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Ugandan government draws up response plan to combat 'nodding disease'

The Ugandan government is creating a "wide-ranging response plan" to "nodding disease, a mysterious ailment characterized by seizures, nodding of the head, mental retardation and stunting, which affects thousands of children in northern Uganda," IRIN reports.

8 Mar 2012

States use retiree health care, Medicaid cuts to stare down budget gaps

State budget cuts are targeting health care and retiree health care programs in states around the U.S. In Maryland, a "doomsday" budget scenario could reduce Medicaid spending by $101 million while advocates push for reinstatement of Medicaid dollars in Idaho and Arizona.

8 Mar 2012

Progress made in talks with North Korea regarding food aid, U.S. envoys say

"U.S. envoys said there was progress in talks Wednesday on arrangements for the first U.S. government food aid shipment to impoverished North Korea in three years, part of an agreement aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs," the Associated Press reports.

8 Mar 2012

Scientists identify 2,000 important genes linked to singing

Can the song of a small bird provide valuable insights into human stuttering and speech-related disorders and conditions, including autism and stroke? New research by UCLA life scientists and colleagues provides reason for optimism.

8 Mar 2012

Children with autism look away from faces when thinking

Children with autism look away from faces when thinking, especially about challenging material, according to new research from Northumbria University.

8 Mar 2012

Health insurance: More covered young adults in Minn.; Mass. wonders if insured rate has hit ceiling

Health insurance coverage rates are making news in Minnesota and Massachusetts, where officials wonder if their 98 percent coverage rate is the best they can do.

8 Mar 2012

Scientists focus on genes linked with autism spectrum disorders

With the "Refrigerator Mother" notion about the cause of autism a distant and discredited memory, scientists are making remarkable progress in untangling the genetic roots of the condition, which affects millions of children and adults, according to an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

8 Mar 2012

Doctors identify promising new treatment for hypophosphatasia

Doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, working with Shriners Hospital for Children and other institutions, have identified a promising new treatment for a rare and sometimes life-threatening bone disorder that can affect infants and young children.

8 Mar 2012

Queen's receives NICH&S grant to create vaccine against Pseudomonas

Queen's University Belfast scientists working on a vaccine to combat Pseudomonas have received a financial boost from Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke.

8 Mar 2012

New inexpensive medical sensor may simplify diagnosis of diseases

An inexpensive new medical sensor has the potential to simplify the diagnosis of diseases ranging from life-threatening immune deficiencies to the common cold, according to its inventors at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

8 Mar 2012

Journalists can now register for Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting

Journalists can register now for the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies taking place at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston April 28 to May 1, 2012.

8 Mar 2012

Women with multiple pregnancies may have reduced risk of MS

Women who have multiple pregnancies may have a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to research published in the March 7, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Mar 2012

March issue of NeuroPerspective reviews therapeutics for ADHD

NeuroPerspective, the independent, monthly review of the neurotherapeutics area, has released its March issue, which reviews the field of therapeutics for Attention Deficit Disorder.

8 Mar 2012

Celldex fourth quarter net loss increases to $12.7 million

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2011.

8 Mar 2012

HHS: 105 million people no longer face health insurance lifetime limits

A Department of Health and Human Services report released Monday quantified the number of Americans with health insurance who no longer face these benefit limits.

7 Mar 2012

Simple recommendations help reduce environmental exposures for women

Remove your shoes at the door of your home to avoid tracking in pollutants. Decrease consumption of processed and canned foods. Avoid the use of plastics with recycling codes #3, #4 and #7. Don't use chemical tick and flea collars or dips for pets. Reproductive health care providers should share these tips and more scientific information with women who want to become pregnant or who are pregnant, but that does not always happen.

7 Mar 2012

Yemen to launch measles vaccination campaign after increase in number of cases, deaths

"Measles has killed 126 children in Yemen since mid-2011, a consequence of the breakdown of basic health services during the year-long political crisis," and "in response ... , the Yemeni government has appealed for international assistance and an outbreak-response vaccination campaign will begin in the hardest-hit regions on 10 March," IRIN reports.

7 Mar 2012

Mild TBI may increase risk of postconcussive symptoms in children

Children who experience mild traumatic brain injury may be more likely to show increases in symptoms over time that could impact quality of life, more so than children who experience an orthopedic injury. Injury severity could play a role.

7 Mar 2012

Smoking and lung cancer notice turns fifty but 20% Britons still smoke: Report

According to health experts, it has been five decades after doctors issued their first warning about the dangers of cigarettes. Still more than 20 percent of Britons still smoke - and unless they quit, half of them will die from the habit. Smoking has killed more than six million people in Britain since 1962, when the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) published a landmark report about the health risks of tobacco.

7 Mar 2012

Concussion in kids may lead to memory and cognitive problems at school later in life

The researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University looked at 186 children aged 8 to 15 who experienced concussion - most commonly in a fall or while playing sports - or other brain injury from a car accident or other causes. The children’s parents were asked to fill out a standard questionnaire to assess their child’s cognitive and physical status before the concussion, and again two weeks, three months and a year later. These responses were compared to those from parents of 99 similar children who came into the emergency room with orthopedic injuries.

7 Mar 2012