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BMI in overweight range not a higher risk for health problems

A study examining the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and illness suggests that a BMI of 30 or above, a signal of obesity according to federal health standards, does not translate into current illness among adults under age 40.

26 May 2010

Research shows reduced consumption of SSB lowers blood pressure

Drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages — a leading source of added sugar in the U.S. diet — may lower blood pressure, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

26 May 2010

Nurses use up-to-date techniques to help smokers quit, says RNAO

As World No Tobacco Day 2010 (May 31) approaches, Canadians thinking about quitting smoking can rely on nurses to help them butt out. The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario says nurses are using the most up-to-date techniques to help smokers quit, which is reducing the number of smokers and preventing diseases.

26 May 2010

RSV appears to be predominant among Kenyan children hospitalized with severe pneumonia: Study

Among infants and children hospitalized in Kenya with severe pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus appears to be the predominant virus detected, according to a study in the May 26 issue of JAMA.

26 May 2010

Contaminant in cocaine impairs immune systems

Toxicologists across the country are sounding the alarm about a contaminant increasingly found in cocaine that is impairing cocaine users' immune systems, subjecting them to various infections and, in some cases, causing death.

26 May 2010

Researchers describe carcinogenic effects of EDCs

Longtime environmental health researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine describe the carcinogenic effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, ubiquitous chemicals that have hormone-like effects in the body. In a review article published online May 25 in Nature Reviews Endocrinology, the researchers express the need for more complex strategies for studying how these chemicals affect health but report that ample evidence already supports changing public health and environmental policies to protect the public from exposure to EDCs.

26 May 2010

NIDDK awards Albert Einstein College of Medicine $9.5M for continuation of Diabetes Research and Training Center

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a five-year, $9.5 million grant for the continuation of its Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC). The DRTC was also awarded a $632,000 supplemental grant for equipment and additional pilot and feasibility studies through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), bringing total NIH support to $10,177,000.

26 May 2010

Academic researchers say tour yielded 23 percent increase in patients who got best, cheapest drugs

Reuters reports that 150 academic researchers touring the U.S. to make recommendations on diuretics and best and cheapest practices for blood pressure medicine have reported a 23 percent increase in patients who get the recommended drugs, "twice the increase in the U.S. over the same period."

26 May 2010

Today's OpEds: States must take on public health challenges; Placing blame for high health costs

Britain's 'reform' will do little to improve access to life-extending drugs (5/25).

25 May 2010

AlphaMed Press earns CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation

AlphaMed Press has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, recognizing the organization's commitment to taking concrete actions to reduce the cancer risk of its employees and their families through screenings, early detection, and healthy changes in lifestyle and in the workplace.

25 May 2010

New research finding may change direction of vaccine research for M. tuberculosis

Scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered that the strategy of "immune evasion" common to many viruses, bacteria and parasites, is uncommon to M. tuberculosis where the antigens remain strikingly unchanged and homogenous. The study published in Nature Genetics on May 23, 2010, suggests that M. tuberculosis antigens do not mutate because they hope to be recognized by the body's immune system- perhaps because the host immune mechanism that leads to the typical lung destruction and cough can contribute to the spread of the disease.

25 May 2010

DAPT Study expands into seven countries in the EU: HCRI

The Harvard Clinical Research Institute announced today that the DAPT Study has expanded into seven countries in the European Union. John Irving, MBChB, MRCP, M.D., consultant cardiologist at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, United Kingdom, was the first European investigator to enroll patients into the study.

25 May 2010

WHA endorses interim targets to eradicate measles as WHO warns disease on the rise

"Measles is making a rapid comeback in African, Asian and even some European countries despite being easily avoided through vaccination, the World Health Organization said Friday as countries pledged to sharply cut infections and deaths worldwide by 2015," the Associated Press reports (Jordans, 5/22). On the final day of the 63rd Annual World Health Assembly, the assembly endorsed a series of interim targets towards the global eradication of measles, VOA News reports.

25 May 2010

Northrop Grumman begins delivery of critical assay technology to DHS for homeland defense applications

Northrop Grumman Corporation has begun deliveries of critical assay technology to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as part of the company's BioWatch Gen-3 contract to develop a new generation of biological detectors for homeland defense applications.

25 May 2010

NIH, FDA launch new portal to provide easier access to online reporting

The Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health today launched a new Web site that, when fully developed, will provide a mechanism for the reporting of pre- and post-market safety data to the federal government.

25 May 2010

Economic access becomes primary research focus in public health nutrition

Ensuring access to healthy, affordable foods is a top priority in tackling the obesity epidemic in the United States. Over the course of the last six months, the Institute of Medicine, United States Department of Agriculture, The White House and First Lady Michelle Obama have taken an interest in improving access to affordable and nutritious foods.

25 May 2010

Reducing consumption of sugary drinks can lower blood pressure: Research

Research led by Liwei Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that there is an association between sugary drinks and blood pressure and that by cutting daily consumption of sugary drinks by just one serving a day, people can lower their blood pressure.

25 May 2010

STOP Obesity Alliance researchers receive $250,000 donation to research on health impact of obesity

The research team of The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services' Department of Health Policy's Strategies to Overcome and Prevent Obesity Alliance received a $250,000 donation from Allergan, Inc. to support public health, policy analysis and research about the economic and health impact of obesity and related chronic diseases.

25 May 2010

FDA issues 510(k) clearance to Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test on 3M Integrated Cycler

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued 510(k) clearance to the Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test on the 3M Integrated Cycler. The Simplexa test, developed and manufactured by Quest Diagnostics' Focus Diagnostics business, is the first to be cleared by the FDA for use as an aid in the detection and differentiation of influenza A and 2009 H1N1 influenza viral RNA.

25 May 2010

FDA clears Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it has cleared the Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009), a test for the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus in patients with signs and symptoms of respiratory infection.

24 May 2010

Public Health News and Research

BMI in overweight range not a higher risk for health problems

Research shows reduced consumption of SSB lowers blood pressure

Nurses use up-to-date techniques to help smokers quit, says RNAO

RSV appears to be predominant among Kenyan children hospitalized with severe pneumonia: Study

Contaminant in cocaine impairs immune systems

Researchers describe carcinogenic effects of EDCs

NIDDK awards Albert Einstein College of Medicine $9.5M for continuation of Diabetes Research and Training Center

Academic researchers say tour yielded 23 percent increase in patients who got best, cheapest drugs

Today's OpEds: States must take on public health challenges; Placing blame for high health costs

AlphaMed Press earns CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation

New research finding may change direction of vaccine research for M. tuberculosis

DAPT Study expands into seven countries in the EU: HCRI

WHA endorses interim targets to eradicate measles as WHO warns disease on the rise

Northrop Grumman begins delivery of critical assay technology to DHS for homeland defense applications

NIH, FDA launch new portal to provide easier access to online reporting

Economic access becomes primary research focus in public health nutrition

Reducing consumption of sugary drinks can lower blood pressure: Research

STOP Obesity Alliance researchers receive $250,000 donation to research on health impact of obesity

FDA issues 510(k) clearance to Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test on 3M Integrated Cycler

FDA clears Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test

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