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EEG can be used to identify treatable causes of common disorders in hospital patients, say researchers

EEG Could be More Widely Used to Identify Treatable Causes of Common Disorders in Hospital Patients, Say Researchers in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

2 Apr 2013

Study: Pradaxa drug may increase risk and severity of viral infections

A study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina indicates that a newly approved blood thinner that blocks a key component of the human blood clotting system may increase the risk and severity of certain viral infections, including flu and myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart and a significant cause of sudden death in children and young adults.

2 Apr 2013

New support program for single fathers

Men who have dependent children and whose spouses or partners died from cancer are an overlooked population. These fathers face unique challenges not addressed by traditional grief support groups that often attract an older, female population.

2 Apr 2013

Risk prediction tools that estimate future risk of stroke and heart disease may also predict memory loss

Risk prediction tools that estimate future risk of heart disease and stroke may be more useful predictors of future decline in cognitive abilities, or memory and thinking, than a dementia risk score, according to a new study published in the April 2, 2013, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Apr 2013

Supporters of Medicaid expansion fight to be heard in some statehouses

Mississippi House Democrats blocked passage of the state's Medicaid budget Sunday to force a vote on expanding the program, while supporters and critics do battle in Missouri, Montana and Arkansas.

2 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 2, 2013

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers readers' questions about the new marketplaces where consumers can buy 2014 health policies as part of the federal health law. (Andrews, 4/2).

2 Apr 2013

Post-2015 framework will fail in tackling inequality without inclusion of disability

"The communiqué released at the end of the U.N. high-level panel meeting on the post-2015 development agenda failed to mention disability, repeating in Bali the same omission notable in last month's official communiqué from the Monrovia meeting," Dominic Haslam, director of policy and strategic program support at Sightsavers, and Virginia Kamowa, global advocacy coordinator for the organization, write in The Guardian's "Poverty Matters" blog.

2 Apr 2013

Louisiana health secretary submits resignation

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's health secretary -- Bruce Greenstein -- is resigning amid a probe into a Medicaid contract he awarded to a former employer.

2 Apr 2013

Security concerns hindering polio immunizations in Pakistan, WHO official says

"Some 240,000 children have missed U.N.-backed vaccinations against polio because of security concerns in Pakistan's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, a top official with the World Health Organization said Friday," the Associated Press/Huffington Post reports.

2 Apr 2013

White House condemns assaults against women in Egypt demonstrations

"The White House on Friday condemned the rape and assault of women at recent demonstrations in Egypt and called on the Cairo government to prevent sexual violence and prosecute those responsible," Reuters reports (Mason/Holland, 3/29).

2 Apr 2013

Podcast examines recent global health news, interviews UW Department of Global Health chair

In a "Humanocast" podcast, Humanosphere "look[s] at recent news in global health, aid and development as well as [conducts] a guest interview" with King Holmes, chair of the University of Washington's Department of Global Health.

2 Apr 2013

UAB School of Nursing awarded HRSA grant to improve quality of care for underserved

The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing has received a three-year, $1.4-million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration to develop and implement an innovative interprofessional collaborative health-care practice model that improves quality of care and outcomes for underserved patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions.

2 Apr 2013

New strain of avian flu kills two Chinese men, officials say

"Two people in China have died and another remains critical after falling ill with a strain of bird flu not detected before in humans, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported," CNN reports (Mullen, 4/1).

2 Apr 2013

IRIN examines British plan to improve health care services in DRC

IRIN examines Britain's new $270 million plan to improve health care services in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

2 Apr 2013

Lifestyle choices we make in adulthood influence how tall we stand as we age

Even if you didn't eat your veggies or drink your milk as a child, your height is still in your hands, reveal new findings by economists from the University of Southern California, Harvard University and Peking University.

2 Apr 2013

'Innovative' awareness campaigns on maternal health will push progress in Ghana

Despite international praise for Ghana's successful economic growth and its "reputation as a beacon of democracy in Africa," "4,000 women die every year and over 200,000 are disabled due to pregnancy-related complications," Kwesi Owusu, executive producer of the Maternal Health Channel television series, writes in a CNN opinion piece.

2 Apr 2013

India's Supreme Court rules against Novartis AG in 'landmark' patent case

"India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent an updated version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines," the Associated Press reports.

2 Apr 2013

Increasing transparency would help China strengthen its role in global health development

Writing in the Center for Global Development's blog, Victoria Fan, a research fellow at CGD, describes a panel session during the 4th Conference of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health recently held in Washington, D.C.

2 Apr 2013

Bill Gates recounts tour of Ghana's health systems

Writing in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, foundation co-chair Bill Gates recounts his recent trip to Ghana, where he "got to watch an effective health system in action -- from the decision makers at the national level to nurses who live and work in the villages."

2 Apr 2013

Years after law, former congressman continues mental health coverage parity battle

Despite a mental health parity law passed in 2008, one of the measure's key backers -- former Congressman Patrick Kennedy -- continues the fight for equal coverage of mental illness and is meeting mixed success.

2 Apr 2013