Chronic News and Research

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Scientists, medical doctors propose integrated method for treating chronic disease

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, chronic respiratory disorders and cancer represent the major global health problem of the 21st century and affect all age groups.

6 Jul 2011

Obese children more likely to be bullied

Children who are overweight or obese are more likely to be victimised by bullying when compared to children who are not overweight.

6 Jul 2011

Periodontal disease can affect woman's chance of conceiving

Professor Roger Hart told the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology that the negative effect of gum disease on conception was of the same order of magnitude as the effect of obesity.

5 Jul 2011

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can have visible, negative effects on brain

Long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain, as well as learning and memory problems and even depression, new research in mice suggests.

5 Jul 2011

Anti-inflammatory drugs may increase risk of atrial fibrillation

Commonly used painkillers to treat inflammation are linked to an increased risk of irregular heart rhythm, concludes a study published on bmj.com today.

5 Jul 2011

Massage therapy more effective for patients with chronic low back pain

Massage therapy helps ease chronic low back pain and improve function, according to a randomized controlled trial that the Annals of Internal Medicine will publish in its July 5 issue.

5 Jul 2011

Increasing total sleep time may help improve athletic performance

Young basketball players spend hours dribbling up and down the court aspiring to NBA stardom. Now, new Stanford University School of Medicine research suggests another tactic to achieving their hoop dreams: sleep.

2 Jul 2011

U-M researchers a step closer to developing treatments for aging and chronic diseases

As our bodies first form, developing cells are a lot like children put on the school bus with their names and addresses pinned to their shirts. The notes identify one as a future heart cell, another as a liver cell, a third as a neuron. And that's what they each grow up to be. But once those cells reach adulthood, changes to those original marching orders caused by aging, disease and other stressors like smoking can precipitate a kind of identity crisis, researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have found.

2 Jul 2011

States must make do without stimulus dollars for Medicaid; judge freezes Ariz. cuts

As healthcare costs for the poor soar across the United States, perhaps no state will feel the loss of federal stimulus money more than Florida. America's fourth-most-populous state, Florida is second only to Texas in the percentage of residents without health insurance and its struggles are emblematic of problems afflicting many states.

2 Jul 2011

Medical debt, lack of insurance coverage lead to reduced health care access

In 2010, about 40 percent of Americans—or 73 million people—had trouble paying medical bills, up from 34 percent in 2005. Now, a new study confirms that having health insurance coverage is no guarantee against accumulating medical debt for working-age adults. Not surprisingly, the study likewise finds that both medical debt and lack of insurance coverage lead to reduced access to health care.

2 Jul 2011

Checklist to stay healthy and active in summer

The summer is a great season for getting in shape. Whether by playing a sport, doing an aerobic exercise routine, or just returning to that familiar running path -- this is the time for activity.

2 Jul 2011

AHRQ and Ad Council announce new campaign, 'Explore Your Treatment Options'

"Explore Your Treatment Options," a new multimedia ad campaign announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Ad Council, encourages patients to become more informed about their options before choosing a treatment for a health condition or illness.

1 Jul 2011

IOM report highlights need for changes in pain management

Defining pain as "a major public health problem," the Institute of Medicine offered recommendations to make systemic and cultural changes in how pain could either be prevented or managed better.

1 Jul 2011

Study links foot positioning during running and walking with risk of ankle sprains

The position of the foot just before ground contact during running and walking may put people at risk for ankle sprains, according to a new study published by a University of Georgia kinesiology researcher.

1 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Abortion law debates; Medicare cost examinations; state reform building blocks

The Susan B. Anthony List's Pro-Life Leadership Pledge has garnered praise from a number of Republican presidential candidates, including Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Tim Pawlenty, each of whom has signed the pledge. It has also faced some misinformed criticism, however, not only from the media but from other presidential candidates who refuse to sign on to the pledge's four basic principles.

30 Jun 2011

Positive topline results from Alkermes ALKS 9070 phase 1b study for schizophrenia

Alkermes, Inc. today announced positive topline results from a phase 1b, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of ALKS 9070 in patients with schizophrenia.

30 Jun 2011

Lotus Tissue Repair to develop DEB protein replacement therapy with $26 million Series A financing

Lotus Tissue Repair, Inc. today announced the closing of a $26 million Series A financing led by Third Rock Ventures. Proceeds of the financing will be used to advance the company's proprietary recombinant collagen type VII (rC7) technology as the first and only protein replacement therapy in development for the treatment of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), an orphan disease that causes devastating skin blisters, morbidity and early mortality.

30 Jun 2011

IOM report can set the stage for improvements in pain care, says APS

The American Pain Society (APS) said that "Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Treatment, and Research, the report submitted to Congress today by the Institute of Medicine, is a major step forward in addressing the nation's leading public health problem - untreated and undertreated chronic pain.

30 Jun 2011

100 million Americans suffer pain - many in silence

According to a report released by the Institute of Medicine Wednesday, nearly a third of Americans experience long-lasting pain and too often feel stigma rather than relief from a health care system poorly prepared to treat them. Chronic pain is costing the nation at least $558 billion a year in medical bills, sick days and lost productivity, the report found. That's more than the cost of heart disease, the top killer.

30 Jun 2011

GlobalPost examines GHI's work to address chronic malnutrition in Guatemala

Guatemala's "vast inequality" helped it land "on the list of eight 'plus' countries in the Global Health Initiative (GHI) that President Barack Obama is focusing on as part of his expansion and revision of how the U.S. is funding and rethinking global aid," GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog reports in an article examining malnutrition in Guatemala, the wealthiest of nations in the first round of GHI plus countries.

30 Jun 2011