Appetite News and Research

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State Roundup: Setting up health insurance exchanges; Community-based clinics cuts; Autism legislation; End-of-life care

The board of the Health Benefit Exchange is going to be small and mighty. ... This exchange will concentrate the health insurance buying power of millions of Californians, and will be the central force in implementing national health care reform in California (Gorn, 2/4).

7 Feb 2011

Genomic study identifies link between Native American ancestry, relapse in young leukemia patients

The first genome-wide study to demonstrate an inherited genetic basis for racial and ethnic disparities in cancer survival linked Native American ancestry with an increased risk of relapse in young leukemia patients. The work was done by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Children's Oncology Group.

6 Feb 2011

At Global Chiefs of Mission Conference, Sec. Clinton, Shah discuss QDDR

As part of a week-long meeting with U.S. diplomats from around the world taking place in Washington, D.C., this week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday gathered with 300 U.S. diplomats from around the world to discuss "strategies to energize diplomacy and streamline development," the New York Times reports.

4 Feb 2011

Study finds increased prescription drug abuse among teens

Illicit drugs like marijuana, cocaine and heroin have always been a parent's nightmare. But perfectly legal and easily accessible prescription medications are now the recreational drugs of choice for many teenagers, prompting physicians at Johns Hopkins Children's Center to urge pediatricians to screen specifically for their abuse during routine visits.

4 Feb 2011

Politico looks at how proposed budget cuts could affect U.S. foreign aid, including global health funding

Politico examines how Republicans' proposed budget cuts could affect foreign aid funding. The House Republican majority has recommended combining President Barack Obama's "State and foreign aid requests with 'nonsecurity' domestic spending and to cut appropriations to 2008 levels."

3 Feb 2011

Mothers who lose body fat before pregnancy improve health of children

Obesity among women of childbearing age is increasing worldwide. Because babies of obese mothers are themselves predisposed to obesity, society can reasonably expect the epidemic of obese and overweight people to continue through future generations.

3 Feb 2011

Tonsillectomy linked to obesity later in life: Study

The study involved 795 children from 0 to 18 years who were described as normal to overweight prior to their operations, and they were separated into three separate groups. Group 1 included three studies involving 127 children, whose body mass index (BMI) increased by 5.5 per cent to 8.2 per cent.

2 Feb 2011

Fortis Hospital specialists in Mumbai successfully perform gastric bypass surgery in American patient

Specialists at Fortis Hospitals Mumbai successfully diagnosed and treated a previously undetected pituitary tumor in Michelle Hardin, a 35 year-old American medical traveler.

1 Feb 2011

U.K., Gates Foundation announce extra funding for global polio eradication as WEF wraps up

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Friday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, announced "extra financing for polio eradication, easing a shortfall in funding that hinders a global effort to stop the crippling virus," Bloomberg reports.

1 Feb 2011

Lifestyle more closely linked with childhood obesity, than genetics

Are some children genetically tuned to be overweight, or is lifestyle to blame for childhood obesity?

1 Feb 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

Innovative Health Financing Can Benefit Global Health, Pharma: "The launch of pneumococcal vaccination in Nicaragua under AMC [advance market commitment] has shown that innovative approaches to health financing can benefit both global health and pharmaceutical companies," according to a Lancet Infectious Diseases editorial that describes how the roll-out of GAVI initiative is helping to provide developing countries with low-cost pneumococcal vaccines.

28 Jan 2011

World Economic Forum launches risk network to address financial, food security risks

The World Economic Forum launched the Risk Response Network (RRN) at its meeting, which opened Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland, the Economic Times reports.

28 Jan 2011

New molecular player responsible for regulation of appetite and metabolism

A study by researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida and Washington University School of Medicine adds a new twist to the body of evidence suggesting human obesity is due in part to genetic factors. While studying hormone receptors in laboratory mice, neuroscientists identified a new molecular player responsible for the regulation of appetite and metabolism.

28 Jan 2011

Kira For Women introduces two new products for menopause, PMS

Natural women's health brand, Kira For Women, is launching two new products - Kira PMS Relief and Kira Menopause Relief.

25 Jan 2011

PGxHealth receives FDA approval for Viibryd tablets to treat major depressive disorder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Viibryd tablets (vilazodone hydrochloride) to treat major depressive disorder in adults.

24 Jan 2011

Researchers examine brain's role in breathing

Much of our knowledge of the brain's role in regulating breathing comes from research with mice and rats. A chemical receptor within the brain stem communicates with the central nervous system to generate the basic pattern of breathing. The next step is applying that information to human tissue to identify these critical components in the human brain and their medical implications.

21 Jan 2011

Porter Adventist Hospital offers tips for healthier eating habits

It's now been a few weeks since we have made our New Year's resolutions to eat better and finally lose those last five pounds or more. It's time to check in and see if you've set yourself up for success this year. Brittany Glassett, registered dietitian at Porter Adventist Hospital has a few tips to keep in mind when setting - and keeping - new goals.

21 Jan 2011

Legionnaires’ disease scare in Bali: Australian tourists warned

Commonwealth chief medical officer Jim Bishop has warned Australians who have returned from Bali on an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease on the popular Indonesian resort island. The Australian health authorities knew of 11 cases of Legionnaires’ disease detected in Victorians and Western Australians after holidays in the Kuta area of Bali between August 2010 and January 2011.

19 Jan 2011

Arrowhead increases ownership in Calando's outstanding equity to 79%

Arrowhead Research Corporation today announced that it has invested $1 million in its majority owned subsidiary, Calando Pharmaceuticals, and converted approximately $8M of Calando debt to Arrowhead into equity. Arrowhead now owns approximately 79% of Calando's outstanding equity.

19 Jan 2011

Study elaborates relationship between obesity and MDD-R, long-term use of ADs

This study demonstrates that patients using antidepressants continuously, mostly serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors, show significantly more overweight and obesity than those using them intermittently or not at all.

18 Jan 2011