PARIS (AFP) ― Exercise may be at least as effective as some drugs in reducing the risk of death in stroke patients or people with heart disease, a study published on Wednesday said.Researchers from the London School of Economics, Harvard Medical School and Stanford University School of Medicine compared the findings of several studies into the effectiveness of exercise versus drugs in people with coronary heart disease, stroke patients, people with prediabetes and those with heart failure.They a

WASHINGTON, (AFP) ― Many people hospitalized in intensive care for conditions like a heart attack face lasting mental deficits similar to traumatic brain injury, US researchers said Wednesday, urging families to push for minimal sedation.The problem is “very common,” with a condition known as delirium affecting about three-quarters of those treated in the ICU and subsequent brain damage enduring for at least a year in up to one in three of them, said the study in the New England Journal of Medic

Senior citizens' medical expenses covered by South Korea's national health insurance jumped on-year in the first half of 2013, data showed Friday, apparently due to the country's fast-aging trend.According to the data by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), medical expenses for people aged 65 and older came to 8.9 trillion won (US$8.2 billion) in the January-June period, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier.The number accounts for nearly 36 percent of the 24.7 trillion won spent by the fi

More than 7,780 South Koreans have been infected with HIV, health authorities said Wednesday.The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said 9,410 South Korean were diagnosed with HIV between 1985 and 2012. Among them, 1,622 people died.Last year, 808 South Korean men and 60 South Korean women were newly infected with HIV. The KCDC said 541 out of 868 HIV carriers became infected through sexual contact.The virus, which is also spread through transfusion of contaminated blood, infects ce

Researchers who dug up King Richard III's skeleton say they appear to have discovered another problem the hunchback monarch had during his brief and violent reign: parasitic worms in his guts that grew up to a foot long. In those remains, dug up last year beneath a parking lot in Leicester, the researchers say they discovered numerous roundworm eggs in the soil around his pelvis, where his intestines would have been. They compared that to soil samples taken close to Richard's skull and surroundi

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday it would recommend Oriental medicine hospitals with more than 30 beds to go through a service quality assessment, starting next year.Hospitals, if approved by inspection authorities, would be awarded service quality certification by the ministry, officials said. The quality of medical service, sanitary control and staff management will be examined by commissioners from the Korea Institute for Healthcare Accreditation for hospitals that apply for the

More than 2,500 scholars and experts from around the world will gather in Busan on Aug. 26 to share ideas and visions for the changing population and its subsequent impact on societies and economies.The event hosted by the Paris-based International Union for the Scientific Study of Population will take place at BEXCO for six days, according to organizers. More than 1,000 studies and research on emerging population issues will be presented through various sessions.“This conference is expected to