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IRIN examines rise in new leprosy cases in remote region of Madagascar

IRIN examines an increase in new leprosy cases in Antalaha, a once-prosperous vanilla-exporting town in a remote region of Madagascar, where a 2009 military-supported coup brought the suspension of some foreign aid and trade benefits.

29 Sep 2011

Heavy smoking linked with chronic musculoskeletal pain in women

Kentucky women who smoke heavily may experience more chronic musculoskeletal pain, suggests a new study led by University of Kentucky researchers.

29 Sep 2011

HHS awards prevention funds with Community Transformation Grants

News outlets report on local winners, how they will use these new resources to promote healthy living and disease prevention and how the funding is sometimes at odds with their leaders' opposition to the health law.

29 Sep 2011

NPR: What boomers think about health and retirement

Most baby boomers say they're planning on an active and healthy retirement, according to a new poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. And, in a switch from earlier years, more than two-thirds recognize the threat of long-term care expenses to their financial futures.

29 Sep 2011

AASLD publishes updated practice guidelines on hepatitis C

On Monday, September 26, 2011, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases published online at its journal Hepatology's website an update to its practice guidelines for hepatitis C – "An Update on Treatment of Genotype 1 Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection: 2011 Practice Guideline by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases."

29 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 28, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about the costs of employer insurance plans and the final installment of KHN's "Building Ambitions" series about children's hospitals.

28 Sep 2011

WHO releases global survey of worst, best cities for air pollution

"Cities in Iran, India, Pakistan and the capital of Mongolia rank among the worst on the planet for air pollution, while those in the United States and Canada are among the best, according to the first global survey released Monday by the World Health Organization," the Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

28 Sep 2011

Anthrax defenses need to be strengthened: Experts

It has been a decade since the anthrax attacks brought home the reality of bioterrorism and the nation now has a stockpile of some basic tools to fight back against a few of the threats that worry defense experts the most.

28 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Lots of advice for super committee on Medicare, Medicaid

Obama partisans, you must consider at least two, possibly mixed results - a politically risky legal battle on the individual mandate in the middle of a presidential campaign, and added insurance that Obama administration lawyers will see the case through its final appeal.

28 Sep 2011

Scientists warn about climate-induced increase in death rates over the next 60 years

Scientists are warning that death rates linked to climate change will increase in several European countries over the next 60 yrs.

28 Sep 2011

New report explores early centre-based childcare

What type of childcare arrangements do parents choose before their children are 18 months old? Does the choice of childcare affect children's language skills and mental health at the age of five? These are some of the questions that are explored in a new report prepared by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health as part of a collaborative project with the Ministry of Education and Research. The report indicates that there is no evidence that early centre-based childcare is harmful for most children.

28 Sep 2011

Experts explore close link between sanitation, clean water supply and environment

The drought and famine once again blighting the Horn of Africa brings with it an unwelcome reminder that for all of mankind's achievements we are yet to eradicate the scourge of poverty or provide clean water, sanitation or basic health care for the world's most desperate people.

28 Sep 2011

Medical education must put greater emphasis on public health and prevention

If future physicians are to best serve the changing health needs of patients and their communities, medical education must put greater emphasis on public health and prevention, experts say in a supplement to October's American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

28 Sep 2011

High prevalence of NTDs in Central Asia after 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union

The open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases will publish an article emphasizing the rising burden of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Central Asia on Tuesday, Sept. 27th.

28 Sep 2011

Columbia University receives CFI grant to investigate causes of chronic fatigue syndrome

The Chronic Fatigue Initiative (CFI) - a new privately funded research directive focused on chronic fatigue syndrome - announced a substantial grant to a Columbia University research team to investigate the role of pathogens in causing chronic fatigue syndrome. The pathogen discovery and pathogenesis program will be led by Drs. Ian Lipkin and Mady Hornig of the Center for Infection and Immunity.

28 Sep 2011

Study sheds light on when to start antiretroviral therapy

Findings from a study published in the current issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, when "taken together with other studies published over the last few years," show that beginning people living with HIV on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) when their CD4 cell count is between 350 and 500 "appears to be beneficial over the long term.

28 Sep 2011

Highly prevalent urinary and bladder symptoms will increase further

Nearly half of all adults over 20 will experience at least one lower urinary tract symptom by 2018 - an estimated 2.3 billion people and a worldwide increase of 18% in just one decade - according to research in the October issue of the urology journal BJUI.

28 Sep 2011

Roundup: Conn.'s new insurance commissioner getting noticed; Miami-Dade County fires consulting firm over health care issue

Checking his watch, Thomas B. Leonardi worked quickly through his dense defense of this nation's state-by-state approach to insurance regulation. This small New England state generates more insurance business than all but a half-dozen nations. He sided with consumer advocates in March at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, helping to delay a federal regulation designed to protect fees for health insurance brokers. Advocates said the regulation would have driven up the costs of insurance to consumers.

28 Sep 2011

Coffee reduces risk of depression in older women: Study

A new study shows that risk of depression decreases as coffee consumption increases. The findings however apply only to post-menopausal women who smoke.

27 Sep 2011

Raised blood pressure may higher risk of cancer, death

Raised blood pressure is linked to a higher risk of developing cancer or dying from the disease according to the findings of the largest study to date to investigate the association between the two conditions.

27 Sep 2011