Chronic Disease News and Research

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Conference highlights advances in evidence-based integrative therapies for cancer

Today the Society for Integrative Oncology highlighted top research findings presented at the Eighth International Conference this week in Cleveland, Ohio. More than 80 abstracts will be presented at the annual meeting, which will be keynoted by National Institutes of Health Director, Francis Collins, MD, PhD.

11 Nov 2011

Johns Hopkins to establish new global center for childhood obesity

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has been awarded a $16 million U54 cooperative agreement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a global center of excellence to address the childhood obesity epidemic.

11 Nov 2011

CHCs and primary care providers will become America's obesity 'first responders'

Community health centers (CHCs) and primary care providers working in other settings will increasingly become America's obesity "first responders," needed to provide weight-related health services as the nation continues to implement the Affordable Care Act.

9 Nov 2011

Scripps scientist receives Novo Nordisk grant for research into diabetes

Andrew Butler, an associate professor in The Scripps Research Institute's Department of Metabolism and Aging, has been awarded one million dollars in funding over the next two years to further his research into a novel protein with the potential to improve the understanding and future treatment of diabetes.

9 Nov 2011

State roundup: Kansas Medicaid announcement; pilot projects for nursing homes, C-sections; Calif. marijuana clinics

Gov. Sam Brownback, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and three Cabinet officials have scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Tuesday to describe details of their plan for making over the Kansas Medicaid program. ... The plan is expected to include a significant expansion of managed care.

9 Nov 2011

RA patients with low levels of inflammation less likely to develop cardiovascular disease

According to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have low levels of inflammatory disease activity have lower risk for heart complications and stroke.

7 Nov 2011

Early treatment with rheumatologist may decrease costly interventions in people with RA

Early and appropriate treatment by a rheumatologist may decrease costly interventions —such as orthopedic surgery — in people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

Rheumavax safe and feasible in treating RA

A vaccine designed to re-educate the immune system has been shown to be safe and feasible in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

Exposure to air pollution may increase risk of RA

Exposure to some types of air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide — one of the six most common pollutants in the United States — is associated with a somewhat increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

Biologics reduce fatigue in people with RA

Treatment with a biologic agent reduces fatigue in people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

Link between use of anti-TNF therapy and malignant melanoma in RA patients

According to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, people taking anti-tumor necrosis factor therapies to treat rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk of developing malignant melanoma.

7 Nov 2011

Patients with RA have lower expectations about postsurgical outcomes after TKA

Compared with osteoarthritis patients, individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who undergo total knee replacement surgery have lower expectations about their postsurgical outcomes, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City.

6 Nov 2011

More than half of all Americans will have diabetes by 2020

Half of all American adults are destined to develop diabetes or pre-diabetes by 2020 if they don't make dramatic lifestyle changes, according to a dire new prediction from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

5 Nov 2011

States lack policies to curb classroom burden of asthma and severe allergies

For over 7 million children with asthma, and 13 million with food allergy or other severe allergies, going to school is a daily risk affecting how well they can – or can't – manage their diseases. Now for the fourth year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has released its annual report assessing all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their leadership and progress on school-based policies that address student asthma and allergy health in more than 100,000 elementary, middle and high schools across the U.S.

5 Nov 2011

NEJM publishes 'The 2010 Dietary Guidelines -- The Best Recipe for Health?'

USDA's interest protects that of Industry -- not the American public, conclude leading researchers Water C. Willett, MD, PhD, and David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD in their article, "The 2010 Dietary Guidelines -- The Best Recipe for Health?" published in the prestigious peer-reviewed The New England Journal of Medicine.

4 Nov 2011

State roundup: Public employee benefit controversy; Calif. hospital woes; Mass. medical homes

A centerpiece of Republican Gov. John Kasich's legislative agenda, the bill passed the Republican-dominated assembly in the spring. But opponents were able to gather 1.3 million signatures to halt the law's enactment and put it on the November 8 ballot for repeal. ... The bill allows bargaining on wages but bans it for health coverage, pensions or staffing levels. ... The law also requires firefighters, police officers and teachers to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums.

1 Nov 2011

Study: Many older Ontarians are not visiting dentists regularly

Forty-five per cent of Ontarians 65 years and older did not see a dentist in the last year, increasing their risk of chronic diseases and a reduced quality of life , a new study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital, Women's College Hospital and the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES) shows.

28 Oct 2011

Researchers identify stem cells responsible for lung regeneration

Guided by insights into how mice recover after H1N1 flu, researchers at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, together with researchers at A*STAR of Singapore, have cloned three distinct stem cells from the human airways and demonstrated that one of these cells can form into the lung's alveoli air sac tissue.

28 Oct 2011

La Jolla Institute becomes 5th participant in novel stem cell research collaboration

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has become the fifth organization in the prestigious Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, joining colleagues from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Research Institute, University of California, San Diego and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in the first-of-its-kind multi-institutional stem cell research collaboration.

28 Oct 2011

Energy Star- equivalent nutrition rating system for foods and beverages

Federal agencies should develop a new nutrition rating system with symbols to display on the front of food and beverage packaging that graphically convey calorie counts by serving size and a "point" value showing whether the saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars in the products are below threshold levels.

21 Oct 2011