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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) inflammatory subtypes: an interview with Dr Vanessa McDonald, University of Newcastle, Australia

COPD is defined as a preventable and treatable disease associated with significant extrapulmonary consequences that may contribute to severity. The pulmonary component of COPD is characterised by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. The airflow limitation is usually progressive with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles (GOLD Strategy Document). Airflow obstruction in COPD is not highly variable and largely irreversible.

8 Mar 2013

Statehouses become next flashpoint for Medicaid expansion debates

Even as Republican governors like Rick Scott in Florida have chosen to back the health law's Medicaid expansion, they are facing push back from GOP-controlled legislatures.

8 Mar 2013

Rural Latino men need better sexual health services: Study

A new study based on in-depth interviews of rural Latino men in western Oregon finds that these men need sexual health services designed for their needs, including more male health providers, more convenient clinic hours, and Spanish-speaking doctors.

8 Mar 2013

Media coverage of 'functional cure' in baby born with HIV continues

Highlighting the recent case of an infant reportedly cured of HIV infection "after a swiftly administered course of drugs," Scientific American writes, "A number of factors make the child's case unique, ... and clinicians caution that we have not discovered a general cure for HIV yet. Still, the medical first may hint at ways to fight the AIDS-causing virus."

8 Mar 2013

Health insurers launch TV campaign opposing Medicare Advantage cuts

The ads, including a 30-second TV spot that will run in a dozen states and Washington, D.C., are designed to increase pressure on Congress and the Obama administration to stop proposed 2.3 percent cuts to these private plans. In addition, some analysts predict earnings drops for some insurers if the cuts go forward.

8 Mar 2013

IRIN examines impact of HIV funding on national health care systems

In an article in its "Building Resilience" series, IRIN examines the impact of HIV funding on health care systems in developing countries, writing, "Some have argued that the AIDS epidemic has helped generate an overall increase in health funding and mobilized an international push for more equitable health care access. But others maintain that the billions of donor dollars spent fighting HIV/AIDS in the last decade have done little to strengthen fragile national health systems."

8 Mar 2013

New funding model will help global fund grow, learn, help more people

"At the Global Fund [to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria], we launched a new funding model this week that is built to capitalize on open interaction and information flow," Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul writes in the Huffington Post's "The Big Push" blog, adding, "With more open dialogue between cooperative partners, we can more effectively confront and ultimately defeat these terrible diseases."

8 Mar 2013

Number of Syrian refugees tops 1M; U.N. says more assistance needed

"The relentless exodus of Syrians fleeing two years of increasingly violent conflict pushed the number of refugees in neighboring countries past the million mark on Wednesday, the United Nations Refugee Agency said, warning that resources for helping them are dangerously thin," the New York Times reports.

8 Mar 2013

Editorial, opinion pieces react to 'functional cure' of infant born with HIV

Scientists on Sunday announced that an infant born with HIV appears to have been "functionally cured" of the virus after receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) within 30 hours of birth.

8 Mar 2013

Sen. Graham gun bill would bar more with mental illness from buying guns

Three senators potentially facing tough re-election challenges next year introduced NRA-endorsed legislation Wednesday that would bar more people from buying guns due to mental illness.

8 Mar 2013

'Strong' FY14 budget request for Global Fund can ensure investment returns

Amanda Glassman and Jenny Ottenhoff of the Center for Global Development (CGD) write in the CGD's "Global Health Policy" blog about "the tough trade-offs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must be considering as they finalize the president's FY14 budget request to Congress, expected to be released in mid-March."

8 Mar 2013

Upheaval caused by Hurricane Katrina seems to have disrupted heart attack timing

The upheaval caused by Hurricane Katrina seems to have disrupted the usual timing of heart attacks, shifting peak frequency from weekday mornings to weekend nights, in a change in pattern that persisted a full five years after the storm, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session.

8 Mar 2013

Ark. lawmakers override veto, ban most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy

The state House on Wednesday followed the Senate in overriding Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of the measure. Opponents say the law "would blatantly violate" the Constitution and plan to challenge it in court.

8 Mar 2013

Officials, state workers criticize different health coverage rate hikes in California

The increases are largely set to hit small businesses, individual plans and long-term care coverage.

8 Mar 2013

Researchers discover significant crisis-period spike in heart attacks in Greece

Heart attack rates have spiked in Greece since the start of the country's financial crisis, especially among women and residents older than 45, according to a study of patient records being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session.

8 Mar 2013

Recession not to blame for cost increases at not-for-profit hospitals, study says

Most not-for-profit hospitals did not offset investment losses from the Great Recession by raising prices, according to a new study.

8 Mar 2013

House Republicans, Senate Democrats to release competing budget plans next week

As President Barack Obama courts Republican lawmakers who might be interested in a "grand bargain," the chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committees are expected to release competing budget proposals. Some hope a conference committee might be able to work out the differences on taxes and spending, including changes to Medicare.

8 Mar 2013

Cancer scientists publish commentary describing path forward for research, prevention

Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday published a commentary "authored by Harold Varmus, Nobel prize-winning director of the National Cancer Institute in the U.S., and by Harpal Kumar, CEO of Cancer Research U.K., on behalf of leading cancer research institutions from Australia to Argentina and Taiwan to Turkey," in which they describe a plan for addressing cancer in developed and developing countries, Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog."

8 Mar 2013

'Science Speaks' blog reports from 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog on Wednesday published a series of posts on the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which took place in Atlanta, Georgia, from Sunday to Wednesday.

8 Mar 2013

Researchers explore genetic testing to identify people at high risk for preventable disease

In ten years time, routine preventive health care for adults may include genetic testing alongside the now familiar tests for cholesterol levels, mammography and colonoscopy.

8 Mar 2013