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Montefiore and Einstein researchers awarded $14 million PCORI grant for hepatitis C research

A research team at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine led by Alain Litwin, M.D., was awarded $14 million by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to determine how best to treat hepatitis C among people who inject drugs (PWID), a group with a high rate of infection.

11 Nov 2015

Low energy sweeteners lead to reduced calorie intake, body weight

Use of low energy sweeteners (LES) in place of sugar, in children and adults, leads to reduced calorie intake and body weight - and possibly also when comparing LES beverages to water - according to a review led by researchers at the University of Bristol published in the International Journal of Obesity today.

11 Nov 2015

Small behavioral changes can improve heart health

Improving your heart health may be as simple as making small behavioral changes - a new study of behavioral health interventions suggests that they are effective at helping people alter their lifestyles and lead to physical changes that could improve overall health.

11 Nov 2015

Lowering blood pressure below currently recommended targets reduces risk of stroke, heart attack

Using intensive treatment to lower blood pressure below currently recommended targets significantly reduces rates of major cardiovascular events like stroke and heart attack among a wide range of high-risk patients, according to a large meta-analysis involving almost 45000 individuals, published in The Lancet.

11 Nov 2015

Cotellic (cobimetinib) approved to be used in combination with vemurafenib for melanoma treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cotellic (cobimetinib) to be used in combination with vemurafenib to treat advanced melanoma that has spread to other parts of the body or can't be removed by surgery, and that has a certain type of abnormal gene (BRAF V600E or V600K mutation).

10 Nov 2015

Meat-rich diet may increase kidney cancer risk

A new study indicates that a meat-rich diet may increase the risk of developing kidney cancer through mechanisms related to particular cooking compounds. Also, these associations may be modified by genetic susceptibility to kidney cancer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study illustrates how diet and genetics may interact to impact cancer risk.

10 Nov 2015

Self-weighing may have negative psychological outcomes for young women

Self-weighing can be a useful tool to help adults control their weight, but for adolescents and young adults this behavior may have negative psychological outcomes. Researchers from the University of Minnesota tracked the self-weighing behaviors of more than 1,900 young adults as part of Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults) and found increases in self-weighing to be significantly related to increases in weight concern and depression and decreases in body satisfaction and self-esteem among females.

10 Nov 2015

Negative body image significantly increases obesity risk among adolescents

Negative body image significantly increases the risk of obesity regardless of whether youth have depression, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health.

10 Nov 2015

New review finds scant scientific evidence supporting use of cannabinoids in rheumatic diseases

Although there are anecdotal reports indicating that cannabinoids, especially marijuana (or herbal cannabis), may be of therapeutic benefit for some patients with rheumatic complaints, a new review published in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology, finds scant scientific evidence supporting any use of cannabinoids in rheumatic diseases. Furthermore, not a single controlled study has examined herbal cannabis in the rheumatology patient population.

10 Nov 2015

New funding for Centenary's life saving research

The Centenary Institute has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of funding for 9 new and innovative medical research projects via the latest round of NHMRC grant rounds funding, officially confirmed today.

9 Nov 2015

WHO praises Sierra Leone for stopping Ebola transmission

The World Health Organization declares that Ebola virus transmission has been stopped in Sierra Leone. Forty-two days, that is two Ebola virus incubation cycles, have now passed since the last person confirmed to have Ebola virus disease had a second negative blood test.

9 Nov 2015

Study explores prevalence of myocardial scars in middle-aged and older population

In a multiethnic, middle-aged and older study population, the prevalence of myocardial scars (evidence of a heart attack) was nearly 8 percent, of which nearly 80 percent were unrecognized by electrocardiography or clinical evaluation, according to a study in the November 10 issue of JAMA.

9 Nov 2015

Combatting viral and bacterial lung infections with volatile anesthetics: an interview with Dr Chakravarthy

Inhaled anesthetics are fairly common all over the world for minor and extensive surgical procedures in patients of all age groups. In the olden days when anesthesia was first developed, ether was the first inhaled anesthetic. That has been replaced, with the more recent discoveries of sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane.

9 Nov 2015

Isolation of infectious cases was key to eliminating Ebola in Sierra Leone

Tomorrow, Sierra Leone is expected to be declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation. But what was key to eliminating the disease? A mathematical model published in the Journal of Biological Dynamics describes the reasons as complex, but confirms that increased identification and isolation of infectious cases played the major role.

6 Nov 2015

MPP announces expansion of mandate to hepatitis C and TB medicines

The Medicines Patent Pool, the world's only voluntary licensing mechanism in public health, announced an expansion of its mandate today to hepatitis C and tuberculosis medicines. The UNITAID Executive Board, meeting November 4-5 in Geneva, approved the MPP's proposals to improve access to both life-saving direct acting antivirals (DAAs) to treat hepatitis C and new and re-purposed medicines for tuberculosis.

6 Nov 2015

Researchers successfully test new method for rapid diagnosis of Ebola in Guinea

An international team of researchers, including Ahmed Abd El Wahed, scientist at the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center, has tested a new method for rapid diagnosis of Ebola in a field trial in Guinea. The test procedure was carried out using a portable suitcase laboratory. The mobile suitcase lab is operated with solar power and enables simple on-site diagnostics in remote areas without the need of an equipped laboratory.

6 Nov 2015

Circulating protein predicts risk of chronic kidney disease

Make room, cholesterol. A new disease marker is entering the medical lexicon: suPAR, or soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor.

6 Nov 2015

Sedentary activity, inadequate intake of healthier foods can lead to obesity

Indulgences like sodas and junk foods have long been blamed as the prime culprits responsible for worrying obesity trends across the United States.

6 Nov 2015

Genvoya approved as complete regimen for HIV treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Genvoya (a fixed-dose combination tablet containing elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide) as a complete regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older.

6 Nov 2015

Scientists propose new framework to assess innovative nicotine and tobacco products

Scientists at British American Tobacco have proposed a new scientific framework that could be used to assess the reduced-risk promise of the myriad of innovative nicotine and tobacco products currently being developed.

6 Nov 2015

Public Health News and Research

Montefiore and Einstein researchers awarded $14 million PCORI grant for hepatitis C research

Low energy sweeteners lead to reduced calorie intake, body weight

Small behavioral changes can improve heart health

Lowering blood pressure below currently recommended targets reduces risk of stroke, heart attack

Cotellic (cobimetinib) approved to be used in combination with vemurafenib for melanoma treatment

Meat-rich diet may increase kidney cancer risk

Self-weighing may have negative psychological outcomes for young women

Negative body image significantly increases obesity risk among adolescents

New review finds scant scientific evidence supporting use of cannabinoids in rheumatic diseases

New funding for Centenary's life saving research

WHO praises Sierra Leone for stopping Ebola transmission

Study explores prevalence of myocardial scars in middle-aged and older population

Combatting viral and bacterial lung infections with volatile anesthetics: an interview with Dr Chakravarthy

Isolation of infectious cases was key to eliminating Ebola in Sierra Leone

MPP announces expansion of mandate to hepatitis C and TB medicines

Researchers successfully test new method for rapid diagnosis of Ebola in Guinea

Circulating protein predicts risk of chronic kidney disease

Sedentary activity, inadequate intake of healthier foods can lead to obesity

Genvoya approved as complete regimen for HIV treatment

Scientists propose new framework to assess innovative nicotine and tobacco products

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