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Health professionals may soon have new method to diagnose Parkinson's

Health professionals may soon have a new method of diagnosing Parkinson's disease, one that is noninvasive and inexpensive, and, in early testing, has proved to be effective more than 90 percent of the time.

21 Nov 2012

UNC expert to talk about gratitude research at SPSP annual meeting, Jan. 17-19

Sara Algoe of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who has investigated how gratitude benefits close relationships, including how expressing gratitude leads to long-term social outcomes for women with metastatic breast cancer and the evolutionary role for gratitude. She will be presenting some of this work at the SPSP annual meeting in New Orleans (Jan. 17-19, 2013), and she is a recipient of grant funding through the Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude project.

21 Nov 2012

Study: 2-PMPA improves cognition in mice with MS

Johns Hopkins researchers report the successful use of a form of MRI to identify what appears to be a key biochemical marker for cognitive impairment in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). In follow-up experiments on mice with a rodent form of MS, researchers were able to use an experimental compound to manipulate that same marker and dramatically improve learning and memory.

21 Nov 2012

Maternal cigarette smoking reduces reading accuracy in children

Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that children born to mothers who smoked more than one pack per day during pregnancy struggled on tests designed to measure how accurately a child reads aloud and comprehends what they read.

20 Nov 2012

Compressus integrates M*Modal's Speech Understanding technology with MEDxConnect system

Compressus, a transformational leader in interoperability and workflow solutions for the rapidly growing healthcare IT market, today announced the integration of M*Modal's Speech Understanding technology with the MEDxConnect suite of healthcare interoperability and workflow solutions from Compressus.

17 Nov 2012

Bono says spending cuts to U.S. development aid would harm global health efforts

Speaking at the World Bank on Wednesday, "Irish rock star and anti-poverty activist Bono said thousands of people could die from AIDS if the United States cuts development assistance to reduce the budget deficit," Reuters reports.

16 Nov 2012

Study provides first picture of college enrollment and STEM participation for young adults with ASD

It's a popularly held belief that individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) gravitate toward STEM majors in college (science, technology, engineering mathematics).

16 Nov 2012

Freestyle rapping increases brain activity in the medial prefrontal cortex

Researchers in the voice, speech, and language branch of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the brain activity of rappers when they are "freestyling" - spontaneously improvising lyrics in real time.

16 Nov 2012

Roundup: Disparity in states' fiscal health; Ark. Medicaid shortfall threatens care; Mich. Blue Cross pushes to become nonprofit

Factors such as growing unfunded pension liabilities and burgeoning fixed costs related to programs like Medicaid are weighing down weaker states, while stronger states are benefiting from improved business conditions and strong employment growth, he said. A closer look at some specific metrics shows this fiscal disparity.

15 Nov 2012

Oscillation in brain activity influences listening process

Naturally, our brain activity waxes and wanes. When listening, this oscillation synchronizes to the sounds we are hearing. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences have found that this influences the way we listen. Hearing abilities also oscillate and depend on the exact timing of one's brain rhythms. This discovery that sound, brain, and behaviour are so intimately coupled will help us to learn more about listening abilities in hearing loss.

15 Nov 2012

ProMedica opens new autism center in Toledo

One in every 88 U.S. children has been diagnosed with autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To address the critical needs across the nation and in northwest Ohio, ProMedica has opened a new autism center with several area programs and resources under one roof.

14 Nov 2012

Pictorial health warning labels effective in reaching adult smokers

Health warning labels (HWLs) on cigarette packages that use pictures to show the health consequences of smoking are effective in reaching adult smokers, according to the results of a new study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

13 Nov 2012

New CAM2 method could improve sound perception for users of hearing aids

A new software product developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge could greatly improve sound perception for users of hearing aids.

9 Nov 2012

Blog series on global AIDS blueprint features post about harm reduction

As part of its "Blueprint" series discussing the creation of a U.S. global AIDS blueprint called for by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features a guest post by Allan Clear, executive director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, in which he highlights an existing "WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS Technical Guide [.pdf] for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users."

8 Nov 2012

Big picture: Obama claims victory - but what comes next?

Even before President Barack Obama's second term officially begins it is clear that he will be facing signficicant challenges and a very divided Congress. The challenges ahead include the fiscal cliff and efforts to trim back the nation's entitlement programs.

8 Nov 2012

Degeneration of serotonergic neurons linked to spasticity in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with an occurrence rate in France similar to multiple sclerosis (two to three new cases per year for every 100,000 residents). It has a specific affect on neurons responsible for motor control, in particular motor neurones and central motor neurones. The former, located in the spinal cord, are directly linked to muscles and are used for muscle contraction and stretching.

7 Nov 2012

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome anxiety linked to poorer adaptive behaviors

UC Davis researchers have found that for children with the genetic disorder known as chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome anxiety -- but not intelligence -- is linked to poorer adaptive behaviors, such as self-care and communication skills, that affect daily life. The developmental syndrome, which is associated with a constellation of physical, cognitive and psychiatric problems, usually is apparent at birth or early childhood, and leads to lifelong challenges.

6 Nov 2012

Blog series on global AIDS blueprint interviews NIH investigator

As part of its "Blueprint" series discussing the creation of a U.S. global AIDS blueprint called for by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features an interview with Rochelle Walensky, a member of Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications (CEPAC) and the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council at the NIH/DHS Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents.

3 Nov 2012

Medicare, health law part of Obama, Romney pitches for votes

In the campaign's final days, President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney deliver closing arguments about their health care positions, among other issues.

3 Nov 2012

Resolve to fight TB must be strengthened in U.S. global AIDS blueprint

As part of its "Blueprint" series discussing the creation of a U.S. global AIDS blueprint called for by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features an opinion piece by Salmaan Keshavjee of Harvard Medical School and Partners In Health. With an estimated 1,000 people with HIV dying of tuberculosis (TB) every day, "it is clear that our current approaches to addressing the global tuberculosis pandemic are inadequate," he writes.

3 Nov 2012