Research News and Research

RSS

NYT examines potential for cost savings in Obama's health plan

A promise from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) that his health care proposal would reduce health insurance premiums for the average family by $2,500 "is one of the most audacious promises in a campaign that has been thick with them," the New York Times reports. In addition, Obama has promised to implement a health plan by the end of his first term as president.

24 Jul 2008

Senate passes legislation that would reauthorize federal funding for community health centers

The Senate on Monday by unanimous consent approved a bill (S 901) that would reauthorize through 2012 three federal programs that provide services to rural and underserved areas, CongressDaily reports.

24 Jul 2008

Amerigroup settles Medicaid lawsuit over denial of coverage to pregnant women for $225 million

Amerigroup on Tuesday said it will enter a $225 million settlement agreement with Illinois and the federal government over allegations that it denied coverage to eligible pregnant women, the Baltimore Sun reports (Baltimore Sun, 7/23).

24 Jul 2008

Parliamentarian memo says SCHIP resolution filed too late to be given fast-track status

The Senate Finance Committee canceled a vote scheduled for Wednesday on a resolution to block Bush administration rules limiting the expansion of SCHIP, after being informed by the Senate parliamentarian that the deadline for "privileged" status of the resolution had passed, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 7/22).

24 Jul 2008

America's Health Insurance Plans launches campaign in Ohio for nationwide universal health

America's Health Insurance Plans on Tuesday launched a new grassroots campaign designed "to build support for workable health care reform based on core principles shared by the American people: coverage, affordability, quality, value, choice and portability," the organization said, CQ HealthBeat reports.

24 Jul 2008

Endurance exercise makes heart younger

Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but endurance exercise seems to make it younger. According to a study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, older people who did endurance exercise training for about a year ended up with metabolically much younger hearts.

23 Jul 2008

Research sheds light on neural mechanisms responsible for social difficulties in autism

Picking up on innuendo and social cues is a central component of engaging in conversation, but people with autism often struggle to determine another person's intentions in a social interaction.

23 Jul 2008

No justification for denying obese patients knee replacement surgery

There is no justification for denying obese patients knee replacement surgery: They benefit almost as much as anyone else from the procedure, concludes a small study published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

23 Jul 2008

Sorafenib extends life of advanced liver cancer patients

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have found that sorafenib (Nexavar) helps patients with advanced liver cancer live about 44 percent longer compared with patients who did not receive the anti-cancer drug.

23 Jul 2008

Making patients move requires the right exercise advice

It is common knowledge that regular exercise supports physical and mental well-being. Despite this and recommendations from health care providers, the majority of patients with chronic illnesses remain inactive.

23 Jul 2008

Automated de-identification of free-text medical records - privacy assured by electronic censor

Newly developed software will help to allay patients' fears about who has access to their confidential data. Research published today in the open access journal BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making describes a computer program capable of deleting details from medical records which may identify patients, while leaving important medical information intact.

23 Jul 2008

Fish oil supplements could slow wound healing

A recent study shows that popular fish oil supplements have an effect on the healing process of small, acute wounds in human skin. But whether that effect is detrimental, as researchers initially suspected, remains a mystery.

23 Jul 2008

Soy lowers sperm levels

Men who eat an average of half a serving of soy food a day have lower concentrations of sperm than men who do not eat soy foods, according to research published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal, Human Reproduction, today (Thursday 24 July). The association was particularly marked in men who were overweight or obese, the study found.

23 Jul 2008

Researchers identify compound in human saliva that greatly speeds wound healing

A report by scientists from The Netherlands published online in The FASEB Journal identifies a compound in human saliva that greatly speeds wound healing.

23 Jul 2008

Newly developed software helps doctors care for premature babies

IBM and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) have announced a 'first-of-a-kind' research project to help doctors detect subtle changes in the condition of critically ill premature babies.

23 Jul 2008

Controlling plaque without toothpaste

Leeds Dental Institute, ranked the top school in the UK for dentistry is currently looking at new and better ways to improve dental treatment and take the fear factor out of the patient experience for good.

23 Jul 2008

Open access to large-scale drug discovery data

The Wellcome Trust has awarded £4.7 million (€5.8 million) to EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) to support the transfer of a large collection of information on the properties and activities of drugs and a large set of drug-like small molecules from publicly listed company Galapagos NV to the public domain.

23 Jul 2008