street Journal Health Blog has complete coverage.