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Combined antimicrobial and light therapy effective for treating foot ulcers

Results from a phase II study show that antimicrobial photodynamic therapy is significantly more effective than placebo for treating patients with chronic leg ulcers.

26 Oct 2012

Hundreds of health professionals to make their voices heard on a range of public health issues

Hundreds of health professionals will descend upon Sydney next week to make their voice heard on a range of public health issues (October 31 – November 3).

26 Oct 2012

Allergies and hygiene: an interview with Sally Bloomfield

Allergies occur when the body overreacts to substances in our environment, such as pollen, dust mites and so forth. What happens is that when we are exposed to these potential threats, the immune system should react, deal with it, and then shut down.

26 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Medicare provider cuts 'won't work'; A 'pamphlet isn't a plan'

Once the presidential election is over, Congress will try to address the Medicare cost shortfall one way or another. They will almost certainly consider a method that is guaranteed to fail: Medicare rate cuts for doctors and hospitals. It's been tried before, most notably as part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Not once since the BBA required annual physician rate cuts have those cuts been implemented, leading every year to the predictable and depressing final-hours "doc fix" vote.

26 Oct 2012

HSS announces opening of new Lerner Children's Pavilion

The new Pavilion within the #1 hospital for orthopedics in the country affirms HSS' longstanding commitment to championing children and caring for their musculoskeletal conditions.

26 Oct 2012

Medical practice evolves: Prescribing habits, doc-patient relationship, health law changes

A push to treat chronic pain and financial disincentives for treating addiction may pressure clinicians into prescribing opioids for patients who are already addicted, a researcher suggested.

26 Oct 2012

CUMC researchers develop first true mouse model of typhoid infection

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created the first true mouse model of typhoid infection. The development promises to advance the study of typhoid and the creation of new vaccines against the infection, which remains a major health threat in developing countries.

26 Oct 2012

Researchers discover genetic biomarker for age-related hearing loss

University of South Florida researchers have identified a genetic biomarker for age-related hearing loss, a major breakthrough in understanding and preventing a condition of aging that affects 30 million Americans and greatly diminishes their quality of life.

26 Oct 2012

Simple educational intervention could improve treatment rates for osteoporosis

Older patients who visited local ERs for chest pain or breathing problems and had chest x-rays reveal unknown spinal fractures, were more apt to receive osteoporosis treatment afterward if a simple intervention was used, recently published medical research from the University of Alberta has found.

26 Oct 2012

Guidelines to help protect vulnerable populations from flu

While it is important to get vaccinated against the flu virus as early as possible, it is never too late to reap the benefits of this vaccine. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the peak months for the spread of the flu virus are January and February and the season can last into mid-May.

26 Oct 2012

Antiviral therapy cuts progression to cancer in hepatitis

Antiviral therapy may prevent the most common form of liver cancer developing among patients who have hepatitis C-related fibrosis or cirrhosis, report researchers.

25 Oct 2012

Winter safety tips for older adults

Winter is a special time for celebration. It should also be a time for added caution if you or someone in your family is an older adult. It is the season for falls, slips on icy streets and other dangers that can be especially harmful for older adults.

25 Oct 2012

Obama administration to relax Medicare benefit rules

As part of a proposed settlement in a national class-action lawsuit, the federal government would expand benefits for skilled nursing and home health care to the chronically ill.

25 Oct 2012

Pomc gene can be turned on and off in a mouse model of obesity

Obesity is a chronic metabolic disorder that affects half a billion people worldwide. Managing obesity is difficult, as many patients rebound to their pre-treatment weight. There is a hypothesis that chronic weight gain causes the body to adopt a state that supports excess weight.

25 Oct 2012

FDA accepts ARIAD’s ponatinib NDA for filing

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing the New Drug Application (NDA) for accelerated review of ARIAD's investigational BCR-ABL inhibitor, ponatinib, in patients with resistant or intolerant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL).

25 Oct 2012

U.S. pledges additional $58M in aid for Horn of Africa

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a statement on Monday "announced an extra $58 million in aid for Horn of Africa countries," Agence France-Presse/Times Live reports.

25 Oct 2012

Neurophysiologic mechanism may underpin manual therapy effects

Non-thrust manual therapy may reduce chronic low-back pain by attenuating side-to-side differences in the stretch reflex amplitude of the erector spinae muscles, study findings suggest.

24 Oct 2012

Developments regarding ways to connect elderly or disabled people with care

Kaiser Health News reports on how one program helps people on Medicaid move out of institutional settings and return to the community while The New York Times reports on an agreement that might make it easier for people with chronic conditions and disabilities to qualify for Medicare coverage of home health care, skilled nursing home-stays and outpatient therapy.

24 Oct 2012

Romney's promise to repeal 'Obamacare' makes it into candidates' foreign policy debate

GOP challenger Mitt Romney said he would pay for military spending increases by repealing the 2010 health law and scaling back other health programs.

24 Oct 2012

Review: Herbs and dietary supplements can cause potentially harmful drug interactions

A number of herbs and dietary supplements (HDS) can cause potentially harmful drug interactions, particularly among people receiving medication for problems with their central nervous or cardiovascular systems.

24 Oct 2012