Public Health News and Research

RSS

Researchers identify mechanism by which vancomycin resistance spreads between bacteria

Worldwide, many strains of the bacterium Staphyloccocus aureus, commonly known as staph infections, are already resistant to all antibiotics except vancomycin. But as bacteria are becoming resistant to this once powerful antidote, S. aureus has moved one step closer to becoming an unstoppable killer.

31 Jan 2013

NSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine receives approval for new medical specialty

Nova Southeastern University's College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) received approval for a new medical specialty—correctional medicine—that was developed at the college in collaboration with the Florida Department of Corrections.

31 Jan 2013

Sydney 2012 norovirus strain continues to spread globally

A new strain of norovirus known as Sydney 2012 has caused a significant number of acute outbreaks of the infection during the 2012–2013 winter season and continues to spread worldwide.

30 Jan 2013

Vaccine confidence: an interview with Dr Heidi Larson

Here at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine we are running a project called the Vaccine Confidence Project and we have a global surveillance monitoring information around the world on media, social media, all sorts of information, reports from governments, UN, other sources, looking for any what we call “signals” of public distrust or concerns that come up.

30 Jan 2013

Lack of exercise, television viewing associated with risk of metabolic syndrome

A team of scientists at Umeå University, in collaboration with colleagues in Melbourne, Australia, have found that television viewing and lack of exercise at age 16 is associated with the risk of developing metabolic syndrome at 43 years age.

30 Jan 2013

Wake Forest expands football helmet research to reduce sports concussion risks

Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences is expanding its ground-breaking research of testing football helmets to reduce the number of concussions to now include hockey, baseball, softball, and lacrosse.

30 Jan 2013

Coming out might offer health benefits for lesbians, gays and bisexuals

30 Jan 2013

Report calls for greater emphasis on preventive care

A report issued by the Trust for America's Health is urging a revamp of state and local public health efforts to better integrate and focus prevention strategies.

30 Jan 2013

State roundup: Fla. leaders pay less for coverage than workers

In statehouses around the country, some of the nation's biggest biotechnology companies are lobbying intensively to limit generic competition to their blockbuster drugs, potentially cutting into the billions of dollars in savings on drug costs contemplated in the federal health care overhaul law.

30 Jan 2013

Spending many hours in centre-based child care does not lead to more aggression and disobedience

Spending many hours in centre-based child care does not lead to more aggression and disobedience in children, according to a new study using data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).

30 Jan 2013

Breathing indoor air carries significant cancer risks for Chinese women

The hazards of breathing outdoor air in some Chinese cities have been well-documented. Now a University at Buffalo study confirms that breathing indoor air also carries significant cancer risks, especially for Chinese women.

30 Jan 2013

SOD1 enzyme protects cells by regulating cell energy and metabolism

Just like a comic book super hero, you could say that the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) has a secret identity. Since its discovery in 1969, scientists believed SOD1's only role was to protect living cells against damage from free radicals. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered that SOD1 protects cells by regulating cell energy and metabolism. The results of their research were published January 17, 2013, in the journal Cell.

30 Jan 2013

U-M to host 11th-annual Depression on College Campuses Conference on Feb. 26-27

Rather than seeking out healthy treatment options, many college students experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety too often resort to unhealthy coping practices like drug use, drinking, or self-injury.

30 Jan 2013

Consuming carotenoid-rich foods may help prevent or delay onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

New research suggests that increased consumption of foods containing colorful carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene and lutein, may prevent or delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

29 Jan 2013

Polio eradication must fit into larger public health, development goals

"The tragic murders of nine anti-polio workers in Pakistan last month, followed by the New Year's Day killing of seven more local community development workers, was both a wake-up call to the global polio eradication effort in its current form, and a 'canary in the mine' regarding the deteriorating state of development and security in the country," Heidi Larson, a senior lecturer and principal investigator at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, writes in a SciDev.Net opinion piece.

29 Jan 2013

New tweet-screening method effectively tracks flu cases

Sifting through social media messages has become a popular way to track when and where flu cases occur, but a key hurdle hampers the process: how to identify flu-infection tweets. Some tweets are posted by people who have been sick with the virus, while others come from folks who are merely talking about the illness. If you are tracking actual flu cases, such conversations about the flu in general can skew the results.

29 Jan 2013

Coming out of the closet helps reduce depressive symptoms and allostatic load levels in LGBs

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGBs) who are out to others have lower stress hormone levels and fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout, according to researchers at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) at Louis H. Lafontaine Hospital, affiliated with the University of Montreal. Cortisol is a stress hormone in our body. When chronically strained, cortisol contributes to the 'wear and tear' exerted on multiple biological systems. Taken together, this strain is called "allostatic load".

29 Jan 2013

Blue light can selectively eradicate skin and soft tissue infections

Blue light can selectively eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections of the skin and soft tissues, while preserving the outermost layer of skin, according to a proof-of-principle study led by Michael R. Hamblin of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Harvard Medical School, Boston.

29 Jan 2013

WHO Executive Board meeting discusses consensus on R&D for neglected diseases

Intellectual Property Watch reports on discussions at the ongoing WHO Executive Board meeting "over legal and political aspects of a consensus reached by a small number of member states in November on implementing a plan to address the global lack of research and development [R&D] for neglected diseases predominantly afflicting poor populations."

29 Jan 2013

Roundup: Feds say Ariz. overbilled them $12M on Medicaid; Insurer v. co-op coverage fight in Md.

Arizona failed to properly document efforts to enroll children in its Medicaid program for years and overcharged the federal government nearly $12 million, auditors found in a report expected to be released today. In addition to recommending that Arizona repay the federal government $11.7 million, the report by the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests the review of an additional $18.8 million as questionable billing.

29 Jan 2013