Hearing News and Research

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First Edition: August 7, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how deadlines have been missed regarding tests for the health cxchange privacy system.

7 Aug 2013

UCSF researchers develop assessment tool to predict patient's risk of delirium

UC San Francisco researchers have developed a two-minute assessment tool to help hospital staff predict a patient-s risk of delirium, a change in mental cognition characterized by severe confusion and disorientation that can prolong hospital stays.

7 Aug 2013

Study: Children who were breastfed in infancy more likely to recover from stuttering

A study of 47 children who began stuttering at an early age found that those who were breastfed in infancy were more likely to recover from stuttering and return to fluent speech.

6 Aug 2013

MEDNAX acquires Holston Anesthesia Associates

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of Holston Anesthesia Associates, P.C., a physician group practice based in Kingsport, Tenn. The practice will become part of MEDNAX's American Anesthesiology division and is the third Tennessee-based anesthesiology practice to join this division.

5 Aug 2013

Tavenner challenges GOP health law claims during Capitol Hill hearing

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Marilyn Tavenner disputed statements by Republican lawmakers that the country's health care reform law is causing workers to lose hours or benefits. The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service also testified.

3 Aug 2013

Cambridge scientists identify molecular 'on/off' switch in malignant germ cell tumours

Cambridge scientists have identified an 'on/off' switch in a type of cancer which typically occurs in the testes and ovaries called 'malignant germ cell tumours'. The research was published today, 01 August, in the journal Cancer Research.

1 Aug 2013

Uninsured people in rural areas could benefit big under the health law

MedPage Today reports on how rural residents could gain as a result of the overhaul, while other news outlets offer reports from a variety of states regarding the health law's implementation.

31 Jul 2013

Researchers study how human herpes virus packages genetic information during infection

An international collaboration of researchers including Felicia Goodrum of the University of Arizona's immunobiology department has studied how a human herpes virus carried by the majority of the population packages its genetic information during infection.

31 Jul 2013

State highlights: D.C. to use cash reserves to pay Medicaid providers off; Texas, Planned Parenthood reach overbilling settlement; Veteran health centers at colleges

How do you spend $48 million in unbudgeted taxpayer money without getting an OK from elected lawmakers? In the District of Columbia, there's pretty much only one way, and that's the way Mayor Vincent C. Gray is proposing to settle a high-stakes dispute with D.C. Chartered Health Plan. Gray spokesman Pedro Ribeiro confirmed Wednesday that the plan is to pay the District's share of the settlement -- a little over $35 million, with federal Medicaid dollars accounting for the rest -- out of the city's contingency cash reserve (DeBonis, 7/24).

26 Jul 2013

Inner ear supporting cells protect hair cells by secreting HSP70

An underlying cause of hearing loss is the death of sensory hair cells in the inner ear, which can be damaged in response to a variety of factors including the use of aminoglycoside antibiotics.

26 Jul 2013

Study provides information on neural pathways involved in human word learning

Language is a uniquely human ability. The average vocabulary of a person consists of about thirty thousand words, although people show individual differences in their ability to learn a new language.

26 Jul 2013

Supporting cells in the inner ear can help repair damaged sensory hair cells, say researchers

Researchers have found in mice that supporting cells in the inner ear, once thought to serve only a structural role, can actively help repair damaged sensory hair cells, the functional cells that turn vibrations into the electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound.

26 Jul 2013

Academic hospitals have higher mammography recall rates than community radiology centers

A new study at Rhode Island Hospital has found that academic medical centers have higher rates of recall following mammography than community radiology centers. The recall rate is the frequency at which a radiologist interprets an examination as positive and the patient is instructed to return for more testing.

24 Jul 2013

Research reveals how brains pick out important sounds from noisy world

New research reveals how our brains are able to pick out important sounds from the noisy world around us. The findings, published online today in the journal eLife, could lead to new diagnostic tests for hearing disorders.

24 Jul 2013

Researchers identify neural pathways involved in word learning among humans

For the first time scientists have identified how a pathway in the brain which is unique to humans allows us to learn new words. The average adult's vocabulary consists of about 30,000 words. This ability seems unique to humans as even the species closest to us -- chimps -- manage to learn no more than 100.

23 Jul 2013

Cochlear implants restore usable hearing to deaf patients

Cochlear implants, electrical prosthetic devices that stimulate inner ear neurons of individuals who have lost their cochlear sensory cells, restore usable hearing to deaf patients. Cochlear implant electrodes are placed in the fluid-filled scala tympani of the cochlea, at a significant distance from the spiral ganglion and even from the spiral ganglion dendrites.

22 Jul 2013

New research project has potential to treat human deafness and loss of balance

The sounds of success are ringing at Kansas State University through a research project that has potential to treat human deafness and loss of balance.

20 Jul 2013

Children with unilateral hearing loss are more likely to struggle in school

Children born with a complete absence of the external ear canal, even if only one ear is affected, are more likely than their peers to struggle in school, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

20 Jul 2013

Health law views: Responding to 'farcical bit of political theater;' Senators call for revision of law's definition of full-time job

The recent announcement of the premium cuts in New York and President Barack Obama's health speech has galvanized opinion writers.

20 Jul 2013

Study finds simple action to reduce healthcare costs

A study led by a Loyola University Medical Center ENT physician provides a case study of a simple action that can reduce healthcare costs without compromising care.

19 Jul 2013