Public Health News and Research

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A new study links 45,000 deaths a year to lack of insurance

Researchers find that 45,000 deaths a year can be linked to the lack of health insurance. But, some question the study's merits. CBS News reports that the study was conducted by a team "that tracked more than 9,000 people for up to 13 years, comparing the health of those with insurance to those without. After factoring in education and income, smoking, drinking and obesity, researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death, linking 45,000 American deaths a year to lack of insurance. In 1993 it was 25 percent" (Axelrod, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

Nine countries pledge H1N1 vaccine donations to developing countries

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21 Sep 2009

HIV mutates itself to escape antibodies

A study of how HIV mutates in response to immune system pressure by Emory Vaccine Center researchers shows that the virus can take several escape routes, not one preferred route.

21 Sep 2009

Early drinkers more susceptible to alcoholism

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21 Sep 2009

Maximum Weight Limit is the new measure to calculate healthy weight

So, using SAS software and statistical procedures, he discovered a much simpler way of calculating a Maximum Weight Limit, which closely corresponds to weight recommendations listed on BMI charts. But, you don't need to calculate or know your BMI, nor do you need a chart or online calculator to figure out your Maximum Weight Limit. Fernandez will present his Maximum Weight Limit calculation at the Nevada Public Health Association Conference, 1:30 p.m., Sept. 22 at the University of Nevada, Reno's Joe Crowley Student Union, Room 423.

21 Sep 2009

H1N1 infected people continue to shed live virus days after the symptoms

ABC News and other outlets are reporting that two studies released on Tuesday suggest that people infected with the H1N1 virus continue to shed virus after the point where current recommendations say they can resume their normal activities.

19 Sep 2009

Experts’ comments on America's obesity epidemic

As a recent Newsweek article states, "it's hardly clear that there actually is an obesity epidemic, or that fat people are at greater risk of death than people of normal weight, or that weight loss—relentlessly promoted by public-health officials as the solution to America's weight problem—is an attainable goal at all."

19 Sep 2009

Partnership between Wellcome Trust and Merck & Co

The Wellcome Trust and Merck & Co., Inc. today announced the creation of the MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories (www.hillemanlaboratories.in), the first of its kind research and development joint venture with a not-for-profit mission to focus on developing affordable vaccines to prevent diseases that commonly affect low-income countries.

18 Sep 2009

HHS Secretary announces a funding opportunity for communities and tribes

Creating ways for healthful lifestyle habits to be the natural first choice for Americans is the goal of a $650 million initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, decrease obesity, and decrease smoking in U.S. communities.

18 Sep 2009

Health care leaders urge Congress to act on meaningful health reforms

More than 400 of the nation's most respected health care leaders today issued a joint Open Letter to Congress declaring that the health care system is in crisis and is unsustainable and calling on Congress to act now on meaningful reforms. They state that Congress has a moral and ethical obligation to improve healthcare for all our citizens now.

18 Sep 2009

Strategies for reducing tobacco use and health care costs in the U.S.

The Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes support for strategies to reduce tobacco use, is a smart investment in the nation's health that will save lives, prevent disease and help reduce health care costs.

18 Sep 2009

Juvaris BioTherapeutics completes first close on Series B equity financing

Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing adjuvanted vaccines for infectious diseases, announced that it has completed the first close on its Series B equity financing of up to $25 million led by SV Life Sciences (SVLS) along with existing investor, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).

18 Sep 2009

In Massachusetts, fears about public health vaccination proposal

The Boston Globe reports on the dramatic and fearful response to a "seemingly prosaic piece" of pending Massachusetts state legislation "that aims to better define - and, in some respects, restrict - the emergency powers of the state's public health officials."

18 Sep 2009

Study reveals that older widowers are likely to be diagnosed with a STD

Widowers take care: Older men who have recently lost their wives are more likely than still-married peers to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD), according to a new study.

18 Sep 2009

Summa Health System responds to healthcare reform

As the health insurance reform debate continues in Washington, D.C. and around the country, Summa Health System provides the following response to the latest developments in the debate and the potential impact on Summa. As a system, Summa continues to inform the debate by sharing its perspective on various policy changes and urges adoption of policies that would impact its patients' health in a positive way, including efforts to expand affordable health insurance to those without coverage.

18 Sep 2009

Book on the effects of antibiotic-resistant microbes

In RISING PLAGUE: THE GLOBAL THREAT FROM DEADLY BACTERIA AND OUR DWINDLING ARSENAL TO FIGHT THEM (Prometheus Books, $26), Dr. Brad Spellberg-an infectious diseases specialist and member of a national task force charged with attacking antibiotic resistant infections-tells the story of this potentially grave public health crisis.

18 Sep 2009

Vitamin K prevents age-related conditions

An important analysis conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists suggests the importance of ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K to prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer. Vitamin K is concentrated in dark green plants such as spinach or Swiss chard, and is either not present or present in only small amounts in most multivitamin pills.

18 Sep 2009

WHO in talks with developed countries about sharing H1N1 vaccine with developing nations

The recent news that a single dose of H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine can protect adults against the virus has sparked conversations between the WHO and developed countries about sharing their vaccine stockpiles with developing countries, Bloomberg reports.

From Baxter International Inc. 18 Sep 2009

Early detection of Alzheimer's can prevent disease progression

More than 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, and every 71 seconds someone in America develops the disease.

18 Sep 2009

AFA welcomes inclusion of cognitive impairment screening in healthcare reform proposal

The Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) today applauded Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), who spearheaded the provision, for including cognitive impairment screening for Medicare beneficiaries in Baucus' healthcare reform proposal, "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009."

18 Sep 2009