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FDA announces grants to address unmet pediatric device needs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the awarding of three grants to stimulate the development and availability of medical devices for children.

22 Sep 2009

Older adults with vitamin D deficiency at a greater risk of heart disease and death

A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

22 Sep 2009

Duke University awarded $19.5M to design a portable viral infection detection device

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Defense, has awarded Duke University $19.5 million for an effort led by the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) to design a portable, easy-to-use diagnostic device that can reveal who is infected with an upper respiratory virus before the first cough or sneeze.

22 Sep 2009

Collaborative initiative to address nursing shortage

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Northwest Health Foundation (NWHF) today issued its Call for Proposal for Partners Investing in Nursing's Future (PIN), a collaborative initiative that addresses the nursing shortage at the community level through funding partnerships with local and regional foundations.

22 Sep 2009

Some religious groups seek health care for illegal immigrants

NPR reports: "In the Hispanic community, there are issues in the debate over health care that spill over into the debate over immigration policy."

21 Sep 2009

Also in Global Health news: HIV/aids in Zambia; Ugandan medical workers; Obama administration officials' Q&A, speech; South African health care reform efforts; texting to combat drug shortages in Africa

The Post of Zambia examines the findings of a recent report revealing "the devastating effects" the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia is having on the country's ability to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. The article also looks at the relationship between HIV/AIDS and nutrition, maternal health and education (Chackwe, 9/21).

21 Sep 2009

Failures in Canadian health policy

As America grapples with reforming health care with an eye to introducing a public option, a new book published by the Fraser Institute, one of Canada’s leading economic think tanks, details the failures of Canada’s government-run health care system and serves as a warning to U.S. policy-makers.

21 Sep 2009

NIAID awards Antigen Discovery a Phase II STTR grant for Chlamydia vaccine development

Antigen Discovery, Inc. ("ADi", formerly ImmPORT Therapeutics, Inc.), a leading biotech company in high throughput antigen and biomarker discovery, announced today that the Company was awarded a Phase II STTR from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

21 Sep 2009

Symposium to discuss the scientific approaches of the FDA

The Second Annual Science Writers Symposium on Nov. 4 and 5, 2009, at the FDA's White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Md., will highlight how the FDA applies novel scientific approaches to critical public health issues and the products it regulates. The symposium, featuring a lab tour and presentations by FDA scientists, will give writers a unique insight into the evolving field of regulatory science with an eye towards generating potential story ideas.

21 Sep 2009

Study reveals that daily commuting may lead to mosquito-borne diseases

University of Hawaii at Manoa assistant researcher Durrell Kapan recently published a paper, Man Bites Mosquito: Understanding the Contribution of Human Movement to Vector-Borne Disease Dynamics, in PLoS One. Published August 26, the paper highlights how daily commuting patterns in mega-cities may be a critically overlooked factor in understanding the resurgence of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, infecting 50-100 million people annually.

21 Sep 2009

Recent releases: Climate change, health; ITNS; Mexico H1N1; Policy Tracker; TB treatment; blogs

In addition to the Lancet's recent publication of an opinion piece and letter by 18 doctor association leaders about the potential health risks associated with climate change, the journal includes an editorial about sexual and reproductive health and climate change and a comment on the upcoming Copenhagen conference in December (9/19).

21 Sep 2009

Today's selection of opinions and editorials

There's enough wrong with the Baucus proposal as it stands to make it unworkable and unacceptable. But that said, Senator Baucus's mark is better than many of us expected. If it serves as a basis for negotiation, and the result of those negotiations is a plan that's stronger, not weaker, reformers are going to have to make some hard choices about the degree of disappointment they're willing to live with (Paul Krugman, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

Kenya to launch measles vaccine campaign

The Kenya Ministry of Public Health on Saturday will launch a $1.8 million measles vaccination campaign targeting "1.3 million children who have not been vaccinated against the disease since July 2006," Business Daily Africa reports.

21 Sep 2009

Study reveals that allergies are a major health issue in Sweden

Asthma, nasal symptoms and eczema is a major public health problem in Sweden, not least among young people. Half of all teenagers are affected in Västra Götaland County in West Sweden.

21 Sep 2009

A new study links 45,000 deaths a year to lack of insurance

Researchers find that 45,000 deaths a year can be linked to the lack of health insurance. But, some question the study's merits. CBS News reports that the study was conducted by a team "that tracked more than 9,000 people for up to 13 years, comparing the health of those with insurance to those without. After factoring in education and income, smoking, drinking and obesity, researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death, linking 45,000 American deaths a year to lack of insurance. In 1993 it was 25 percent" (Axelrod, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

Nine countries pledge H1N1 vaccine donations to developing countries

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21 Sep 2009

HIV mutates itself to escape antibodies

A study of how HIV mutates in response to immune system pressure by Emory Vaccine Center researchers shows that the virus can take several escape routes, not one preferred route.

21 Sep 2009

Early drinkers more susceptible to alcoholism

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21 Sep 2009

Maximum Weight Limit is the new measure to calculate healthy weight

So, using SAS software and statistical procedures, he discovered a much simpler way of calculating a Maximum Weight Limit, which closely corresponds to weight recommendations listed on BMI charts. But, you don't need to calculate or know your BMI, nor do you need a chart or online calculator to figure out your Maximum Weight Limit. Fernandez will present his Maximum Weight Limit calculation at the Nevada Public Health Association Conference, 1:30 p.m., Sept. 22 at the University of Nevada, Reno's Joe Crowley Student Union, Room 423.

21 Sep 2009

H1N1 infected people continue to shed live virus days after the symptoms

ABC News and other outlets are reporting that two studies released on Tuesday suggest that people infected with the H1N1 virus continue to shed virus after the point where current recommendations say they can resume their normal activities.

19 Sep 2009