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Study shows incorrect condom use common worldwide

According to an analysis published in the journal of Sexual Health, the incorrect use of male condoms has become a concern for public health officials worldwide, CBS News reports.

28 Feb 2012

Rapid influenza diagnostic tests highly accurate in children than in adults

A new study conducted by researchers from McGill University, the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC), and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, has put the accuracy of rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs) under the microscope.

28 Feb 2012

Childhood adversity may lead to epigenetic changes in glucocorticoid receptor gene

In a look at how major stressors during childhood can change a person's biological risk for psychiatric disorders, researchers at Butler Hospital have discovered a genetic alteration at the root of the association.

28 Feb 2012

Hearing loss may increase risk of falls

Hearing loss has been linked with a variety of medical, social and cognitive ills, including dementia. However, a new study led by a Johns Hopkins researcher suggests that hearing loss may also be a risk factor for another huge public health problem: falls.

27 Feb 2012

State roundup: State tobacco funds scrutinized; More allegations against Calif.'s Prime Healthcare; Ore. CCOs get green light

A U.S. Surgeon General's report due to be released March 8 will come down hard on states that have cut anti-smoking funds in tough fiscal times, said Terry Pechacek, who oversees the report as director for Science in the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report can't result in sanctions, but it has proven to move public opinion in the past to force changes by tobacco companies in how they sell cigarettes, how states fund efforts and how the federal government regulates the trade.

27 Feb 2012

WHO removes India from list of countries with endemic Polio

India is nearly free of deadly paralyzing viral infection polio. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad says the WHO removed India from the list Saturday after the country passed one year without registering any new cases. This means only three countries with endemic polio — Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. India must pass another two years without new cases to be declared polio-free.

27 Feb 2012

Cross-protective vaccines will make a bout with influenza less severe

An emerging class of long-lasting flu vaccines could do more than just save people the trouble of an annual flu shot.

27 Feb 2012

Gallup-Healthways WBI data shows decline in the U.S. obesity rates

Adult obesity in America has plateaued and may be slowly declining, according to data from The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (WBI) presented today at the Population Health and Care Coordination Colloquium in Philadelphia. The obesity rate in America fell in 2011 to 26.1 percent, from 26.6 percent in 2010 and 26.5 percent in 2009.

27 Feb 2012

CINJ experts available to discuss importance of healthy diet and its role in cancer prevention

March is National Nutrition Month. "Get Your Plate in Shape" is the national theme for this year's month-long reminder that good nutrition is essential for your heath. Throughout the month, experts from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) will be available to discuss the importance of a healthy diet and its role in cancer prevention.

27 Feb 2012

Study finds genetic variants that elevate risk for skin lesions in people exposed to arsenic

One of the first large-scale genomic studies conducted in a developing country has discovered genetic variants that elevate the risk for skin lesions in people chronically exposed to arsenic. Genetic changes found near the enzyme for metabolizing the chemical into a less toxic form can significantly increase an individual's risk for developing arsenic-related disease.

26 Feb 2012

Lung function, obstructive airway diseases linked with increased risk of heart failure

A large population-based study has found that lung function and obstructive airway diseases are strongly and independently associated with increased risk of heart failure. Importantly, say the investigators, this association was even evident in never-smokers and was still evident after adjustment for smoking status and number of years smoking. This, they add, indicates "that our results are not primarily confounded by smoking".

26 Feb 2012

State roundup: Calif. prison medical facilities; New Ore. Rx dispensing rules

David Martin, who helped write Governor Deval Patrick's health care payment reform bill, is leaving. Martin, the Director of Health Care Policy and Strategy in the office of Health and Human Services, is taking a job at Covidien as Senior Director of Health Care Economics and Policy.

24 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Hospital medication errors; Key Medicaid issues in 2014

Use Of Preventive Services Could Be Better Aligned With Clinical Recommendations -- This report looks at Medicare patients' use of eight specific preventive services, which have "the potential to improve health outcomes and lower health care expenditures," according to the authors. Use of cardiovascular and cervical cancer screenings "generally aligned with clinical recommendations, ... but use of other cancer screenings" did not.

24 Feb 2012

Calif. Medicaid chief promises dental changes for kids

California's state Medicaid chief is promising changes to dental care for kids, and North Carolina rolls out a medical home model for pregnant women.

24 Feb 2012

Eradication of river blindness in Africa is feasible

In this AlertNet opinion piece, Simon Bush, director of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) at Sightsavers, an international NGO helping people with visual impairments in developing countries, examines efforts to rid Africa of onchocerciasis -- a blinding NTD.

24 Feb 2012

State legislatures contemplate controlling costs, health IT, prescribing authority

The proposed premium hikes for hundreds of thousands of California consumers with individual coverage would outpace the cost of overall medical care, which has risen just 3.6 percent in the last year.

24 Feb 2012

Penn researchers produce first state-by-state sleep maps for the U.S.

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have put sleeplessness on the map - literally. The research team, analyzing nationwide data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has produced the first state-by-state sleep maps for the United States, revealing that residents of Southern states suffer from the most sleep disturbances and daytime fatigue, while residents on the West Coast report the least amount of problems.

24 Feb 2012

Public Health News and Research

Study shows incorrect condom use common worldwide

Rapid influenza diagnostic tests highly accurate in children than in adults

Childhood adversity may lead to epigenetic changes in glucocorticoid receptor gene

Hearing loss may increase risk of falls

State roundup: State tobacco funds scrutinized; More allegations against Calif.'s Prime Healthcare; Ore. CCOs get green light

WHO removes India from list of countries with endemic Polio

Cross-protective vaccines will make a bout with influenza less severe

Gallup-Healthways WBI data shows decline in the U.S. obesity rates

CINJ experts available to discuss importance of healthy diet and its role in cancer prevention

Study finds genetic variants that elevate risk for skin lesions in people exposed to arsenic

Lung function, obstructive airway diseases linked with increased risk of heart failure

State roundup: Calif. prison medical facilities; New Ore. Rx dispensing rules

Research roundup: Hospital medication errors; Key Medicaid issues in 2014

Calif. Medicaid chief promises dental changes for kids

Eradication of river blindness in Africa is feasible

State legislatures contemplate controlling costs, health IT, prescribing authority

Penn researchers produce first state-by-state sleep maps for the U.S.

European Urology to launch two new Resource Centres

Viewpoints: A missing contraception question, Obama's budget blind spot, NEJM on Medicare Advantage

Protests against NHS reforms results in a disciplinary meeting for a senior medical professional

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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