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Increased use of powerful antipsychotic drugs to treat publicly insured children

A national study conducted by researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) shows increased use of powerful antipsychotic drugs to treat publicly insured children over the last decade. The study, published today in the journal Health Services Research, found a 62 percent increase in the number of Medicaid-enrolled children ages 3 to 18 taking antipsychotics, reaching a total of 354,000 children by 2007.

10 Sep 2012

Success and failure in fighting cholera in Haiti

"Almost two years after the deadly disease first appeared in Haiti in the aftermath of the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, the story of cholera is one of both success and failure," columnist Catherine Porter writes in a Toronto Star opinion piece.

10 Sep 2012

September is Infant Mortality Awareness Month

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Sharon D'Agostino, vice president of worldwide corporate contributions and community relations for Johnson & Johnson, reflects on the two-day Child Survival Call to Action held in mid-June, writing, "An estimated seven hundred people from around the world traveled to the event in Washington, D.C., all embracing the theme that every child deserves to have a 5th birthday, no matter where on this planet she or he is born."

10 Sep 2012

Romney says health law isn't 'all bad'

In Sunday news appearances, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that if elected, he would dismantle the health care law, but retain some of the more popular provisions, including coverage of pre-existing conditions for those who had had continuous health insurance.

10 Sep 2012

Health inequalities in Europe need action

Health inequality in Europe is resulting in huge social and economic costs to the region, and progress towards reducing health inequalities should be one of the main criteria by which the effectiveness of health systems and governments as a whole are assessed, according to a Review published in The Lancet.

10 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 10, 2012

Today's headlines include news from the presidential campaign trail, including reports detailing how GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, if elected, he would retain some parts of the 2010 health law.

10 Sep 2012

Study measures cost-effectiveness of on-site rapid HIV testing in drug abuse treatment programs

Less than half of community-based substance abuse treatment programs in the United States currently make HIV testing available on-site or through referral. A new study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College shows the cost-effectiveness of integrating on-site rapid HIV testing into drug treatment programs.

10 Sep 2012

Study finds surprising difference in eating habits of younger and older overweight children

A new study by University of North Carolina School of Medicine pediatrics researchers finds a surprising difference in the eating habits of overweight children between ages 9 and 17 years compared to those younger than 9.

10 Sep 2012

Scientists characterize the lung squamous cell carcinoma genome

In the September 9, 2012 early online edition of Nature, scientists with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) report that they have characterized the lung squamous cell carcinoma genome.

10 Sep 2012

Universal health coverage series from The Lancet

Every year 100 million people are pushed into poverty because they have to pay for health services directly. With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Results for Development Institute has partnered with the world's premier global health journal, The Lancet, on a special collection of papers exploring the social, political, and economic issues around the global movement towards universal health coverage (UHC) - defined by the World Health Organization as everyone in a population having access to appropriate, promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative health care when they need it and at an affordable cost.

10 Sep 2012

Baylor Health Care System raises awareness about atrial fibrillation

An estimated 2.5 million Americans suffer from irregular heartbeats-also known as atrial fibrillation. Baylor Health Care System is raising awareness about this often misunderstood, but potentially life changing cardiovascular condition whose incidence is on the rise and expected to more than double by 2050.

10 Sep 2012

Post-conventions, parties sharply divided on health care politics

President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney, their contest defined anew by joblessness, are seeking to frame the campaign on their own terms. Romney was concentrating on the economy while Obama sought to play to his strengths, with top aides all but daring their challenger to engage in a debate over Medicare.

10 Sep 2012

Campaigns trade Medicare barbs, Romney praises parts of health reform law

Mitt Romney said Sunday that he would retain elements of President Obama's health care overhaul ... The remarks, made in an interview on the NBC News program "Meet The Press," seemed to mark the emergence of a less openly partisan, more general-election-oriented Republican nominee.

10 Sep 2012

Schumer seeks to put GOP Senators on defensive regarding Ryan Medicare plan

Sen. Chuck Schumer says he wants the Senate to vote soon on the Ryan budget to put Republicans, including presidential running mates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, on the defensive.

7 Sep 2012

State leaders wrangle over approaches to health insurance marketplaces

Officials and business leaders in Wyoming, Kansas and Michigan are considering their next moves among the myriad options of how to approach federally or state-based health insurance marketplaces.

7 Sep 2012

State news: Fla. hospitals fight over trauma center rules

She has been at the center of at least three public firestorms -- for removing consumer protections in health insurance rules approved by her predecessor, for attending a campaign fund-raiser held by an insurance company and for suggesting that the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association raise premium rates.

7 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's 'talk of tough choices'; Championing personal responsibility

And he clearly laid out a vision for governing squarely at odds with the one that Mr. Romney has, but was hidden from view at last week's Republican convention in Tampa, Fla. He promised deficit reduction "without sticking it to the middle class"; to enact a reformed tax code that raises rates on income above $250,000 to where it was under Mr. Clinton; to preserve middle-class deductions; to "never turn Medicare into a voucher."

7 Sep 2012

Researchers, policymakers to gather at AIDS Vaccine 2012 conference in Boston

"With a completed trial in Thailand that offered evidence a vaccine could be developed to protect people from HIV, emerging science identifying antibodies against HIV, and a current trial testing a novel vaccine combination against the virus potentially producing more information in the next year, this is an exciting time to hold a conference, organizers of AIDS Vaccine 2012 say," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

7 Sep 2012

FDA warns dietary supplement firms in Colorado and Texas

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued warning letters to PruTect Rx, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., and Trinity Sports Group Inc., of Plano, Texas, for promoting products labeled as dietary supplements with claims to treat concussions and prevent or treat post-concussion syndrome and other neurological disorders.

7 Sep 2012

NPR blog examines 'test and treat' approach as HIV/AIDS prevention tactic

NPR's "Shots" blog examines the "test and treat" approach to HIV care and prevention, which "relies on the fact that taking HIV drugs dramatically reduces a person's risk of transmitting the virus to others," and, "[a]s more and more people are put on medication, the epidemic theoretically should fizzle out." The blog continues, "Test and treat sounds good on paper, but some doctors and policymakers have doubts about its feasibility on a large scale."

7 Sep 2012