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Large-scale, coordinated effort needed to stop increase in HIV transmission among MSM in China

HIV transmission in China is increasing faster among men who have sex with men (MSM) than in any other population, a trend that "cannot continue," a group of researchers working in China write in a Nature commentary, adding, "Policymakers, public health researchers, clinicians, educators, community leaders and other stakeholders in China must come together to educate everyone, and gay men in particular, about HIV prevention and treatment -- before any more people become infected as a result of ignorance and fear."

1 Jun 2012

Target of 25% reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025 a 'rallying call' for global health community

Member states at the 65th session of the World Health Assembly, which concluded last week, "agreed to adopt a global target of a 25 percent reduction in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases [NCDs] such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases by 2025."

1 Jun 2012

On 'World No Tobacco Day,' WHO calls on national leaders to stand together against tobacco industry 'attacks'

"On World No Tobacco Day (31 May), WHO is calling on national leaders to be extra vigilant against the increasingly aggressive attacks by the industry which undermine policies that protect people from the harms of tobacco," a WHO press release reports, noting that nearly six million people die of tobacco-related illnesses each year and tobacco is a leading preventable cause of illness and death worldwide.

1 Jun 2012

State roundup: Federal judge rejects Calif. request to end oversight of prison health care; States push prescription drug databases; Medicare drug benefit at issue in Utah Senate race

A federal judge rejected a request by California prison officials Wednesday to regain control of inmate health care, which has been under court-supervised receivership for six years, and said the state must first show it can provide adequate medical treatment. ... The current receiver, Clark Kelso, has reported improvements in the prisons' medical staff and facilities, and said a "turnaround plan" he proposed for the system in 2008 is about 80 percent complete.

1 Jun 2012

Noncommunicable diseases need more attention among prisoners

Prisons are not taking appropriate action to improve diet and increase physical activity levels to help prevent noncommunicable diseases among prisoners, say UK researchers in The Lancet.

31 May 2012

Common pain killers linked to decreased skin cancer risk

Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is associated with a decreased risk for skin cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma, study findings indicate.

31 May 2012

Smoker's genetic makeup can help predict response to drug therapy

The same gene variations that make it difficult to stop smoking also increase the likelihood that heavy smokers will respond to nicotine-replacement therapy and drugs that thwart cravings, a new study shows.

31 May 2012

Life Technologies, OpGen enter collaboration on Whole Genome Mapping and Ion Torrent sequencing

Life Technologies Corporation and OpGen, Inc., a commercial stage whole genome analysis company, today announced that they have signed a collaboration agreement to develop systems, technologies and applications intended to improve the management and surveillance of microbial outbreaks in the public health and infectious disease markets.

31 May 2012

4,600 lives could be saved a year by cutting daily alcohol intake to half a unit (5g)

Cutting daily alcohol intake to just over half a unit (5 g), could save 4,600 lives a year in England, say experts in the online journal BMJ Open.

31 May 2012

Ketamine reduces suicidal thoughts in patients with bipolar depression

Bipolar disorder is a serious and debilitating condition where individuals experience severe swings in mood between mania and depression. The episodes of low or elevated mood can last days or months, and the risk of suicide is high. Antidepressants are commonly prescribed to treat or prevent the depressive episodes, but they are not universally effective. Many patients still continue to experience periods of depression even while being treated, and many patients must try several different types of antidepressants before finding one that works for them.

31 May 2012

Implications of eradicating polio, or failing to do so, go beyond public health

In this Atlantic opinion piece, Rachel Hills, a freelance writer based in London, examines the WHO's decision on May 25 to declare polio a public health emergency, "calling for the 194 member states to fully fund the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and fill the currently $945 million gap in its budget for 2012-13."

31 May 2012

CIA's use of health workers in intelligence operations could hurt 'innocent people'

"The CIA's vaccination gambit put at risk something very precious -- the integrity of public health programs in Pakistan and around the globe" and has "also added to the dangers facing nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in a world that's increasingly hostile to U.S. aid organizations," opinion writer David Ignatius writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

31 May 2012

Study uncovers the extent of OTC acetaminophen overdose risk

A significant number of adults are at risk of unintentionally overdosing on over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication, according to a new study in the US by Dr. Michael Wolf, from Northwestern University in Chicago, and his colleagues. Their work¹, looking at the prevalence and potential misuse of pain medication containing the active ingredient acetaminophen as well as the likelihood of overdosing, appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.

31 May 2012

Trade officials at WIPO fail to make progress on proposals to improve access to generic medicines

Trade officials met last week at the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organization "to make progress on a proposal that would allow poor countries to provide inexpensive generic versions of lifesaving medications, rather than rely a single version of the same drugs under expensive patent monopolies," but the U.S. "remained steadfast in rejecting proposals aimed at lowering the prices of existing medicines in poor countries," the Huffington Post reports.

31 May 2012

State roundup: Minn. defends Medicaid billing; Cigna, N.H. Group form joint venture; Health coupons in Mass.

Top Minnesota health officials pushed back Tuesday against a congressional committee probing allegations that the state overbilled federal taxpayers for Medicaid services to cover losses from in other state-run public health programs. In a letter to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson defended reforms implemented under DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, saying "our focus has been on changing course rather than investigating the past."

31 May 2012

Industrial action to be taken by doctors for the first time in almost 40 years

Doctors will take industrial action for the first time in almost 40 years over major changes to the NHS pension scheme, the BMA confirmed today. The first day of action will take place on 21 June 2012 and will see doctors providing all urgent and emergency care, but postponing non-urgent cases.

30 May 2012

Funding alone will not reduce maternal and child mortality rates

The statistics on maternal, newborn, and child mortality around the world are staggering: 265,000 maternal deaths, 880,000 stillbirths, 1.2 million neonatal deaths, and 3.2 million infant and child deaths annually, the vast majority occurring in low-income countries.

30 May 2012

Law aims to illuminate financial links between doctors and pharmaceutical companies

A Colorado School of Public Health researcher has found that laws designed to illuminate financial links between doctors and pharmaceutical companies have little or no effect on what drugs physicians prescribe.

30 May 2012

IU scientists focus on health issues and behaviors specific to bisexual men and women

Bisexuality, often stigmatized, typically has been lumped with homosexuality in previous public health research. But when Indiana University scientists recently focused on the health issues and behaviors specific to behaviorally bisexual men and women, they found tremendous variety, and that commonly used labels, such as heterosexual and homosexual, can sometimes do more harm than good.

30 May 2012

State roundup: The effects of proposed Calif. budget cuts; Fewer free vaccinations in Texas

Low-income children in rural California communities are in jeopardy of losing their doctors and health care plans under Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal, state lawmakers, doctors and health advocates say. The governor is proposing to transfer nearly 900,000 children enrolled in Healthy Families, the state's Children's Health Insurance Program, to Medi-Cal – a program aimed at serving the state's poorest families, seniors and disabled residents.

30 May 2012

Public Health News and Research

Large-scale, coordinated effort needed to stop increase in HIV transmission among MSM in China

Target of 25% reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025 a 'rallying call' for global health community

On 'World No Tobacco Day,' WHO calls on national leaders to stand together against tobacco industry 'attacks'

State roundup: Federal judge rejects Calif. request to end oversight of prison health care; States push prescription drug databases; Medicare drug benefit at issue in Utah Senate race

Noncommunicable diseases need more attention among prisoners

Common pain killers linked to decreased skin cancer risk

Smoker's genetic makeup can help predict response to drug therapy

Life Technologies, OpGen enter collaboration on Whole Genome Mapping and Ion Torrent sequencing

4,600 lives could be saved a year by cutting daily alcohol intake to half a unit (5g)

Ketamine reduces suicidal thoughts in patients with bipolar depression

Implications of eradicating polio, or failing to do so, go beyond public health

CIA's use of health workers in intelligence operations could hurt 'innocent people'

Study uncovers the extent of OTC acetaminophen overdose risk

Trade officials at WIPO fail to make progress on proposals to improve access to generic medicines

State roundup: Minn. defends Medicaid billing; Cigna, N.H. Group form joint venture; Health coupons in Mass.

Industrial action to be taken by doctors for the first time in almost 40 years

Funding alone will not reduce maternal and child mortality rates

Law aims to illuminate financial links between doctors and pharmaceutical companies

IU scientists focus on health issues and behaviors specific to bisexual men and women

State roundup: The effects of proposed Calif. budget cuts; Fewer free vaccinations in Texas

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