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Walgreens pharmacists in California offer immunizations that protect against pertussis

With the state of California on pace for the worst epidemic of pertussis, or whooping cough, in nearly five decades, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the California Department of Public Health continue to strongly encourage vaccination to help increase immunity and stop the spread of the disease for all Californians.

18 Sep 2010

Scientists develop computer model to examine genetic switch for TB dormancy

An examination of a portion of the tuberculosis genome that responds to stress has allowed Rice University bioengineers Oleg Igoshin and Abhinav Tiwari to zero in on a network of genes that may "switch" the disease into dormancy.

18 Sep 2010

U.N., IMF release reports on how global economic crisis 'dealt critical blow' to aid for poor countries

Ahead of next week's U.N. Millennium Development Summit, "[t]he United Nations and International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the global financial crisis has dealt a critical blow to aid for poor countries with billions of dollars needed to meet shortages," Agence France-Presse reports. "Both institutions said that the world must return to sustainable growth to hope to reach global poverty and health targets" (Donnet, 9/16).

18 Sep 2010

HHS Secretary Sebelius announces $130.8 million in grants to expand health professions workforce

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced $130.8 million in grants to strengthen and expand the health professions workforce. Six areas are targeted: primary care workforce training, oral health workforce training, equipment to enhance training across the health professions, loan repayments for health professionals, health careers opportunity programs for disadvantaged students, and patient navigator outreach and chronic disease prevention in health disparity populations.

18 Sep 2010

Global child mortality declines by one-third since 1990, U.N. report says

The number of children who die before age 5 has declined by one-third since 1990, Reuters reports.

18 Sep 2010

Researchers suggest potentially valuable role for minocycline plus N-acetylcysteine to treat TBI

Traumatic brain injury is a serious public health problem in the United States. Recent data show that approximately 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. While the majority of TBIs are concussions or other mild forms, traumatic brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability.

18 Sep 2010

Lawmakers debate action on stem cell research, public health bills

Sen. Arlen Specter said at a Senate hearing Thursday that Congress should move on allowing the government to fund human embryonic stem cell research "to avoid giving a final say on the issue to a conservative Supreme Court," The Associated Press reports.

18 Sep 2010

CBC members, patient advocacy organizations offer support for PRIME Act

In a presentation today at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference Health Braintrust meeting, Faina Shtern, M.D., president and CEO of AdMeTech Foundation, unveiled overwhelming support from Congressional Black Caucus members and patient advocacy organizations for the Prostate Research, Imaging, and Men's Education Act of 2010.

18 Sep 2010

LCA receives Leadership in Advocacy Award

Lung Cancer Alliance received the Leadership in Advocacy Award at today's forum of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust in Washington D.C.

18 Sep 2010

Minocycline plus N-acetylcysteine may help treat TBI

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem in the United States. Recent data show that approximately 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. While the majority of TBIs are concussions or other mild forms, traumatic brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability.

18 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Assessing physician quality; Community health centers' future; Why doctors take gifts; Access to HIV treatment

Archives of Internal Medicine: Associations Between Physician Characteristics And Quality Of Care - Since "most patients do not have access to physician quality measures," they are often encouraged to use public information such as malpractice claims and board certification status to chose a doctor, according to this report that used 2004-2005 insurance claims from about 10,000 Massachusetts physicians for more than 1.13 million adults.

18 Sep 2010

Teenagers devote more time to sedentary behaviour at weekend: European study

The new school year has started and the school routine is back. A European study led by Spanish researchers has shown how the proportion of young people who watch television and play on the computer for more than two hours per day doubles at the weekend. And while boys opt for video games, teenage girls prefer to surf the net.

17 Sep 2010

Females marry younger when men outnumber women: Study

When men outnumber women, females marry younger and the age gap between spouses grows, a University of Michigan study shows.

17 Sep 2010

DaVita launches Kidney Awareness Run|Walks for chronic kidney disease

DaVita Inc., a leading provider of kidney care services for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), today announced its launch of the 5th annual DaVita Kidney Awareness Run|Walks, a 10 city series of 5K events raising funds and awareness of CKD across the nation.

17 Sep 2010

Center for One Health Illinois to receive additional $500,000 grant from USDA

The Center for One Health Illinois, established at the University of Illinois last year with a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will receive another $500,000 in grants over several years from the USDA to pursue its mission of fostering collaborations and the free flow of information among those in the fields of medicine, public health, the environment and agriculture.

17 Sep 2010

New iPhone application tracks drug safety updates

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Children's Hospital Boston have developed a new iPhone application to encourage health-care professionals and patients to send and receive information about the use and side effects of prescription medications.

17 Sep 2010

Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers to strengthen alliance with GAVI

Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN), a voluntary public health driven alliance of state owned and private vaccine manufacturers from developing countries, now intends to strengthen its collaboration with Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization (GAVI) to increase its bandwidth in immunization for the developing countries.

17 Sep 2010

ACTION Ontario applauds Narcotics Safety and Awareness bill

ACTION Ontario, a non-profit group advocating on behalf of chronic pain sufferers, applauds the provincial government's Narcotics Safety and Awareness bill and encourages the government to take the next step and also address the underlying issue of pain with a comprehensive strategy.

17 Sep 2010

American Lung Association data shows improvement in health benefits

The American Lung Association in California released new data today showing significant public health benefits from pursuing a smart growth future for California. The American Lung Association data shows health benefits, including reduced asthma attacks and premature deaths linked to the Vision California "mixed growth" and "growing smart" scenarios in 2035 that include more compact, sustainable development patterns.

17 Sep 2010

Media reporting can reduce impact of infectious disease outbreaks

At the first sign of a disease pandemic, public health officials should begin strongly communicating about the extent of the outbreak and the steps that can be taken by the public to avoid infection. That's the recommendation of two mathematical biologists who have modified the most widely used infectious disease transmission model to account for the impact of news media coverage.

17 Sep 2010