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Eric Boerwinkle receives $26 million federal stimulus grant to identify genetic factors influencing common diseases

Eric Boerwinkle, Ph.D., a professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, has received a $26 million federal stimulus grant to lead an effort to pinpoint genetic factors affecting the risk of heart, lung and blood diseases.

12 Oct 2009

Streamwood Behavioral Hospital implements initiatives to improve patient services

Using the findings and research generated by three professional operations surveys, the leadership of Streamwood Behavioral Hospital announced today they will initiate improvements to bring its patient service programs to a "gold standard" of care.

12 Oct 2009

Clinical trial reveals cholera vaccine is safe, offers protection for up to 2 years

A clinical trial of an Indian-made "modified killed-whole-cell" oral cholera vaccine "that meets WHO standards" has found that the vaccine is safe and effective in children living in parts of India where the disease is endemic, Reuters reports. The researchers, who reported their findings in the journal Lancet, hope to soon introduce the vaccine into other cholera endemic settings.

9 Oct 2009

PFCD releases the updated comparison of chronic care provisions contained within health reform bill

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) today released an updated comparison of chronic care provisions contained within health reform legislation to reflect the amended Senate Finance Committee proposal. The amended "Chairman's Mark" includes numerous provisions to prevent and manage chronic disease, the top cost driver in health care, as do the two other major pieces of health reform legislation under consideration in Congress.

9 Oct 2009

Aspen Institute and TIME magazine to present panel discussions on health care reform

With health care reform headed to the floor of the House and Senate, the Aspen Institute and TIME magazine will present a day of panel discussions designed to shed light on what the looming changes will mean for the American people.

9 Oct 2009

Breathe Easy, Stay Healthy Campaign for reducing toxic air pollution in Pittsburgh

Today, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), joined by leaders from the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) and Clean Water Action, along with Dr. Evelyn O. Talbott of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology and Allegheny County Council President Richard Fitzgerald, announced a major new campaign to reduce the fine soot pollution responsible for Pittsburgh’s number one ranking for dirtiest air for two years running.

9 Oct 2009

St. Petersburg City Council partners with American Lung Association for "Faces of Influenza" campaign

Mayor Rick Baker and members of St. Petersburg City Council are partnering with the American Lung Association in Florida Gulfcoast area on its Faces of Influenza educational initiative to kick off the 2009-2010 influenza season in Tampa/St. Petersburg.

9 Oct 2009

Inclusion of vitamin D values in National Nutrient Database

The next time you run nutritionals using the government's database, you might be pleasantly surprised that some of your favorite foods seem to have received a nutrient boost, virtually overnight.

9 Oct 2009

Study detects hazardous chemicals in health care professionals

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), American Nurses Association (ANA) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) released "Hazardous Chemicals In Health Care," the first investigation of chemicals found in bodies of health care professionals.

9 Oct 2009

Research study on HPV vaccination efficacy for boys and girls

Persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus, is known to be a cause of cervical cancer. Current guidelines prioritize HPV vaccination of pre-adolescent girls, which has been shown to be cost-effective in previous studies, but the value of vaccinating boys in the United States has been unclear.

9 Oct 2009

FDA files complaint against Rel's Foods for selling adulterated food products

The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Rel's Foods Inc. (Rel's), of Oakland, Calif., seeking to stop the company from manufacturing, producing, and selling adulterated food products.

9 Oct 2009

News organizations examine Guatemalan drought, malnutrition

McClatchy/Chicago Tribune examines the "worst drought in 30 years" in Guatemala, which "has destroyed 80 percent of the region's crops and claimed the lives of more than a dozen children so far this year."

9 Oct 2009

Researchers to develop new technique to detect tuberculosis in developing countries

Two billion people worldwide carry the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB), and most of them do not even know they are infected. This is because some 90 percent of people with TB have "latent" infections. They have no symptoms, they can't spread the disease to others and the bug remains dormant in their lungs -- often for years.

9 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: Uganda malaria efforts; child mortality in Vietnam; refugee health; U.S. aid to Somalia; HIV in South Africa

The Guardian examines efforts to reduce malaria in Katine, Uganda, through the distribution of insecticide-treated nets to high-risk groups. Though the article details a reduction in the number of malaria cases in the region, additional nets are needed to cover the entire population. Also, health experts warn additional strategies, such as indoor residual spraying and increased access to drugs are needed to defeat malaria (Kavuma, 10/8).

9 Oct 2009

Countries make little progress in implementing life-saving techniques to treat children with diarrhea

Despite evidence that low-cost diarrhea treatments such as lower osmolarity oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc supplements could drastically reduce the number of deaths among children, little progress has been made in implementing these life-saving techniques, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

9 Oct 2009

CBO score a score for Baucus, but others balk

The Congressional Budget Office's score was mostly good news for Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus as he works to gain approval for his health bill and move it to the Senate floor.

9 Oct 2009

HHS unveils several new resources on federal government’s website for flu information

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today unveiled several new resources on the federal government’s one-stop resource for flu information -- www.flu.gov. The Web site now features a new H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation guide for adults 18 and older along with a new Flu Myths and Facts section, which provides the public with the latest and most accurate information about the flu.

8 Oct 2009

States deal with hospital fees, medical industry concerns and levies on physician payments

Recent state developments include a pending tax on hospitals in California, resistance to health system change in the Missouri medical community and a proposed tax on physician fees in Michigan.

8 Oct 2009

Phadia launches new, advanced assays for accurate diagnosis of celiac disease

Phadia Inc., worldwide leaders in the development, manufacturing and marketing of complete blood test systems for the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of allergy, asthma and autoimmune diseases, today announced the launch of a two new, highly -reliable assays to support the accurate diagnosis of celiac disease.

8 Oct 2009

BC Cancer Agency scientists find major breakthrough in breast cancer

For the first time in history, BC Cancer Agency scientists in British Columbia, Canada have decoded all of the three billion letters in the DNA sequence of a metastatic lobular breast cancer tumour, a type of breast cancer which accounts for about 10 per cent of all breast cancers, and have found all of the mutations, or "spelling" mistakes that caused the cancer to spread.

8 Oct 2009

Public Health News and Research

Eric Boerwinkle receives $26 million federal stimulus grant to identify genetic factors influencing common diseases

Streamwood Behavioral Hospital implements initiatives to improve patient services

Clinical trial reveals cholera vaccine is safe, offers protection for up to 2 years

PFCD releases the updated comparison of chronic care provisions contained within health reform bill

Aspen Institute and TIME magazine to present panel discussions on health care reform

Breathe Easy, Stay Healthy Campaign for reducing toxic air pollution in Pittsburgh

St. Petersburg City Council partners with American Lung Association for "Faces of Influenza" campaign

Inclusion of vitamin D values in National Nutrient Database

Study detects hazardous chemicals in health care professionals

Research study on HPV vaccination efficacy for boys and girls

FDA files complaint against Rel's Foods for selling adulterated food products

News organizations examine Guatemalan drought, malnutrition

Researchers to develop new technique to detect tuberculosis in developing countries

Also in Global Health News: Uganda malaria efforts; child mortality in Vietnam; refugee health; U.S. aid to Somalia; HIV in South Africa

Countries make little progress in implementing life-saving techniques to treat children with diarrhea

CBO score a score for Baucus, but others balk

HHS unveils several new resources on federal government’s website for flu information

States deal with hospital fees, medical industry concerns and levies on physician payments

Phadia launches new, advanced assays for accurate diagnosis of celiac disease

BC Cancer Agency scientists find major breakthrough in breast cancer

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