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IOM reconfirms the importance of calcium and vitamin D intake

Recently, the Institute of Medicine examined and reconfirmed the importance of calcium and vitamin D throughout life in a report titled "Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D."

15 Dec 2010

MVI, Merck and NYU collaborate to research potential malaria vaccine

Development of a vaccine to prevent the malaria parasite from entering the human liver is the goal of a new collaboration announced today by global leaders in malaria research and vaccine development. The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), Merck (known outside the US and Canada as MSD), and NYU Langone Medical Center are working together to evaluate an approach targeting a novel part of a major surface protein on the malaria parasite. Malaria is estimated to kill close to 900,000 people each year with the majority of deaths occurring in children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.

14 Dec 2010

Poverty and obesity links

According to U.S. government researchers in a new report, women who are poor are much more likely to be obese but men are not. They revealed this Tuesday that where income does not greatly affect whether a man is obese, education affects both sexes. The team at the National Center for Health Statistics writes, “Among men, obesity prevalence is generally similar at all income levels, with a tendency to be slightly higher at higher income levels.”

14 Dec 2010

Adoption rates plummet to a three decade low

Adoption rates in Australia have touched an all time low since 1970’s. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed that in the last financial year there were just 412 adoptions. That is compared with a peak of more than 8,000 adoptions a year in the early 1970s.

14 Dec 2010

MEDNAX acquires pediatric hospitalist group practice in San Antonio

MEDNAX, Inc. today announced the acquisition of a pediatric hospitalist group practice based in San Antonio, TX.

14 Dec 2010

Marketers must pay $2.1M to refund purchasers of Disney- and Marvel heroes-licensed vitamins

As part of its ongoing efforts to stop bogus health claims, the Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement requiring major marketers of children's vitamins to stop making false and unproven claims that their supplements promote healthy brain and eye development in children. The companies have agreed to pay $2.1 million to provide refunds to consumers who purchased certain multivitamins in their Disney and Marvel Heroes line.

14 Dec 2010

Institute for Child and Family Health recognized for exemplary implementation of evidence-based interventions

Institute for Child and Family Health (ICFH), a non-profit organization that offers prevention and treatment programs for children and families in Miami-Dade County, today announced it has received the prestigious SAMHSA 2010 Science and Service Awards. This award recognizes exemplary implementation of evidence-based interventions that have been shown to prevent and/or treat mental illnesses and substance abuse.

14 Dec 2010

Neonaticide is more common than previously thought

Although rare, the true incidence of neonaticides - the unlawful killing of a baby within the first 24 hours of its life - is more than five times as common as official estimates suggest, suggests research published online in the Fetal and Neonatal edition of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

14 Dec 2010

Mercury Policy Project welcomes WHO's support for 'phasing down' amalgam

While an FDA panel re-examines risks of amalgam over the next two days, the World Health Department is expected to release a key report soon recommending that amalgam use be "phased down" globally, consistent with its earlier recommendations.

14 Dec 2010

Pruritic nodules and aluminium allergy arise after vaccinations or treatments for allergies

Allergic contact dermatitis from aluminium has previously been considered very unusual. However, there are now reports of pruritic nodules and aluminium allergy arising after vaccinations or treatments for allergies.

14 Dec 2010

American Epilepsy Society recognizes neuroscientist for basic science advances

Douglas A. Coulter, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, received the 2010 Epilepsy Research Recognition Award for Basic Science from the American Epilepsy Society. The Society honored Dr. Coulter's pioneering contributions to epilepsy research on Monday, Dec. 6 at its Annual Meeting in San Antonio.

14 Dec 2010

GAVI Alliance launches pneumonia vaccine project in Nicaragua

"A new vaccine against the most deadly forms of pneumonia, one of the world's biggest killers of children, [was] launched in Nicaragua [on Sunday] as part of an effort to prevent 700,000 deaths in poorer countries by 2015," Reuters reports (Kelland, 12/10).

14 Dec 2010

Vented bottles prevent nutrient loss in breast milk and infant formula

A recently published University of Nevada study indicates that both breast milk and infant formula should be protected from the air to reduce the impact of oxidation on essential nutrients, including vitamins A and E. An earlier phase of the study showed similar impacts on Vitamin C.

14 Dec 2010

Pelosi releases statement on Obama's signing of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after she attended a ceremony this morning where President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. This bipartisan legislation will improve the quality of meals students eat at school, increase the number of healthy meals available to needy children, and provide the first real boost in the federal reimbursement rate for school lunches in more than 30 years.

14 Dec 2010

Researchers implement life skills program to reduce HIV and drug use among South African youth

Drug use, risky sexual behavior and violence among South African youth may be reduced thanks to Penn State researchers, who will look at expanding a leisure education and life skills program to 56 South African high schools.

14 Dec 2010

New collaboration to develop vaccine to prevent malaria parasite from entering human liver

14 Dec 2010

PenTAG researchers contribute to new NICE guidance on preventing unintentional injury to under-15s

Researchers from the Peninsula Technology Assessment Group (PenTAG) at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry have contributed to new National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance on preventing unintentional injury to the under-15s.

14 Dec 2010

Early school entry lowers risk of obesity among adolescent girls

Effective strategies to fight the epidemic of childhood and adolescent obesity — one-third of kids under 20 weigh more than they should — have been elusive. A new study suggests a simple step that might help cut the problem down to size: start school sooner.

14 Dec 2010

Vitamin D deficiency flagged as a major concern in South Asia

Bone health experts attending the 1st Asia-Pacific Osteoporosis Meeting in Singapore this week have flagged vitamin D deficiency as a major concern in the region, particularly in South Asia where the problem is especially severe and widespread across the entire population.

14 Dec 2010

Beta-catenin protein plays a key role in development of stem cells in acute leukaemia

Researchers at King's College London have discovered that leukaemic stem cells can be reversed to a pre-leukaemic stage by suppressing a protein called beta-catenin found in the blood.

14 Dec 2010