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WHO calls on countries to eliminate lead poisoning that affects children globally

Lead poisoning has devastating health consequences, in particular for children, with childhood lead exposure estimated to contribute to 600 000 new cases of children with intellectual disabilities every year. Overall, 99% of children affected by high exposure to lead live in low- and middle-income countries, says WHO on the occasion of International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action, and calls on countries to strengthen national actions to eliminate lead paint.

18 Oct 2013

WHO welcomes forthcoming agreement to improve health care access

WHO welcomes the forthcoming agreement at a High-Level Meeting at the United Nations General Assembly which will further improve access to health care and related services for people with disabilities and ensure that they are able to contribute to the sustainable development of their communities.

21 Sep 2013

New islet transplantation improves results for patients with type 1 diabetes

The latest approach to islet transplantation, in which clusters of insulin-producing cells known as islets are transplanted from a donor pancreas into another person's liver, has produced substantially improved results for patients with type 1 diabetes, and may offer a more durable alternative to a whole pancreas transplant.

20 Sep 2013

Study explains indirect burden of malaria on childhood deaths

Recurrent episodes of malaria cause chronic inflammation in blood vessels that might predispose to future infections and may increase susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, a Wellcome Trust study in Malawian children finds.

20 Sep 2013

Research discovery suggests whole new frontier in human and animal brain functioning

Researchers from the University of Montreal and their colleagues have found brain activity beyond a flat line EEG, which they have called Nu-complexes (from the Greek letter).

19 Sep 2013

Study shows fat transplantation may treat inherited metabolic diseases

Transplanting fat may treat such inherited metabolic diseases as maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) by helping the body process the essential amino acids that these patients cannot, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

12 Sep 2013

Researchers explore distinctions between natural sleep and anesthetic unconsciousness

Falling asleep in your bed at night and being "put to sleep" under general anesthesia - as well as waking up in the morning or coming out of anesthesia - aren't quite the same thing, yet they share some important similarities. Max Kelz, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, along with colleagues from Penn, UCSD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Thomas Jefferson University, explored the distinctions between anesthetic unconsciousness and sleep by manipulating the genetic pathways known to be involved in natural sleep and studying the resulting effects on anesthetic states.

6 Sep 2013

Obama administration to provide veterans' same-sex spouses benefits

Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress in a letter that the recent Supreme Court decision clears the way for this change in policy.

6 Sep 2013

Argininosuccinic aciduria (ASA) and gene therapy: an interview with Dr Julien Baruteau, UCL Institute for Women's Health, London

This rare genetic condition can theoretically affect patients at any age but symptoms are more often observed in childhood and even uncommonly during the first days of life.

2 Sep 2013

Antipsychotic drug not effective in treating delirium in critically ill patients

Haloperidol, an antipsychotic drug used in many hospitals to treat delirium in critically ill patients, is no more effective than placebo in reducing the number of days that critically ill patients spend either delirious or in a coma, according to new research published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

22 Aug 2013

Researchers develop smartwatches to uncover reasons behind sleeping problems

Tonight will be another sleepless night for countless people, who will toss and turn for hours. And when they finally drift off, they will wake up with a start a short while later. If their disorder becomes chronic, sufferers often take part in medical sleep studies in an attempt to uncover the reasons behind their sleeping problems.

14 Aug 2013

Harvard University receives grant to use organs-on-chips device to test human response to radiation

A team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has received a $5.6 million grant award from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use its Organs-on-Chips technology for a novel application of keen interest to national security and health officials: to test human physiological responses to radiation, and to evaluate drugs designed to counter those effects.

13 Aug 2013

Pupil responses allow communication in locked-in syndrome

Patients who are otherwise completely unable to communicate can answer yes or no questions within seconds with the help of a simple system-consisting of just a laptop and camera-that measures nothing but the size of their pupils.

6 Aug 2013

Prevention against EEE and West Nile virus is within everyone's control

Every year reported cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and the West Nile virus surface in communities around the country, raising concerns and questions about mosquito borne-illnesses. Despite reports that children and the elderly are at greatest risk, anyone can be stricken by these viruses. But prevention is within everyone's control.

1 Aug 2013

Action Medical Research funds three new Research Training Fellowships

Action Medical Research, the UK-wide charity funding vital research to help sick and disabled babies and children, has today announced it is funding three new Research Training Fellowships worth more than £470,000.

9 Jul 2013

HHS awards contract to British company to run Obamacare exchanges; challenges for health law implementation persist

The New York Times: British Company Is Awarded Contract To Administer Health Rollout Racing to meet an October deadline, Obama administration officials said Thursday that they had awarded a contract worth as much as $1.2 billion to a British company to help them sift applications for health insurance and tax credits under the new health care law.

9 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news about a new ad campaign against the health law, more reaction to the administration's delay of the employer mandate provision and states efforts to restrict abortions.

8 Jul 2013

Research roundup: 'Welcome-mat' effect of Medicaid expansion; Setting up shops; California's transition to Medicaid managed care

The number of people eligible for Medicaid who remain uninsured varies from state to state, according to the authors. But the federal health law is likely to increase the rate of enrollment for this group. The potential impact of this increase in Medicaid enrollment, also known as the 'welcome-mat' effect, is unclear.

2 Jul 2013

Researchers examine effect of ADHD in children recovering from mild traumatic brain injury

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Chicago have found that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely to demonstrate a moderate disability after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury than children without ADHD.

26 Jun 2013

Experts call for international consensus on criteria used to diagnose circulatory and neurological death

The criteria used to diagnose both circulatory and brain death in a patient are subject to variability and as such can be controversial. Anaesthesiologists play an important role in procedures related to the determination of death, so should have specific knowledge about medical, ethical and legal criteria of brain death definition.

3 Jun 2013