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EPAC2 and diabetes: an interview with Dr. Hussain, Johns Hopkins University

EPAC stands for exchange protein activated by cyclic AMP (cAMP). cAMP is an (among many) intracellular messenger molecule. cAMP is generated when certain hormones stimulate a cell by binding to their receptor, which is at the outside surface of the cell.

3 May 2013

Obama administration plans appeal of 'Plan B' ruling

The Obama administration signals that it will challenge a federal judge's order that would make an emergency contraception drug available over-the-counter to women of all ages. The move comes a day after the FDA said the contraception should be available in that way to anyone older than 15.

3 May 2013

Study points to human body's limited ability to recover quickly following short-term weight loss

Athletes in combat sports often try to shed body weight in order to compete against lighter and smaller opponents. A new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, points to the human body's limited ability to quickly recover following extensive short-term weight loss.

3 May 2013

Hospitals warn of lost jobs, patient services after proposed payment changes

Changes in how hospitals are paid make news in Minnesota -- where the state's largest health plan will delay a new payment system -- and Maryland -- where hospitals say a cut in pay to them will mean fewer jobs and patient services.

3 May 2013

LAP-BAND-weight loss procedure safe and effective for obese people

The LAP-BAND- weight loss procedure is safe and effective in an expanded group of patients, not just in people who are morbidly obese. This conclusion is reported in a new study published in the scientific journal Obesity. The findings indicate that the procedure may help to intervene before obesity becomes life threatening to patients.

2 May 2013

The Guardian examines new reports on nutrition spending

The Guardian examines two new reports on nutrition spending. "Ambitions to eradicate world hunger will not be realized if aid for basic nutrition remains at only 0.4 percent of total official development assistance (ODA), according to the research group Development Initiatives (DI)," the newspaper writes.

2 May 2013

First Edition: May 2, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about a new study detailing how expanded Medicaid access impacts beneficiaries' utilization of health care services and their overall physical health.

2 May 2013

UNICEF, partners step up measles immunization campaign in Middle East; U.K. provides funding for WFP work in region

UNICEF and its partners "have stepped up vaccination campaigns in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey amid measles outbreaks in a region already struggling to provide humanitarian assistance to millions of people affected by ongoing conflict in Syria," the U.N. News Centre reports (4/30).

2 May 2013

Researchers awarded grant to reduce higher rates of stroke among underserved populations

UCLA researchers and their partners across Los Angeles County have been awarded an $11 million grant to fund research on community-based interventions to reduce the higher rates of stroke and death from stroke among disadvantaged Hispanics, African Americans and Asian-Americans.

2 May 2013

U.S. proposes talks aimed at improving food security at upcoming WTO meeting

"The United States said on Tuesday it was prepared to examine how agricultural policy reform could boost global food security as part of a package of commitments at the World Trade Organization's [WTO] upcoming meeting in December," Reuters reports.

2 May 2013

Agricultural biodiversity plays key role in food and nutritional security

While over 1 billion people are overweight and obese around the world, an estimated 868 million are undernourished. This paradox is explored in a new book, Diversifying Food and Diets, co-edited by Professor Danny Hunter who is an Adjunct Lecturer in Botany and Plant Science at NUI Galway.

2 May 2013

FDA OKs over-the-counter 'Plan B' contraception for women and girls older than age 15

The move, regulators said, was made independent of a recent federal district judge's ruling that called for the emergency contraceptive to be made available over-the-counter to women of all ages without restriction.

2 May 2013

Study suggests that biology plays role in eating disorders

Female rats are much more likely to binge eat than male rats, according to new research that provides some of the strongest evidence yet that biology plays a role in eating disorders.

2 May 2013

Lund University research opens door to diabetes treatment

A Lund University research team has shed new light on why gastric bypass often sends diabetes into remission rapidly, opening the door to developing treatment with the same effect.

2 May 2013

Exclusion diet boosts anal fissure healing

Research published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology shows that an exclusion diet combined with medical treatment can increase healing rates in patients with chronic anal fissure who have been referred for surgery.

30 Apr 2013

Concerns rise over food insecurity in Africa's Sahel region

"Despite early indications the Sahel would not suffer pangs of hunger this year, experts now worry that food insecurity could be worse than in 2012 -- the year of the West Africa food crisis," Thomson Reuters Foundation reports.

30 Apr 2013

Editorial, opinion pieces address proposed food aid reform

The following is a summary of an editorial, opinion pieces, and a blog post addressing proposed reform to the U.S. food aid program contained in President Obama's FY 2014 budget request.

30 Apr 2013

Pancreatitis and diabetes drugs: an interview with Dr Sonal Singh, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas which leads to leakage of pancreatic enzymes. Apart from certain drugs such as GLP-1 based therapies, the most common causes of pancreatitis are Gallstones and Alcohol use.

30 Apr 2013

New patch therapy: A breakthrough for peanut allergy sufferers

The Food Allergy Center at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego is one of eight hospitals in the United States participating in an international peanut allergy desensitization study.

30 Apr 2013

Children born outside U.S. have lower prevalence of allergic disease

A study by Jonathan I. Silverberg, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., of St. Luke's—Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, and colleagues suggests children living the in the United States but born outside the U.S. have a lower prevalence of allergic disease that increases after residing in the United States for one decade.

30 Apr 2013