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Study: Providing better access to health care may lead to overuse of mammograms for women

Researchers have concluded that providing better access to health care may lead to the overuse of mammograms for women who regularly see a primary care physician and who have a limited life expectancy.

28 May 2014

Case Western Reserve physician calls on FDA to address hidden risk of dangerous drugs side effects

The agency charged to protect patients from dangerous drug side effects needs to be far more vigilant when it comes to medications that affect blood pressure.

28 May 2014

Study reveals high demand for costly cancer treatment among refugees from Iraq, Syria

A study published in The Lancet Oncology journal reveals a high demand for costly cancer treatment among refugees from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Syria, with host countries struggling to find the money and the medicine to treat their new patients.

26 May 2014

EMA's CHMP gives positive opinion for PTC Therapeutics' Translarna

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that following its request for re-examination, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion regarding the company's application for a conditional marketing authorization of Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD) in ambulatory patients aged five years and older.

23 May 2014

World Health Assembly approves resolution on viral hepatitis and noncommunicable diseases

The World Health Assembly approved a resolution to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis and proposals to improve global coordination of efforts to address noncommunicable diseases like diabetes, cancers, heart disease and stroke. In addition, WHO's Director-General and the President of the Health Assembly presented 4 awards to leaders in public health.

23 May 2014

Researchers discover how gene commonly linked to obesity contributes to weight gain

Researchers have discovered how a gene commonly linked to obesity—FTO—contributes to weight gain. The study shows that variations in FTO indirectly affect the function of the primary cilium, a little-understood hair-like appendage on brain and other cells.

23 May 2014

Poorer people less likely to follow recommended strategies for weight loss

Poorer people of all ages are less likely than wealthier ones to follow recommended strategies for weight loss, finds a recent study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

23 May 2014

State highlights: New abortion restrictions in Louisiana; aging gracefully in the Gopher State

A bill that could result in the shuttering of up to four of Louisiana's five abortion clinics overwhelmingly received full passage from the Louisiana Legislature Wednesday (May 21), and Gov. Bobby Jindal has indicated he will sign it into law. The legislation is, in part, based on a similar measure passed in Texas last year and led to the closing of several abortion clinics in that state. In its last legislative hurdle, the House concurred an amendment on Wednesday (May 21) that was added to the bill on the Senate side (Lane, 5/22).

23 May 2014

Obesity epidemic strikes all groups of Americans

The nation's obesity epidemic is striking all groups of Americans, affecting those with more education and those with less education, as well as all ethnic groups, according to a new analysis that challenges prevailing assumptions about the reasons why the nation is getting heavier.

23 May 2014

Medical schools need to guide students on use of social media, say Penn researchers

Medical students use social media extensively, but medical schools may need to offer more guidance in potential pitfalls, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

23 May 2014

IBM collaborates with Zambian Ministry of Health to provide life saving drugs to citizens

IBM today announced a collaboration with the Zambian Ministry of Health to provide citizens with improved access to 200 life saving drugs.

22 May 2014

Soil bacteria have strategies for fighting antibiotics

Drug-resistant bacteria annually sicken 2 million Americans and kill at least 23,000. A driving force behind this growing public health threat is the ability of bacteria to share genes that provide antibiotic resistance.

22 May 2014

Researchers develop novel approach for accurately assessing potential health risks of infectious diseases

A new health study that accounts for "acquired immunity" when evaluating the risk of microbial illness from food or environmental exposures suggests that some current approaches may significantly overestimate their role in causing such illnesses.

22 May 2014

Researchers identify existing drugs that could be "repurposed" to fight MERS-CoV

A team led by a University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) researcher, working as a grantee from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has identified a number of existing drugs that could be "repurposed" to fight outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV).

22 May 2014

CHEO pediatric surgeon wins TELUS Award for mHealth Innovation

Local pediatric surgeon and entrepreneur Dr. Matthew Bromwich accepted the "TELUS Award for mHealth Innovation" at the 29th Annual CATAAlliance Innovation Awards Gala tonight.

22 May 2014

Human impact on environment plays a larger role in spread of schistosomiasis, says study

National Museum of Natural History scientist Bert Van Bocxlaer and an international team of researchers revealed that anthropogenic changes in Africa's Lake Malaŵi are a driving force behind the increase of urogenital schistosomiasis, a debilitating tropical disease caused by parasitic flatworms.

22 May 2014

School-based influenza vaccine programs limited by low rates of reimbursement

School-based influenza vaccine programs have the potential to reach many children at affordable costs and with parental support, but these programs are limited by low rates of reimbursement from third-party payers, according to recently published study results by researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

21 May 2014

A novel strategy to uncover new antibiotics

Resistance to antibiotics has been steadily rising, posing a threat to public health. Now, a method from Mohammad Seyedsayamdost, an assistant professor of chemistry at Princeton University, may open the door to the discovery of a host of potential drug candidates.

21 May 2014

Weight loss at any age in adulthood linked to improved cardiovascular health

Weight loss at any age in adulthood is worthwhile because it could yield long-term heart and vascular benefits, suggests new research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

21 May 2014

State highlights: Calif. bill on keeping small biz health plans; Colo. rating area plan approved

A selection of health policy stories from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington state and Massachusetts.

21 May 2014

Public Health News and Research

Study: Providing better access to health care may lead to overuse of mammograms for women

Case Western Reserve physician calls on FDA to address hidden risk of dangerous drugs side effects

Study reveals high demand for costly cancer treatment among refugees from Iraq, Syria

EMA's CHMP gives positive opinion for PTC Therapeutics' Translarna

World Health Assembly approves resolution on viral hepatitis and noncommunicable diseases

Researchers discover how gene commonly linked to obesity contributes to weight gain

Poorer people less likely to follow recommended strategies for weight loss

State highlights: New abortion restrictions in Louisiana; aging gracefully in the Gopher State

Obesity epidemic strikes all groups of Americans

Medical schools need to guide students on use of social media, say Penn researchers

IBM collaborates with Zambian Ministry of Health to provide life saving drugs to citizens

Soil bacteria have strategies for fighting antibiotics

Researchers develop novel approach for accurately assessing potential health risks of infectious diseases

Researchers identify existing drugs that could be "repurposed" to fight MERS-CoV

CHEO pediatric surgeon wins TELUS Award for mHealth Innovation

Human impact on environment plays a larger role in spread of schistosomiasis, says study

School-based influenza vaccine programs limited by low rates of reimbursement

A novel strategy to uncover new antibiotics

Weight loss at any age in adulthood linked to improved cardiovascular health

State highlights: Calif. bill on keeping small biz health plans; Colo. rating area plan approved

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