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National lupus organizations urge NICE to recommend Benlysta for coverage

National lupus organizations in more than 28 countries, and individuals with lupus and their families around the world, are rallying to protect access to new treatments and the development of future therapies to treat lupus.

1 Nov 2011

Countries need vigilance, informed media coverage to achieve polio eradication

In this SciDev.Net editorial, T.V. Padma, regional coordinator for South Asia for the news service, recaps findings from the latest report of the Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), released last week, and writes, "Polio control in developing countries has received massive international support and funding, including free supplies of vaccines. Yet transmission of the virus remains. Clearly, there are problems other than funds."

1 Nov 2011

UL, IU and UMMS to implement Center for Excellence in Health and Life Sciences

Indiana University today announced that it is partnering with the University of Liberia and the University of Massachusetts Medical School to administer a transformative $7.2 million project that will address a national shortage of healthcare workers in Liberia, an African nation with which IU has had long-standing ties.

1 Nov 2011

GlobalPost series examines consequences of child marriage in Nepal

As part of a special report called "Child Brides," GlobalPost features a two-part series looking at child marriage in Nepal. "The practice carries with it devastating consequences for young girls' health and wellbeing, child advocates say, and yet the social, economic and cultural pressures associated with the tradition make it difficult to end. Officially, it is against the law to marry under the age of 20, but these laws go ignored, particularly in remote areas.

1 Nov 2011

USAID has technical capacity to lead GHI if given authority

In a post in the Center for Global Development's "Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog," Nandini Oomman, director of the HIV/AIDS Monitor at the center, and Rachel Silverman, a research assistant at the center, examine the question of Global Health Initiative (GHI) leadership, citing the State Department's Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), released last December, which states that "USAID would assume leadership of the GHI by September 2012, contingent upon fulfilling a set of 10 benchmarks to demonstrate its capacity."

1 Nov 2011

Majority of college students could identify risk factors linked with eating disorders

They're the prime demographic for developing eating disorders, yet new research out of the University of Cincinnati suggests that it could be difficult for college students to notice the warning signs. On Oct. 31, Ashlee Hoffman, a UC doctoral student in health promotion and education, will present her research, titled, "University Students' Knowledge of An Ability to Identify Disordered Eating, Warning Signs and Risk Factors," at the American Public Health Association's 139th annual meeting and exposition in Washington, DC.

1 Nov 2011

Pressure mounts as clock ticks toward super committee's Thanksgiving deadline

The LA Times reports on how a deficit-reduction deal has so far eluded Congress while Politico outlines the politics that are at work in the process.

1 Nov 2011

Health care comments prominent on the trail to Iowa caucus

In a campaign speech to potential caucusgoers here this afternoon, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann colored her calls for the repeal of the federal health care law passed in 2010 with a brief history of health care. When she was a child, she said, a visit to the doctor in Waterloo, Iowa, cost just $5, and people who couldn't afford that often would receive free care at the physician's discretion. Such prices and charity care are impossible today, she argued, because of government intervention into the health care system and the threat of lawsuits.

1 Nov 2011

BUSM professor delivers Van Meter Award Lecture at 81st ATA meeting

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is proud to announce that Dr. Elizabeth Pearce, Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, today delivered the Van Meter Award Lecture at its 81st Annual Meeting, held October 26-30, Indian Wells, California.

1 Nov 2011

PlusNews interviews Stop TB Director Mario Raviglione

At the recent International Lung Health Conference in Lille, France, IRIN/PlusNews spoke with Stop TB Director Mario Raviglione about the threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), its treatment and "the precarious TB funding gap," the news service writes.

1 Nov 2011

Companies focus on wellness programs to help bottom lines

Corporations view employee obesity and smoking as two things driving up their health care costs. Therefore, many businesses are taking steps toward wellness programs and incentives.

1 Nov 2011

MSU to establish statewide Division of Geriatric Medicine

An unprecedented decade of economic demise and a population older than 80 percent of all other U.S. states is putting Michigan in a precarious spot: More aging residents needing health care with fewer resources to pay for it.

1 Nov 2011

Upcoming G20 Summit presents 'critical opportunity' to address food security crisis

In a post in the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' "Global Food For Thought" blog, Adam Taylor, vice president of advocacy at World Vision, writes that the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Cannes, France, next week "provides a critical opportunity for President Obama to galvanize G20 leadership in addressing the mounting crisis of food security -- the lack of reliable, nutritious food for the world's poorest people."

1 Nov 2011

GPEI must 'take seriously' recommendations in Independent Monitoring Board report

In this post in the "Health Affairs Blog," diplomacy and global health consultant Judith Kaufmann writes about the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Independent Monitoring Board quarterly report released last week, stating, "What is really new about this report ... is that it does not, as so many GPEI reports have in the past, point the finger at lack of funding, although there is an obvious concern about the funding gap. Rather, the report looks squarely at changes needed in the management of the global program itself."

1 Nov 2011

Commonwealth government leaders pledge millions of additional funds to fight polio

"Commonwealth government leaders meeting in Australia agreed Saturday to step up efforts to eradicate polio worldwide, despite the Afghanistan war setting back vaccination efforts there and in neighboring Pakistan," the Associated Press reports.

1 Nov 2011

Three centers to improve clinical preventive services and practices

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded three-year grants totaling $4.5 million to support research in three centers that will focus on improving clinical preventive services and practices such as screening, counseling and use of preventive medications for patients.

1 Nov 2011

African health scientists need more support, funding to address shifting priorities, expert says

With disease burden shifting from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) over the coming years, "African health scientists need more funding and support to overcome the barriers and deal with a changing health situation on the continent," Olive Shisana, chief executive officer of the South African Human Sciences Research Council, said during a keynote address at last week's World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, SciDev.Net reports.

1 Nov 2011

First study to assess improvements in colorectal cancer detection through physician training

The first study to assess improvements in detection of pre-cancerous growths in the colon through intensive physician training was presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's 76th Annual Scientific Meeting, where colorectal cancer detection was an important focus of the scientific presentations.

1 Nov 2011

Internet-based communication improves teenagers' use of topical acne therapy

Tech-savvy teens with acne used their medicine more frequently when they also took part in a web-based survey, a new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center finds.

1 Nov 2011

LA BioMed's lead investigator hopes to bring PAH awareness this November

As the month of November kicks off PH Awareness Month, Dr. Ronald Oudiz - lead investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) - hopes to bring greater awareness to this disorder that has affected the lives of so many. Dr. Oudiz is a pioneer in this field, having received the 2011 Award for Excellence earlier this year from the Pulmonary Hypertension Association for his dedication to find new ways to treat this often fatal disease.

1 Nov 2011