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First Edition: March 20, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the new GOP budget proposal, to be unveiled today by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

20 Mar 2012

Study identifies risk factors for postpartum depressive symptoms

Many Norwegian women postpone pregnancy until they have completed their education and are well established on their career path. This may make them more vulnerable to postpartum depression.

20 Mar 2012

North Shore-LIJ inaugurates NYHNI's Center for Cranial Base Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital

As part of its ongoing efforts to develop patient-centric services that focus on disease prevention and management, the North Shore-LIJ Health System today announced the creation of the New York Head and Neck Institute (NYHNI), a part of its head and neck surgery service line, and the opening of the Center for Cranial Base Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital.

20 Mar 2012

More than 1M children under age 5 at risk of malnutrition in Sahel, UNICEF warns

"The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is warning that more than a million children below the age of five in the Sahel are facing a disaster amid the ongoing food crisis in the drought-prone region of Africa," the U.N. News Centre reports.

20 Mar 2012

Medicaid expansion rule focuses on enrollment process

The Obama administration released a rule Friday detailing the specifics of this coverage expansion and trying to simplify the enrollment process.

20 Mar 2012

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement honors two experts on air pollution

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement honors two experts on air pollution with the 2012 Tyler Prize for their work to advance the scientific understanding of air pollution, and develop solutions to reduce the danger to human health and the impact on climate change.

20 Mar 2012

New book on war trauma and its aftermath

A new book by a University of New Hampshire researcher and Vietnam-era disabled veteran sheds new light on the long-term psychological trauma experienced by the coalition force in recent wars in the Gulf and Balkans that, when left untreated, can have deadly consequences.

20 Mar 2012

AAFA releases new 'Spring Allergy Capital' rankings

Today is the vernal equinox – otherwise known as the official end of winter and the start of spring. But even if you didn't look at your calendar today, chances are your nose already figured it out. That's because more than 40 million Americans have nasal allergies.

20 Mar 2012

iPSYCH project to study five specific mental disorders

Is it possible to prevent the development of schizophrenia? Can certain patients develop autism if they carry a specific gene and have been exposed to a viral fetal infection? Should all ADHD patients take the same type of medication? This unique research project will try to answer these questions. The project is based at Aarhus University and will be known as 'The Lundbeck Foundation's Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research.'

20 Mar 2012

State roundup: Calpers insurance savings; Harvard Pilgrim challenges 'Partners'; Minn. long-term care costs spike

The California Public Employees' Retirement System happily ended 2010 with insurance rates $15 million lower than they might have been ... Catholic Healthcare West, now Dignity Health, which helped deliver those savings, ended that year with millions of dollars less in revenue. The San Francisco-based hospital system was among the early adopters of accountable care ... Hospital executives trying to control spending face the costly prospect of actively trying to keep patients out of the hospital.

20 Mar 2012

Researchers discover new method to identify cancer-causing translocations

Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah report they have discovered a method to identify cancer-causing rearrangements of genetic material called chromosomal translocations quickly, accurately, and inexpensively.

20 Mar 2012

Disruptions in immune system regulation may play a role in NEC

Despite advances in neonatal care, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) - the most common gastrointestinal emergency in premature infants - continues to be a deadly disease. "We haven't made a lot of progress in identifying babies early who may be at risk for NEC, preventing it or treating it," said J-rn-Hendrik Weitkamp, M.D., a neonatologist and assistant professor of Pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

20 Mar 2012

New three-step process for DMD newborn screening

Investigators at Nationwide Children's Hospital, working with the DNA Sequencing Core Facility at the University of Utah, have developed an approach to newborn screening (NBS) for the life-threatening genetic disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and potentially other muscular dystrophies.

20 Mar 2012

ADHD diagnosis on the rise among American children

The number of American children leaving doctors' offices with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis has risen 66 percent in 10 years, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Over this same timeframe, specialists, instead of primary care physicians, have begun treating an increasing number of these young patients, the study found.

20 Mar 2012

Groundbreaking cystic fibrosis clinical trial to proceed after renewed funding

The team of scientists based in Edinburgh, Oxford and London were developing a treatment which involves putting genes into the lungs of patients suffering the fatal, inherited wasting disease, passed early clinical trials in 2010. But the recession badly affected the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the charity that had funded the programme, and work had to stop last year just as the consortium was closing in on its goal.

19 Mar 2012

Thousands of cancer cases could be prevented by 2025 with better diet & exercise: Australian study

According to new research nearly 43,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in 2025 if Australians eat better and exercised more. Cancer Council researchers estimate about 170,000 cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2025 - a 60 per cent increase on the number of diagnoses in 2007. The researchers say governments must act to reduce the future burden of cancer.

19 Mar 2012

Highmark Healthy High 5 initiative benefits Pennsylvania children

The Highmark Foundation today announced that Highmark Healthy High 5, a five-year $100 million initiative, successfully influenced change regarding children's health issues in the 49-county region Highmark serves across Pennsylvania.

19 Mar 2012

Largest ever academic-industry research project to find new drugs for ASD

An international consortium of scientists, led by Roche, King's College London, and Autism Speaks, is collaborating on one of the largest ever academic-industry research projects to find new methods for the development of drugs for autism spectrum disorder.

From CSL Ltd 19 Mar 2012

EU-funded 'afresh'-project looks at food and physical activity

Food and physical activity are looked at together in the EU-funded "afresh"-project. Eight regional clusters - strong in food and/or health - currently are setting up their joint future agenda aiming at the prevention of diet-and activity related deseases like obesity, diabetes, cardiovasculaire deseases, osteoporose, etc.

19 Mar 2012

Paper describes results of BMT in models of Rett Syndrome

A paper published online today in Nature describes the results of using bone marrow transplant (BMT) to replace faulty immune system cells in models of Rett Syndrome. The procedure arrested many severe symptoms of the childhood disorder, including abnormal breathing and movement, and significantly extended the lifespan of Rett mouse models.

19 Mar 2012