Health and Human Services News and Research

RSS

Report: Overall burden of kidney disease remains high in the U.S.

According to an annual data report from the United State Renal Data System, the overall burden of kidney disease remains high in U.S. with the rates of kidney failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation ranking among the highest in the world.

26 Oct 2017

New survey finds huge decline in substance abuse, delinquency among teens

More than a decade of data indicates teens have become far less likely to abuse alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs, and they also are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors, such as fighting and stealing, according to results of a national survey analyzed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

25 Oct 2017

NIH launches major effort to discover, catalog the brain's ‘parts list’

The National Institutes of Health has launched a major effort to discover and catalog the brain's "parts list." The NIH's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative Cell Census Network aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive reference of the diverse cell types in human, monkey, and mouse brain.

24 Oct 2017

Psychedelics linked to decreased likelihood of criminal behavior

Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin (often called magic mushrooms), LSD and mescaline (found in peyote) are associated with a decreased likelihood of antisocial criminal behavior, according to new research from investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

17 Oct 2017

Stunner on birth control: Trump’s moral exemption is geared to just 2 groups

Few people were surprised last week when the Trump administration issued a rule to make it easier for some religious employers to opt out of offering no-cost prescription birth control to their female employees under the Affordable Care Act.

16 Oct 2017

FDA clears new Senhance System that can help facilitate minimally invasive surgery

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the Senhance System, a new robotically-assisted surgical device that can help facilitate minimally invasive surgery.

16 Oct 2017

The storm has passed, but Puerto Rico’s health faces prolonged recovery

As President Donald Trump signals impatience to wind down emergency aid to Puerto Rico, the challenges wrought by Hurricane Maria to the health of Puerto Ricans and the island's fragile health system are in many ways just beginning.

16 Oct 2017

First 7T MRI system receives FDA clearance for clinical use in the United States

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the first seven tesla (7T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, more than doubling the static magnetic field strength available for use in the United States.

16 Oct 2017

Trump acting solo: What you need to know about changes to the health law

Apparently frustrated by Congress' inability to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trump this week decided to take matters into his own hands.

13 Oct 2017

Study: Ovarian reserve tests do not appear to predict short-term chances of conception

Tests that estimate ovarian reserve, or the number of a woman's remaining eggs, before menopause, do not appear to predict short-term chances of conception, according to a National Institutes of Health-funded study of women with no history of infertility.

10 Oct 2017

Training new doctors right where they’re needed

Dr. Olga Meave didn't mind the dry, 105-degree heat that scorched this Central Valley city on a recent afternoon. The sweltering summer days remind her of home in Sonora, Mexico. So do the people of the Valley — especially the Latino first-generation immigrants present here in large numbers, toiling in the fields or piloting big rigs laden with fruits and vegetables.

9 Oct 2017

FDA approves new treatment option for patients with moderate to severe central sleep apnea

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new treatment option for patients who have been diagnosed with moderate to severe central sleep apnea.

9 Oct 2017

Scientists discover how ZATT protein fixes DNA damage caused by cancer treatment

An international team led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health is the first to discover a new way that cells fix an important and dangerous type of DNA damage known as a DNA-protein cross-link.

6 Oct 2017

4 takeaways from HHS rollback of key contraception coverage provision

On Friday, the Trump administration announced new regulations governing contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The rules will make sweeping changes to the law's requirement that most employers provide coverage of birth control with no out-of-pocket costs to women.

6 Oct 2017

FDA grants approval for new test to detect Zika virus in blood donations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the cobas Zika test, a qualitative nucleic acid test for the detection of Zika virus RNA in individual plasma specimens obtained from volunteer donors of whole blood and blood components, and from living organ donors.

6 Oct 2017

Antibody-based Zika virus therapeutic protects monkeys from infection, study shows

Using blood samples from an individual previously infected with Zika virus, scientists funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed an antibody-based Zika virus therapeutic that protected monkeys from infection.

5 Oct 2017