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Haitian government, health workers show commitment to nationwide vaccination campaign

In this post in the Huffington Post Blog, Dagfinn Hoybraten, vice president of the Norwegian Parliament and chair of the GAVI Alliance Board, examines a nationwide vaccination campaign in Haiti, through which "health officials are targeting measles, rubella and polio and [are] also introducing pentavalent vaccine, one shot against five diseases."

17 May 2012

U.S. HIV assistance through PEPFAR prevented 740,000 deaths between 2004-2008, study shows

"The lives of more than 740,000 people in nine African countries were saved between 2004 and 2008 by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief [PEPFAR]," according to a study conducted by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Wednesday, HealthDay News reports.

17 May 2012

TRCARC, IBM partner to strengthen HIV prevention effort

IBM is collaborating with the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center (TRCARC) to strengthen HIV prevention effort and to make Bangkok the world's first city to achieve "Zero New HIV Infections" by 2015.

17 May 2012

No significant differences in absorption between tablet and softgel capsule forms of folic acid

The bioavailability of folic acid does not significantly differ between delivery in standard tablet or softgel capsule forms, according to research published in this month's Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Folic Acid helps support a women's pregnancy and development of a healthy newborn.

17 May 2012

Early drug and alcohol use associated with lower levels of educational attainment

Researchers have found evidence that early drug and alcohol use is associated with lower levels of educational attainment.

17 May 2012

New insight into treatment patterns for people with stage two and three rectal cancer

Research from the University of Alberta provides new insight into treatment patterns for people with stage two and three rectal cancer-information that ultimately will help physicians improve care strategies for patients provincewide.

16 May 2012

Social networks influence beliefs regarding safety of influenza vaccines

College students' social networks influence their beliefs regarding the safety of influenza vaccines and decisions about vaccination, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

16 May 2012

World health statistics 2012 report puts spotlight on growing problem of NCD burden

The World health statistics 2012 report, released today, puts the spotlight on the growing problem of the noncommunicable diseases burden.

16 May 2012

Reuters examines use of statistics in public health ahead of WHO report

"Above all else, analyzing the state of the world's health -- be it by looking at obesity rates, cancer cases, malaria deaths, or HIV-free births -- requires decent statistics," Reuters reports in an article examining the use of statistics in public health ahead of the release of the WHO's World Health Statistics report.

16 May 2012

Reducing off-label antipsychotic use may generate savings with little impact on patient care

Reducing the non-FDA-approved use of antipsychotic drugs may be a way to save money while having little effect on patient care, according to a Penn State College of Medicine study.

16 May 2012

Micronutrients, early food supplementation during pregnancy improve survival of newborns

Pregnant women in poor communities in Bangladesh who received multiple micronutrients, including iron and folic acid combined with early food supplementation, had substantially improved survival of their newborns, compared to women in a standard program that included usual food supplementation, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Global Health.

16 May 2012

U.N. Office on Drugs, Interpol better equipped than WHO to combat counterfeit drug trade

"The worldwide counterfeit drug market is huge and growing," Tim Mackey and Brian Liang of the Institute of Health Law Studies at the California Western School of Law and Thomas Kubic of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute write in a Foreign Policy opinion piece, noting such "drugs occupy a wide spectrum of medications, and their quality is suspect; they can be mislabeled, tainted, adulterated, ineffective, or, in the worst cases, all of the above."

16 May 2012

CINJ experts to offer nutrition and cancer prevention tips on Memorial Day weekend

As many prepare to fire up the grill this Memorial Day weekend, experts from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) are offering tips on healthy summer nutrition habits and cooking methods that can be an important part of cancer prevention. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

16 May 2012

Increase in fall death rates in older Americans is likely the effect of improved reporting quality

The recent dramatic increase in the fall death rate in older Americans is likely the effect of improved reporting quality, according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy.

16 May 2012

Two specific gene variants speed progression of Parkinson's disease

UCLA researchers may have found a key to determining which Parkinson's disease patients will experience a more rapid decline in motor function, sparking hopes for the development of new therapies and helping identify those who could benefit most from early intervention.

16 May 2012

Link between dietary supplements and increased risk of cancer

Beta-carotene, selenium and folic acid - taken up to three times their recommended daily allowance, these supplements are probably harmless. But taken at much higher levels as some supplement manufacturers suggest, these three supplements have now been proven to increase the risk of developing a host of cancers.

16 May 2012

Third of world carrying TB; Disease could become incurable without action, WHO warns

"A third of the world's population is carrying tuberculosis [TB], and the disease could become incurable if governments fail to act, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned," noting that a "lack of funding for public health programs, the sale of inaccurate blood tests and the misuse of drugs, particularly in the private health sector, are hampering the fight against the disease and leading to drug resistance," the Independent reports.

15 May 2012

Viewpoints: Approving drugs quickly; Berwick: In health care, cheaper can mean better; Health costs 'persistent' concern

For about 20 years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has charged pharmaceutical companies "user fees" for reviewing drug-approval applications. The revenue allows the FDA to hire more evaluators, which allows useful drugs to reach patients faster. Now the Prescription Drug User Fee Act needs reauthorization, as it does every five years. Legislators should not dillydally.

15 May 2012

Feeding tubes may make sores more likely to develop in dementia patients

A new study led by Brown University researchers reports that percutaneous endoscopic gastric (PEG) feeding tubes, long assumed to help bedridden dementia patients stave off or overcome pressure ulcers, may instead make the horrible sores more likely to develop or not improve.

14 May 2012

InterSystems introduces new version strategic informatics platform for interoperability and active analytics

InterSystems Corporation, a global leader in software for connected care, today launched the next generation of its InterSystems HealthShare strategic informatics platform for interoperability and active analytics. Designed originally for public health information exchanges (HIEs) at regional, state and national levels, HealthShare has been extended and rearchitected to also deliver the advanced technologies needed by integrated delivery networks (IDNs).

14 May 2012

Public Health News and Research

Haitian government, health workers show commitment to nationwide vaccination campaign

U.S. HIV assistance through PEPFAR prevented 740,000 deaths between 2004-2008, study shows

TRCARC, IBM partner to strengthen HIV prevention effort

No significant differences in absorption between tablet and softgel capsule forms of folic acid

Early drug and alcohol use associated with lower levels of educational attainment

New insight into treatment patterns for people with stage two and three rectal cancer

Social networks influence beliefs regarding safety of influenza vaccines

World health statistics 2012 report puts spotlight on growing problem of NCD burden

Reuters examines use of statistics in public health ahead of WHO report

Reducing off-label antipsychotic use may generate savings with little impact on patient care

Micronutrients, early food supplementation during pregnancy improve survival of newborns

U.N. Office on Drugs, Interpol better equipped than WHO to combat counterfeit drug trade

CINJ experts to offer nutrition and cancer prevention tips on Memorial Day weekend

Increase in fall death rates in older Americans is likely the effect of improved reporting quality

Two specific gene variants speed progression of Parkinson's disease

Link between dietary supplements and increased risk of cancer

Third of world carrying TB; Disease could become incurable without action, WHO warns

Viewpoints: Approving drugs quickly; Berwick: In health care, cheaper can mean better; Health costs 'persistent' concern

Feeding tubes may make sores more likely to develop in dementia patients

InterSystems introduces new version strategic informatics platform for interoperability and active analytics

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