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'Twinning' team approach improves pediatric lymphoma outcomes

In an African county lacking any specialists in children's cancers, a team approach that "twins" Rwandan physicians with Boston-based pediatric oncologists has shown it can deliver expert, curative care to young patients stricken with lymphoma.

13 Dec 2011

Single rooms in hospitals is not enough to prevent gastroenteritis

To offer patients single rooms in hospitals is not enough to prevent gastroenteritis. That is shown in a master thesis at Nordic School of Public Health NHV.

13 Dec 2011

U.N. seeks aid money for Zimbabwe, half for food; WHO says country must spend more on health

"The United Nations said on Friday it was seeking $268 million for aid efforts in Zimbabwe next year, with half the money to be used to buy food for more than 1.4 million people facing shortages" in 2012, Reuters reports.

13 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Blocking an abortion option for military women; Plan B pushback; Solving Wis. doc shortage

Republican Senate leaders have an odd way of showing gratitude for the dedication and sacrifices of the more than 200,000 women on active duty in the military. Late last month, they blocked consideration of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have lifted the statutory ban that denies female service members coverage for abortion care in cases of rape and incest.

13 Dec 2011

Sound sleep despite technology overload: Study

Researchers at the University of Sydney have found there has been no significant change over almost 20 years in the average amount of sleep that Australians are getting. There have been concerns that an average Australian might be losing out on sleep due to the technology overload from computers and mobile phones.

12 Dec 2011

Abortion does not raise risk of mental ailment: Experts

A major review by experts concludes that abortion does not raise the risk of a woman suffering mental health problems. Data from 44 studies showed women with an unwanted pregnancy have a higher incidence of mental health problems in general. This is not affected by whether or not they have an abortion or give birth.

12 Dec 2011

Research assesses safety and efficacy of pre-operative transfusions, hydroxyurea therapy for SCD

Research assessing the safety and efficacy of hydroxyurea therapy in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and the use of pre-operative transfusions for patients with SCD who undergo low- and moderate-risk elective surgery will be presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

12 Dec 2011

Alcohol consumption directly impacts a person's intention to have unsafe sex

A new study has found that alcohol consumption directly impacts a person's intention to have unsafe sex. In other words, the more you drink, the stronger becomes your intention to engage in unsafe sex.

12 Dec 2011

Pig iPSCs can safely incorporate into tissues without tumor formation

Pig stem cell research conducted by two animal scientists at the University of Georgia reveals a better way to determine the safety of future stem cell therapies than rodent-based models.

12 Dec 2011

TIME names Penn Nursing's autism research among Top 10 New Findings in Parenting

TIME magazine has named Penn Nursing's pioneering research on autism and low birthweight one of the "Top 10 New Findings in Parenting" of 2011. In October, Penn Nursing Professor Jennifer Pinto-Martin, PhD, MPH, and colleagues reported in Pediatrics that premature infants are five times more likely to have autism than children born at normal weight.

12 Dec 2011

Incidence of TB diagnosis is increased in mothers postpartum

The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis is significantly increased in mothers postpartum, suggesting a potential new population to target for screening, according to a new UK-wide cohort study.

12 Dec 2011

New gift to create Morsani College of Medicine building at USF Health

The University of South Florida has renamed its medical college the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in honor of the philanthropic commitment of Frank and Carol Morsani. In total, the Morsanis have given $37 million to USF Health and a total of $43 million to the university.

12 Dec 2011

House GOP's tax bill includes Medicare pay fix, cuts to health law funding

House Republicans on Friday released their legislation to extend the payroll tax cut, reform and extend unemployment insurance, and fix the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors. The move sets up a vote on the year-end package as early as Tuesday. ... the legislation extends a pay freeze for federal workers, ... and gradually increases Medicare premiums for the wealthy. It also changes the co-payment structure for certain federal retirees.

11 Dec 2011

Forbes interviews Babatunde Osotimehin about his work in HIV/AIDS, maternal health, leadership

Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and under-secretary-general of the U.N., answers questions about his work from Forbes contributor Rahim Kanani in this interview excerpt.

9 Dec 2011

Panel recommends close monitoring and delay of treatment for localized, low-risk prostate cancer

An independent panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health has concluded that many men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer should be closely monitored, permitting treatment to be delayed until warranted by disease progression.

9 Dec 2011

Shorter, effective treatment for latent TB infection

Research, led by Timothy Sterling, M.D., professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has led to an important change in CDC recommendations in the regimen for prevention of the centuries-old scourge, tuberculosis (TB).

9 Dec 2011

Investing in women to reduce effects of climate change

Women "bea[r] the brunt" of weather-related disasters, but they also are "the key to stopping global warming, and to helping communities around the world adapt to the damage that has already been done," Mary Pittman, president and CEO of the Public Health Institute (PHI), and Kavita Ramdas, executive director of Stanford University's Program on Social Entrepreneurship, write in this post on "RH Reality Check."

9 Dec 2011

New international consortium aims to prepare researchers for next pandemic

"A group of health organizations [on Wednesday] launched a new international consortium to better prepare the clinical research community to respond to the next pandemic or other emerging health threat," CIDRAP News reports (Schnirring, 12/7).

9 Dec 2011

Sebelius overrules FDA on 'morning after' pill's OTC availability

The decision to keep the contraceptive pill "Plan B" behind the counter could shield the Obama administration from a bruising battle with conservatives but comes at the expense of liberal groups who are "shocked" at the decision.

9 Dec 2011

Dramatic rise in substance abuse treatment admission rates from 1999-2009

A new report shows that while the overall rate of substance abuse treatment admissions among those aged 12 and older in the United States has remained nearly the same from 1999 to 2009, there has been a dramatic rise (430 percent) in the rate of treatment admissions for the abuse of prescription pain relievers during this period.

9 Dec 2011