Disability News and Research

RSS

Jefferson's KCC creates new center to reduce and eradicate cancer disparities

In an effort to reduce and eventually eliminate cancer disparities among adults in the Philadelphia region, the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson has established the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities.

17 Feb 2012

Hospital news: Colorado legislature considers limits on charges, Philly children's hospital apology, Mass. facility closure

Colorado's legislature is taking up a bill Thursday that would limit how much hospitals can charge people without insurance. ... The lawmaker who wrote it is trying to reduce the number of Coloradans bankrupted by medical bills.

16 Feb 2012

New devices could hold key to predicting premature births

Scientists and doctors in Sheffield are developing two novel devices that they say could lead to the improved prediction of premature births.

16 Feb 2012

Acorda's fourth quarter GAAP net income increases to $12.7 million

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2011.

16 Feb 2012

Study investigates the whole process of stroke emergency treatment

Researchers from the University of Exeter, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD), are working with clinicians from the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) and the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RD&E) to reduce the time it takes from the start of a stroke to the administration of vital clot-busting drug treatment.

16 Feb 2012

Obesity may increase symptom severity and decrease QOL in patients with fibromyalgia

People with fibromyalgia can have difficulty getting a definitive diagnosis and finding an effective treatment plan. For many patients, the condition involves a confounding array of symptoms, including chronic pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance and mood disorders. One factor associated with fibromyalgia symptoms is a patient's weight, according to a Mayo Clinic study published on February 2012 in Arthritis Care & Research.

16 Feb 2012

Mencap accuses hospitals of discriminating against patients with learning disabilities

Mencap - a charity organization claimed today that 74 NHS patients with learning disabilities have needlessly died in the last decade because of discrimination. It accused the health system of failing to provide adequate care to those with learning disabilities.

15 Feb 2012

Kansas House approves 'compact' bill opposing health law; Conn., Alaska moving ahead with exchanges; Mass. reform very popular

The proposed change has the support of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who chairs the exchange board. The bill would add two voting members to the board. One would be a small employer and ... [the other] would be "a consumer of specialized health care services for a disability, a chronic illness or special needs, or of health care services."

15 Feb 2012

New vaccine can prevent bacterial infection of orthopaedic implants

Methicillin resistant staph aureus (MRSA) infections are resistant to antibiotics and can cause a myriad of problems -- bone erosion, or osteomyelitis, which shorten the effective life of an implant and greatly hinder replacement of that implant. MRSA can result in prolonged disability, amputation and even death.

15 Feb 2012

Pakistan, Afghanistan form joint action plan against polio

Pakistan and Afghanistan, "the world's two worst polio-affected countries," have "decided to form a joint block under the World Health Organization to eradicate the infectious disease -- which causes motor paralysis and the atrophy of skeletal muscles, often resulting in permanent physical disability or deformity -- by December 2012," Inter Press Service reports.

14 Feb 2012

Moderate air pollution increases risk of stroke by 34%

Air pollution, even at levels generally considered safe by federal regulations, increases the risk of stroke by 34 percent, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center researchers have found.

14 Feb 2012

Two novel devices can predict women at risk of premature birth

Scientists and doctors from the University of Sheffield are developing two novel devices that could lead to the improved prediction of premature births.

14 Feb 2012

Sexuality changes throughout life but US policy and research fail to keep up

Americans will spend more than $17 billion on Valentine's Day, but far less on programs like sex education for adolescents. The editors of the new book, Sex for Life, From Virginity to Viagra, How Sexuality Changes Throughout Our Lives, argue that not only do our public policies on sex education need to be reevaluated, our entire concept of human sexuality needs to be broadened.

13 Feb 2012

PRP therapy shows promise against elbow injuries

As elbow injuries continue to rise, especially in pitchers, procedures to help treat and get players back in the game quickly have been difficult to come by. However, a newer treatment called platelet rich plasma (PRP) may pose hope, according to researchers presenting their findings at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day meeting in San Francisco.

13 Feb 2012

Two studies on shoulder instability in military population

Two studies on shoulder instability in a military population were presented today by U.S. Army sports medicine surgeons at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' annual meeting.

10 Feb 2012

Gene therapy to promote remyelination in mouse model of MS

Our bodies are full of tiny superheroes-antibodies that fight foreign invaders, cells that regenerate, and structures that ensure our systems run smoothly. One such structure is myelin-a material that forms a protective, insulating cape around the axons of our nerve cells so that they can send signals quickly and efficiently. But myelin, and the specialized cells called oligodendrocytes that make it, become damaged in demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), leaving neurons without their myelin sheaths.

10 Feb 2012

Most disabled seniors rate their quality of life 'fair to very good'

Quality of life for disabled elderly people is most closely tied to two factors: a sense of dignity and a sense of control, according to a study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco.

10 Feb 2012

University of Haifa study to shed new light on DCD

Children showing difficulty carrying out routine actions, such as getting dressed, playing with particular types of games, drawing, copying from the board in school and even typing at the computer, could be suffering from developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and not necessarily from ADHD or other more familiar disorders, points out Prof. Sara Rosenblum of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Haifa, whose new study set out to shed new light on DCD.

10 Feb 2012

Chromosomal microarray provides more information about fetal abnormalities

A nationwide, federally funded study has found that testing a developing fetus' DNA through chromosomal microarray (CMA) provides more information about potential disorders than does the standard method of prenatal testing, which is to visually examine the chromosomes.

10 Feb 2012

Ultrasound makes arthritis evaluation and treatment quicker and more accurate

Ultrasound is transforming the way arthritis is diagnosed and treated, making evaluation and treatment quicker and more accurate. The new approach is dubbed fast arthritis sonographic evaluation and treatment, or FAST, by rheumatologists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center who are leading its development.

7 Feb 2012