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Roundup: Conn. health care programs face $70M cut; Miss. abortion clinic again asks judge to block law that could force it to close

Connecticut's social services safety net and its public colleges and universities took the brunt Wednesday of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's first effort to whittle down a $363 million state budget deficit.

30 Nov 2012

Low-intensity vibrations improve immune function of obese mice

If you're looking to get some of the benefits of exercise without doing the work, here's some good news. A new research report published online in The FASEB Journal shows that low-intensity vibrations led to improvements in the immune function of obese mice.

30 Nov 2012

Michigan State University, DWCHA receive teaching health center grant from HRSA

The Detroit Wayne County Health Authority (Health Authority) and Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSU) have been funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to establish a teaching health center in Wayne County.

30 Nov 2012

Tips to prevent holiday headaches

Holidays are a time for family, friends, and happy memories. But those joyful moments can be associated with stress – from marathon shopping, preparing for celebrations, and traveling. Stress and other stimuli may trigger or increase your headaches.

30 Nov 2012

Study: Only one third of MSM can easily access HIV services

A large-scale study of gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), conducted by the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF), indicates that only one third of MSM can easily access condoms, lubricant, HIV testing, and HIV treatment.

29 Nov 2012

Alberta Children's Hospital performs first liver cell transplant in Calgary, Canada

A three-month-old Winnipeg girl has become the first patient in Canada to receive an experimental and potentially life-saving form of therapy to improve the function of her liver.

29 Nov 2012

AstraZeneca receives FDA approval for Cometriq to treat medullary thyroid cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cometriq (cabozantinib) to treat medullary thyroid cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized).

29 Nov 2012

Longer looks: Are 'pods' the solution to our long-term care crisis?; A Liver transplant in the nick of time; Pro-life activists and the abortion drop

In November 2006, when Clara Marshall began suffering from the effects of dementia, her family moved her into ... an assisted living home in Vancouver, Wash. ... just five months into her stay, Ms. Marshall, 81, was found dead in her room apparently strangled after getting her neck caught in side rails used to prevent her from rolling out of bed.

29 Nov 2012

Cautious Patient Foundation, SIDM partner to raise awareness of diagnostic errors

The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) and the Cautious Patient Foundation announced today a collaboration to help patients avoid diagnostic errors in their own care. Diagnostic error, defined as wrong, missed or delayed medical diagnosis, occurs in 10 to 15% of diagnostic encounters, is the largest contributor to medical malpractice claims, and is responsible for 40,000 - 80,000 deaths per year in the United States.

29 Nov 2012

States confront menu of Medicaid changes

A two-year payment hike for primary care doctors who treat Medicaid patients, called for by the health care law, might not happen without a struggle in Florida. Meanwhile, Kansas waits to hear back from the feds on its proposal to change Medicaid, and New Hampshire officials seek more money for their program.

29 Nov 2012

Cost increases for branded drugs outpace inflation

U.S. price increases on popular branded drugs in the past year have been more than six times the overall rate of inflation for consumer goods, while spending on specialty medications is up nearly 23 percent, according to data compiled by Express Scripts for its first quarterly drug trend report.

29 Nov 2012

Doctors' pay growth lags behind other health care professionals

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association takes a look at how physicians are faring financially, while a second study, this one appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine, examines how they are doing emotionally.

29 Nov 2012

Naked AIDS protesters arrested in Boehner's congressional office

Seven people took their clothes off in a House office building Tuesday to protest cuts to AIDS funding, and three women were arrested. The group was joined by dozens of other -- clothed -- protesters.

29 Nov 2012

Reflecting on U.S. military's contribution to global AIDS response

"As we look forward to World AIDS Day this year, I'm amazed at how far we've come in the battle against HIV and how effectively U.S. government agencies continue to work collaboratively towards an AIDS-free generation," Richard Shaffer, director of the U.S. Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, writes in the AIDS.gov blog.

29 Nov 2012

Global AIDS response will miss 2015 targets, ONE report suggests

"The world has lost momentum in the fight against the AIDS epidemic, with millions of new people infected last year, the ONE foundation said in a report," titled "The Beginning of the End? Tracking Global Commitments on AIDS" and released on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

29 Nov 2012

International Men's Day opportunity to recognize volunteers for VMMC

Emmanuel Njeuhmeli, senior biomedical prevention adviser in the USAID Office of HIV/AIDS, writes in the agency's "IMPACTblog" that the first International Men's Day on November 19 was an opportunity to "recognize and celebrate the hundreds of thousands of men in East and Southern Africa who are stepping up for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) to protect their own health and that of their families."

29 Nov 2012

Lobectomy for primary lung cancer takes longer in obese patients

Lobectomy for primary lung cancer takes longer when a patient is obese, not only increasing the resources required to achieve a good outcome, but also adding to national health care costs, according to a study published in the December 2012 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

29 Nov 2012

Party lines on entitlement programs play role in 'fiscal cliff' negotiations

Congressional leaders signal they are making progress in "fiscal cliff" talks. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., urged his party to back an immediate extension of Bush-era tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 and focus on tax breaks for higher-income people later. Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, said that Medicare and other federal health care programs should be part of long-term solutions, but not a short-term deal.

29 Nov 2012

Myanmar can build more stable future by investing in vaccines, immunization

"For the first time, with support from the GAVI Alliance, a pentavalent vaccine was introduced in Myanmar this week that will defend children against five potentially fatal diseases," Dagfinn Hoybraten, vice president of the Norwegian Parliament and chair of the GAVI Alliance Board, writes in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, adding, "Over the next six months, more than half a million children in the country will be protected from diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B (hepB), and Haemophilus influenzae type b.

29 Nov 2012

HIV treatment cascade important tool for reaching AIDS-free generation goal

In the Huffington Post's "Healthy Living" blog, Ward Cates, president emeritus of FHI 360, examines the HIV treatment cascade, which he says "is crucial both to assuring the individual's health and to achieving the public health goal of an AIDS-free generation."

29 Nov 2012