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Special team care reduces cumulated stroke risk after transient ischaemic attacks

Patients who had a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), sometimes referred to as a "mini stroke", were much less likely to experience further vascular events in the first year if their care was co-ordinated by a special hospital team. That is the key finding from a study published in the November issue of the European Journal of Neurology.

28 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Gephardt and Leavitt's bipartisan push for biomedical innovation; suggestions for the super committee

We Americans are rightfully proud of our can-do spirit. We know that our nation is capable of uniting for a common goal -; and triumphing. In this time of economic challenge and political divisiveness, we are proposing an idea for our country's next common mission: biomedical innovation. From our combined decades of experience leading in the Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we see the biomedical frontier as America's greatest opportunity to align our nation's competencies and resources for a better future.

28 Oct 2011

Foreign aid investment saves millions of lives, reflects American leadership

Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), and Khai Hoan Tram, an Allan Rosenfield Fellow at amfAR, write in this Huffington Post opinion piece that what's missing from the discussion of foreign aid -- which accounts for approximately one percent of the U.S. national budget -- "is the fact that [it] is actually used to aid those in need while advancing our country's humanitarian and diplomatic goals.

28 Oct 2011

Million Hearts' goal to prevent a million heart attacks and strokes in five years

In the time needed to read out loud the headline on this story, someone has died from a stroke. Every 6 seconds, someone in the world dies from stroke. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in support of World Stroke Day, Oct. 29, 2011, asks Americans to take immediate action to reduce their risk for stroke.

28 Oct 2011

Roundup: Mass. offers plan to cut costs for dual eligibles; Oregon's high hopes for coordinated care organizations

The governor of Massachusetts wants to hire private insurers or other third parties to manage care for the poor and chronically ill patients who use a disproportionate share of public health-care dollars. The proposal comes as state and federal officials search for a cheaper way to deliver health care to people known as "dual eligibles." These are the 9.2 million in the U.S. who receive both Medicare, the federal program for those 65 and older or disabled, and Medicaid, the joint state-federal health plan for the poor.

28 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 27, 2011

In today's news reports, details of the Super Committee's latest action -- the Dems' $3 Trillion Debt Deal, which includes a $400 Million Medicare Plan; and the GOP counter appoach.

27 Oct 2011

Penn Nursing experts available to discuss stories on American Diabetes Month

Diabetes specialists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing are available to talk with media for stories on American Diabetes Month.

27 Oct 2011

Religion/spirituality may help buffer negative consequences of chronic health conditions

Individuals who practice religion and spirituality report better physical and mental health than those who do not. To better understand this relationship and how spirituality/religion can be used for coping with significant health issues, University of Missouri researchers are examining what aspects of religion are most beneficial and for what populations.

27 Oct 2011

Simple walking test can predict how well seniors would recover from operations

An elderly person's walking speed can predict how well he or she will fare after an operation, according to new findings presented at the 2011 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Researchers from the University of Colorado, Denver, reported that a simple, walking test that typically takes less than 20 seconds was a powerful tool for predicting how well seniors would recover from various surgical procedures.

27 Oct 2011

CLASS Act post mortem continues

Even though the administration made clear it no longer intends to proceed with the implementation of the long-term care insurance program, Republican opponents are pushing hard for its actual repeal. Meanwhile, supporters continue to ask questions about why the administration opted to not move forward.

27 Oct 2011

Perry unveils new economic plan

In political developments, media outlets analyzed GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry's new plan, which includes a national flat tax, would cut discretionary funding by at least $100 billion a year, and would overhaul Medicare and Medicaid. In other news, a new poll uncovers deep distrust of the government, with about a quarter of the public in favor of repealing the entire health law.

27 Oct 2011

NPR's Tell Me More examines cholera in Haiti

NPR's Tell Me More host Michel Martin on Monday spoke with Louise Ivers of Partners In Health (PIH) in Haiti and journalist Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald about the ongoing cholera outbreak in Haiti.

27 Oct 2011

The Guardian examines China's one-child policy

The Guardian examines China's one-child policy and its impact. The newspaper writes that "the description of the system as a 'one-child policy' is misleading. Most married women in China have the chance to bear two offspring, but the entitlement to breed beyond a solitary child is determined by a complex set of rules" and factors.

27 Oct 2011

Cholera epidemic hits Western, Central Africa

"Western and central Africa are facing one of the biggest cholera epidemics in their history, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said last month, in reporting that more than 85,000 cases of cholera have been registered since the beginning of the year, with nearly 2,500 deaths," according to the Guardian.

27 Oct 2011

Cancer experts say needs of younger patients slighted

Physicians and researchers acknowledge that for decades, the needs of adolescents and young adults with cancer have been slighted. They frequently receive inconsistent treatment and follow-up care, and clinical trials and research focused on this age group have been scarce, according to oncologists and a report by the National Cancer Institute.

27 Oct 2011

A push for new 'grand bargain' on the super committee

Democrats are proposing up to $3 trillion in measures to slash the U.S. budget deficit, including revenue increases and significant cuts to the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly. The plan was unveiled on Tuesday at a closed-door meeting of a 12-member congressional panel -- the so-called "super committee" that is assigned the task of finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, congressional aides told Reuters.

27 Oct 2011

Is the health law to blame for premium cost increases?

Health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans jumped a startling 9 percent from 2010 to 2011, and Republicans have blamed the federal health care law. But they exaggerate. The law -; the bulk of which has yet to be implemented -; has caused only about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in premiums, according to several independent experts.

27 Oct 2011

Abortion: Federal court blocks N.C. ultrasound requirement

Federal court's injunction affects new N.C. law which takes effect today. In addition, the New York Times examines state "personhood" amendments.

27 Oct 2011

Report showcases high burden of NTDs in India, South Asia

The open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases on Tuesday "published a comprehensive report showcasing the disproportionately high burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in India and South Asia," the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Disease's "End the Neglect" blog reports.

27 Oct 2011

Denver-based dialysis operator is target of federal probe

DaVita Inc., which is the biggest operator of dialysis clinics in the nation, announced that it is the subject of a government probe into payments for drugs it used in the N.Y. Medicaid program.

27 Oct 2011