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Peace Corps volunteer plans to change others' lives

The two years Andrea Torre spent in Dimbwe Village in southern Zambia changed her life. Now she has come to the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing to learn the skills she needs to spend the rest of her career helping to change others' lives.

3 Apr 2013

NIH awards funding to two recipients of Autism Centers of Excellence program

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $5.3 million in initial one-year funding to the latest two recipients of the Autism Centers of Excellence program. With these awards, announced on World Autism Awareness Day, these and nine other ACE centers around the country are now being funded for up to five years.

3 Apr 2013

Roundup: Feds cut N.Y. Medicaid payments $1.2B; 93,000 fewer kids enroll in CHIP in Pa.; W. Va. lawmakers promise miners benefits

Federal authorities have dramatically lowered the amount that New York state can claim from the federal government for certain medical services, costing the state an estimated $1.2 billion.

3 Apr 2013

Survey: Children, teens across U.S. have extremely limited access to mental health care services

Everyday, news reports detail the impact of the deficiencies in the nation's mental health care services. Even more startling, a survey from the University of Michigan reveals that many adults across the U.S. believe children and teens have extremely limited or no access to appropriate mental health care services.

3 Apr 2013

Researchers to test cyclodextrin for treating Niemann-Pick Type C disease

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is playing a leading role in one of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) first clinical trials to improve treatments for rare and neglected diseases.

3 Apr 2013

Study: Pradaxa drug may increase risk and severity of viral infections

A study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina indicates that a newly approved blood thinner that blocks a key component of the human blood clotting system may increase the risk and severity of certain viral infections, including flu and myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart and a significant cause of sudden death in children and young adults.

2 Apr 2013

Study: Two-thirds of asthmatics also have allergy

Asthma is becoming an epidemic in the United States. The number of Americans diagnosed with asthma grows annually, with 26 million currently affected. And according to a new study, nearly two-thirds or more of all asthmatics also have an allergy, which can make this spring season particularly bothersome.

2 Apr 2013

New support program for single fathers

Men who have dependent children and whose spouses or partners died from cancer are an overlooked population. These fathers face unique challenges not addressed by traditional grief support groups that often attract an older, female population.

2 Apr 2013

Researchers identify link between immune response and blood clotting

Rice University researchers have found an unexpected link between a protein that triggers the formation of blood clots and other proteins that are essential for the body's immune system.

2 Apr 2013

Security concerns hindering polio immunizations in Pakistan, WHO official says

"Some 240,000 children have missed U.N.-backed vaccinations against polio because of security concerns in Pakistan's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, a top official with the World Health Organization said Friday," the Associated Press/Huffington Post reports.

2 Apr 2013

Lifestyle choices we make in adulthood influence how tall we stand as we age

Even if you didn't eat your veggies or drink your milk as a child, your height is still in your hands, reveal new findings by economists from the University of Southern California, Harvard University and Peking University.

2 Apr 2013

'Innovative' awareness campaigns on maternal health will push progress in Ghana

Despite international praise for Ghana's successful economic growth and its "reputation as a beacon of democracy in Africa," "4,000 women die every year and over 200,000 are disabled due to pregnancy-related complications," Kwesi Owusu, executive producer of the Maternal Health Channel television series, writes in a CNN opinion piece.

2 Apr 2013

Bill Gates recounts tour of Ghana's health systems

Writing in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, foundation co-chair Bill Gates recounts his recent trip to Ghana, where he "got to watch an effective health system in action -- from the decision makers at the national level to nurses who live and work in the villages."

2 Apr 2013

Common symptoms in infants are frequently over-treated, researchers say

Medications used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, are some of the most widely used medications in children less than one year old.

2 Apr 2013

As hyperactivity diagnoses rise, concerns grow about overmedication of children

New CDC data shows that nearly one in five boys have a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Other public health issues highlighted by news outlets include stroke risks in younger people, prescription-drug deaths and OSHA policies.

2 Apr 2013

Study links mutated histone protein to rare brain stem cancer in children

Most cancer treatments are blunt. In an attempt to eradicate tumors, oncologists often turn to radiation or chemotherapy, which can damage healthy tissue along with the cancerous growths.

2 Apr 2013

Roundup: D.C. sued over Medicaid reimbursement; Texas end-of-life care compromise close; Vt. to post health care rates

Two facilities that treat severely ill poor patients could be forced to curtail services if the District does not fully reimburse them for Medicaid costs, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

2 Apr 2013

New study shows varicella vaccine neutralizes chicken pox

Chicken pox, the childhood affliction of earlier generations, has been largely neutralized by the varicella vaccine, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, which appears in the current online issue of Pediatrics.

1 Apr 2013

Study demonstrates effectiveness of guided self-help treatment program for overweight children

It is known that family-based treatment that combines nutrition and exercise education, along with behavior modification, is a good approach to help children lose weight. But clinic-based weight-control programs for childhood obesity are not accessible to many families, due to issues such as cost or time commitment.

1 Apr 2013