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Cyclists at risk of injury due to lack of infrastructure in large urban centres

Using your bicycle to commute to work has numerous health and environmental benefits. Yet, the largest Canadian study on cycling injuries led by Ryerson University suggests cyclists are at risk of injury due to the lack of cycling infrastructure in large urban centres.

22 Feb 2013

North Dakota, Kansas join list of states considering further abortion restrictions

An abortion clinic fights to stay open amid new proposed restrictions in North Dakota while Kansas lawmakers spar over new proposed restrictions on using state money for the procedure in that state.

22 Feb 2013

New leprosy test, experimental vaccine might hasten disease elimination, Slate reports

Slate examines a new rapid diagnostic test and an experimental vaccine for leprosy, both developed by the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle, writing, "The two tools together could finally free humans from the vicious cycle of a disease that has afflicted the population for at least 4,000 years."

22 Feb 2013

Majority of businesses are not adequately prepared for many types of disasters

A recent study by Saint Louis University researchers found that majority of businesses are not adequately prepared for many types of disasters, especially biological events such as a pandemic.

22 Feb 2013

Pre-war vulnerability important in predicting persistence of veterans' PTSD over the long run

Pre-war vulnerability is just as important as combat-related trauma in predicting whether veterans' symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be long-lasting, according to new research published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

22 Feb 2013

Vanderbilt investigators report new insights into workings of calprotectin

On the front lines of our defenses against bacteria is the protein calprotectin, which "starves" invading pathogens of metal nutrients. Vanderbilt investigators now report new insights to the workings of calprotectin - including a detailed structural view of how it binds the metal manganese.

22 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Holtz-Eakin and Roy offer prescription to fix health law; Iowa lawmakers opposed to Medicaid expansion should give up their coverage

Over nearly a century, progressives have pressed for a national, single-payer healthcare system. When it comes to health reform, what have conservatives stood for? For far too long, conservatives have failed to coalesce around a long-term vision of what a free-market healthcare system should look like. ... Obamacare is the logical byproduct of this conservative policy neglect.

22 Feb 2013

Bariatric surgery does not lower overall health care costs linked with obesity

Bariatric surgery is a well-documented treatment for obesity that leads to considerable weight loss and health improvement, but is the surgery successful in the long run in reducing costs associated with medical care for obesity? A team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine recently undertook a multi-year analysis of health insurance claims data to examine this question and found that although the procedure's success rate is well documented, it does not have a similar impact on health care costs.

21 Feb 2013

Antipsychotic drug dispensing on the rise among older people

A study by Queen's University Belfast has found that the dispensing of psychotropic drugs to older people in Northern Ireland increases on entry to care homes.

21 Feb 2013

USP evaluates Raman device's potential to detect counterfeit and substandard medicines

With substandard and counterfeit medicines a dangerous and growing problem in the developing world and elsewhere, identifying new technologies to detect such drugs is an urgent matter. In a new study published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, scientists from the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) evaluated a handheld Raman device's potential to detect counterfeit and substandard medicines.

21 Feb 2013

Blog examines potential impact of sequestration on global health

Noting "several federal agencies released new details about the impact of sequestration on their budgets and programs," the Global Health Technologies Coalition's Communications Officer Kim Lufkin writes in the group's "Breakthroughs" blog.

21 Feb 2013

Selenium supplements and heart disease risk: an interview with Dr Saverio Stranges, University of Warwick

Selenium is a micronutrient which has antioxidant properties by means of selenoproteins which play many important functions in the body. They actually are contained in many different foods. The amount of selenium we get from diet is closely linked to the amount of selenium in the soil.

21 Feb 2013

Studies confirm music therapy's positive effects on perceived quality of life

After 35 years as a music therapist, Anci Sandell can now present research findings showing that the therapy methods she uses, increases quality of life for people who are being treated for severe medical or psychosocial conditions.

21 Feb 2013

Policymakers, insurers should consider generic-only coverage to improve health and reduce costs

A new study published online today in the American Journal of Managed Care found that in Medicare Part D, generic drug coverage was cost-saving compared to no coverage in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, while also improving health outcomes.

21 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: ACOs are doomed to fail; The need to expand Medicaid in Texas; The case against malpractice changes in Iowa

Spurred by the Affordable Care Act, hundreds of pilot programs called Accountable Care Organizations have been launched over the past year, affecting tens of millions on Medicare and many who have commercial health insurance.

21 Feb 2013

Study measures awareness, adoption and use of informatics tools by infection preventionists

Advances in electronic medical record systems and health information exchange are shifting efforts in public health toward greater use of information systems to automate disease surveillance, but a study from the Regenstrief Institute has found that these technologies' capabilities are underutilized by those on the front lines of preventing and reporting infections.

21 Feb 2013

Four genetic variations may increase risk of colorectal cancer

An international research team co-led by cancer prevention researcher Ulrike "Riki" Peters, Ph.D., M.P.H., and biostatistician Hsu Li, Ph.D., at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified variations in four genes that are linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

21 Feb 2013

Introducing gluten-containing foods to breast-feeding infants may prevent celiac disease

Celiac disease is much more common in Sweden than in the rest of Europe and the U.S., but may be prevented with gradually introducing gluten-containing foods to breast-feeding infants, according to a comprehensive study led by researchers at Umeå University.

20 Feb 2013

Air pollution exposure raises cardiac death rate

Long-term exposure to high levels of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 mm or below increases a person’s chance for dying following a heart attack, show results from a large UK study.

20 Feb 2013

Air pollution associated with increased deaths after heart attacks

Air pollution contributes to an increased number of deaths among patients who have been admitted to hospital with heart attacks, according to a study published online in the European Heart Journal

20 Feb 2013

Public Health News and Research

Cyclists at risk of injury due to lack of infrastructure in large urban centres

North Dakota, Kansas join list of states considering further abortion restrictions

New leprosy test, experimental vaccine might hasten disease elimination, Slate reports

Majority of businesses are not adequately prepared for many types of disasters

Pre-war vulnerability important in predicting persistence of veterans' PTSD over the long run

Vanderbilt investigators report new insights into workings of calprotectin

Viewpoints: Holtz-Eakin and Roy offer prescription to fix health law; Iowa lawmakers opposed to Medicaid expansion should give up their coverage

Bariatric surgery does not lower overall health care costs linked with obesity

Antipsychotic drug dispensing on the rise among older people

USP evaluates Raman device's potential to detect counterfeit and substandard medicines

Blog examines potential impact of sequestration on global health

Selenium supplements and heart disease risk: an interview with Dr Saverio Stranges, University of Warwick

Studies confirm music therapy's positive effects on perceived quality of life

Policymakers, insurers should consider generic-only coverage to improve health and reduce costs

Viewpoints: ACOs are doomed to fail; The need to expand Medicaid in Texas; The case against malpractice changes in Iowa

Study measures awareness, adoption and use of informatics tools by infection preventionists

Four genetic variations may increase risk of colorectal cancer

Introducing gluten-containing foods to breast-feeding infants may prevent celiac disease

Air pollution exposure raises cardiac death rate

Air pollution associated with increased deaths after heart attacks

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