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Cartilage tympanoplasty can be performed successfully in 95% of young children

Cartilage tympanoplasty can be performed successfully in 95 percent of young children when appropriate conditions exist, according to a study in the February 2013 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

5 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Obama's 'olive branch' on birth control coverage; Sen. Kirk recounts his stroke therapy; Nurses oppose mandatory flu shots

The Obama administration released the final details Friday of the exemption it will provide religious-affiliated employers from the requirement to include free birth control in employees' insurance policies. Not surprisingly, the announcement didn't seem to mollify any of the critics who'd been arguing that the exemption was inadequate.

4 Feb 2013

Battles over availability and coverage of abortion move to states

States are the arena for new abortion battles -- both the fight over their availability and coverage of them by state and private insurance. In the meantime, new legislation on the procedure is winding through the Washington state and Arkansas legislatures.

1 Feb 2013

House Republicans keep target on health law's insurance subsidies

Meanwhile, a new GOP lawmaker from Texas renews his pledge to undo "ObamaCare" while a senator focuses on workforce issues.

31 Jan 2013

Tax forms to include health insurance cost info -- per health law requirement

Today's headlines also include coverage of other health law issues, such as student health plans and the health care workforce.

31 Jan 2013

Cognitive decline in elderly more likely with poor hearing

Older adults with hearing loss may be at an increased risk for cognitive decline and cognitive impairment, report researchers.

29 Jan 2013

State leaders seeking cash, legislation to improve mental health care

Minnesota, Florida, Illinois are directing money to provide more mental health care as Massachusetts is taking another look at background checks for gun sales.

29 Jan 2013

Common myths about flu from Mayo Clinic

It seems you can't go anywhere these days without hearing "the flu this" or "the flu that." Unfortunately, this season's influenza outbreak is one of the worst in years. And it's not just the flu virus that's causing problems; there are also many myths about the flu that are keeping people from doing more to prevent it.

29 Jan 2013

Mutated Nesprin4 protein prevents hearing

Because half of all instances of hearing loss are linked to genetic mutations, advanced gene research is an invaluable tool for uncovering causes of deafness - and one of the biggest hopes for the development of new therapies. Now Prof. Karen Avraham of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University has discovered a significant mutation in a LINC family protein - part of the cells of the inner ear - that could lead to new treatments for hearing disorders.

29 Jan 2013

Senate hearing urges action on Obama mental health care agenda

Democrats and Republicans expressed concerns about gaps in the system at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

28 Jan 2013

Health law's Medicaid expansion raises possibilities, problems for states

California Gov. Jerry Brown describes implementing the expansion as "incredibly complex," while Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder sees it an opportunity to address gaps in the mental health system. In Arizona, meanwhile, the expansion is framed as an immigration issue.

28 Jan 2013

The LINC complex essential for hearing

In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Karen Avraham and colleagues at Tel Aviv University identified a genetic mutation in two families with hereditary high frequency hearing loss. The mutated gene, which has not previously been linked to hearing loss, encodes NESP4, a protein that is expressed in the outer nuclear membrane (ONM) of the hair cells of the ear.

28 Jan 2013

Secretary of State nominee Sen. Kerry testifies at Senate confirmation hearing

"In a confirmation hearing unusual for its bipartisan comity, Secretary of State-designate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) pledged Thursday to pursue a different brand of foreign policy -- one rooted in greater cultural understanding of the developing world -- while leading a global fight to combat climate change, which he described as a direct threat to American security," the Boston Globe reports.

28 Jan 2013

First Edition: January 25, 2013

Today's headlines include various state-level reports about how budget issues are impacting health policy decisions.

28 Jan 2013

Contention, hearings dominate state efforts to implement health law's requirements

Lawmakers in Mississippi, Missouri, Wyoming, Kansas, Florida and California are considering the effects of expanding Medicaid and establishing health insurance exchanges -- both major tenets of the health law for states.

24 Jan 2013

Study offers first detailed map of brain regions that contribute to emotional intelligence

A new study of 152 Vietnam veterans with combat-related brain injuries offers the first detailed map of the brain regions that contribute to emotional intelligence - the ability to process emotional information and navigate the social world.

22 Jan 2013

CHLA, House Research Institute receive FDA approval to begin pediatric ABI clinical trial

L.A.-based House Research Institute and Children's Hospital Los Angeles announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given final approval to begin a clinical trial of an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) procedure for children.

22 Jan 2013

Hearing loss is associated with accelerated cognitive decline and impairment in older adults

Hearing loss appears to be associated with accelerated cognitive decline and cognitive impairment in a study of older adults, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

22 Jan 2013

Older adults with hearing loss more likely to develop thinking and remembering problems

Older adults with hearing loss are more likely to develop problems thinking and remembering than older adults whose hearing is normal, according to a new study by hearing experts at Johns Hopkins.

22 Jan 2013

Women with emotional exhaustion exhibit sound hypersensitivity when exposed to stress

Women suffering from stress-related exhaustion exhibit hypersensitivity to sounds when exposed to stress. In some cases, a sound level corresponding to a normal conversation can be perceived as painful. This according to a study from Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University's Stress Research Institute in Sweden, which tested sensitivity to sounds immediately after a few minutes' artificially induced stress.

16 Jan 2013