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Cancer survival rates on the rise in Northern Ireland

Despite the rising incidence of cancer in Northern Ireland, the number of people surviving the disease in the country is increasing significantly year on year.

29 Feb 2012

New RNA interference method holds promise for cancer, other diseases

For the past decade, scientists have been pursuing cancer treatments based on RNA interference - a phenomenon that offers a way to shut off malfunctioning genes with short snippets of RNA. However, one huge challenge remains: finding a way to efficiently deliver the RNA.

27 Feb 2012

GBMC adds eClinicalWorks Care Coordination Portal and Community Analytics build on EHR

eClinicalWorks, a market leader in ambulatory clinical systems, today announces that Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), one of the largest community hospitals in the mid-Atlantic, has expanded its relationship with the company to include eClinicalWorks Care Coordination Portal and eClinicalWorks Community Analytics.

27 Feb 2012

Access to healthy food most problematic in low-income neighborhoods

Most convenience stores have a wide variety of chips, colorful candies and bottles of sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages. While shoppers can buy calorie-heavy foods wrapped in pretty packages in these locations, what they usually can't find are the fresh produce, whole grains and low-fat dairy products necessary for a healthy diet.

24 Feb 2012

Overall positive attitude towards concept of uniform CVD prevention guidelines across Europe

The next Joint European CVD Prevention Guidelines, scheduled for publication later this year at EuroPRevent 2012, will be shorter, tighter and supported by fewer references.

23 Feb 2012

QHN to provide health care providers with new registry services

Long a pioneer in regional health information exchange (HIE) development, Quality Health Network (QHN) is developing a "registry of registries," powered by The Advisory Board Company's Crimson Care Registry, for QHN's participants in 20 western Colorado counties.

23 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Medicare mudslinging, 'pound-foolish' doc fix and unrealistic death attitudes

For all its technological sophistication and hefty price tag, modern medicine may be doing more to complicate the end of life than to prolong or improve it. ... When families talk about letting their loved ones die "naturally," they often mean "in their sleep" -; not from a treatable illness such as a stroke, cancer or an infection. ... While it's easy to empathize with these family members' wishes, what they don't appreciate is that very few elderly patients are lucky enough to die in their sleep.

22 Feb 2012

IHP, PFCD organize expert roundtable on NCDs at New Delhi

India Health Progress (IHP) in association with Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) today organized an expert roundtable on 'Non-Communicable Diseases Burden in India: Strategizing the Way Forward' at Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi.

17 Feb 2012

Four new drugs can extend survival and prognosis of prostate cancer

After a decade and a half of near stagnation, four new drugs could help make advanced prostate cancer a chronic illness instead of a terminal disease, a leading Colorado prostate cancer expert says.

17 Feb 2012

Scientists identify more than 100 new cases of alkaptonuria

Scientists at the University of Liverpool, working with international partners, have shown a rare genetic disease, that causes crippling osteoarthritis in the spine and major joints, is far more prevalent worldwide than previously thought.

14 Feb 2012

LFA seeks grant applications to address important areas of lupus research

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) seeks grant applications to advance the science and medicine of lupus and to help improve the quality of lives of all people affected by this disease. The LFA is seeking grant applications to address the following areas of lupus research: cutaneous (skin) lupus, pediatric lupus, adult stem cell transplantation, and neuropsychiatric lupus, which affects the brain and nervous system.

10 Feb 2012

ACC: New community-wide collaboration to reduce impact of chronic diseases

A new community-wide collaboration to reduce the impact of chronic disease and empower patients is generating impressive early results, leaders of the Accountable Care Community (ACC) initiative said today. The Akron-based Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) is leading the initiative with its founding institutional members and more than 60 public and private community partners.

9 Feb 2012

New combination laser therapy effective in treating melasma

On the surface, it would seem as though the skin condition melasma (commonly referred to as the "mask of pregnancy") and tattoos would have little in common. However, they both affect a person's skin, can be quite difficult to treat or remove and, now, dermatologists are discovering new laser therapies which enhance treatment for both conditions.

8 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Safety-net hospitals stack up well against others

This study compares ER performance at safety-net hospitals (those with a disproportionate share of Medicaid and uninsured patients) to non-safety net hospitals to see if proposed pay-for-performance measures could have a negative impact.

6 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Censoring flu research; Assailing Komen's move to cut Planned Parenthood funding

In December, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity made an unprecedented request: it asked the editors of the journals Nature and Science not to publish certain details in two papers describing experiments in which scientists created a highly transmissible form of the deadly H5N1 influenza virus. ... Such caution, though well intentioned, is misplaced.

3 Feb 2012

Pros and cons of routine school BMI screening

The value of routine body mass index (BMI) screening in schools has been a topic of ongoing controversy. An expert Roundtable Discussion in the current issue of Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., debates the pros and cons of routine BMI screening in the school setting, discusses the most recent data, and explores when and for what purpose BMI screening results should be shared with parents and the potential benefits.

2 Feb 2012

Study finds lack of whole grain food consumption among teens

Teens are not consuming enough whole grain foods, according to a recent study from the University of Minnesota at St. Paul and featured in the January issue of Food Nutrition & Science.

31 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Contraceptive controversy; Revising mental health definitions

It was good news that the Obama administration withstood pressure from Roman Catholic bishops and social conservatives to deny contraceptive coverage for millions of American women who work for religiously affiliated employers. Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary, rejected broad exemptions from a new rule requiring all health plans to cover birth control, without a deductible or co-payment.

31 Jan 2012

Genetic variation predisposes children to complications linked with second-generation anti-psychotics

Researchers have found a genetic variation predisposing children to six-times greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome when taking second-generation anti-psychotic medications. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

25 Jan 2012

3 of 4 Americans live in states still flummoxed by how to deliver the health law's promise of affordable care

News outlets report on a variety of health law implementation issues, including an Associated Press report detailing how the overhaul is lagging in the states. Other reports examine questions about ACOs, essential benefits and other specific provisions.

23 Jan 2012