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Self-reported mental health disability more prevalent among U.S. adults

The prevalence of self-reported mental health disabilities increased in the U.S. among non-elderly adults during the last decade, according to a study by Ramin Mojtabai, MD, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

26 Sep 2011

Administration faces Monday deadline on health lawsuit

Obama administration lawyers face a decision by Monday that carries a high political risk and will probably determine whether the Supreme Court decides on the constitutionality of the healthcare law before next year's presidential election. ... Under the appeals court's rules, the Justice Department must notify the 11th Circuit by Monday whether it will seek a full court review.

26 Sep 2011

Rotavirus vaccine saved 65,000 hospitalizations and $278 million in healthcare costs: Study

The latest research shows that since the 2006 introduction of routine inoculation against rotavirus -- a leading cause of diarrhea in infants and young children -- almost 65,000 fewer American children have been hospitalized and about $278 million in healthcare costs have been saved.

26 Sep 2011

Primatene inhalers to be phased out this December: FDA

According to the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the Armstrong Pharmaceutical's Primatene mist inhaler will be discontinued on Dec. 31, and prescription inhalers are the only alternative to the over-the-counter asthma drug.

26 Sep 2011

VDF honors physicians, leaders in the field of vascular disease with President's Awards

The Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) presented its annual awards at the organization's eighth annual meeting in Washington. The awards honor the work of citizens, health care providers, organizations, researchers and companies that have enhanced the understanding and/or treatment of peripheral vascular diseases.

26 Sep 2011

Alexion receives FDA approval for Soliris to treat atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Soliris (eculizumab) to treat patients with atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS), a rare and chronic blood disease that can lead to kidney (renal) failure and is also associated with increased risk of death and stroke.

26 Sep 2011

Seniors deeply concerned about Medicare, Medicaid future as 'super committee' decisions loom

Seniors, gathered in downtown Los Angeles this week for the annual conference of the AARP, expressed fear and anxiety about aging when Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are under attack both in Washington and on the campaign trail. More than 20,000 seniors are attending ... Seniors are increasingly relying on Social Security and Medicare to finance their retirement and healthcare, AARP chief executive officer A. Barry Rand told a packed house.

26 Sep 2011

White House fact sheet on Global Health Security

The White House Office of the Press Secretary on Thursday released a fact sheet, titled "Global Health Security," that describes how the U.S. "is taking a multi-faceted approach to the full spectrum of challenges posed by infectious diseases, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or the result of a deliberate attack."

23 Sep 2011

Vaccination must be part of response to cholera outbreak in Haiti

Though "[c]holera vaccines are not a magic bullet and are not available in adequate numbers" to vaccinate everyone in Haiti, where at least 10 people die each day in an outbreak that began in October 2010, "there are compelling reasons to add vaccinations to the arsenal of public health weapons that has been deployed against cholera in Haiti," a Washington Post editorial states.

23 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Concerns that AIDS fight is losing steam; Pharmacy choice bill is praised; Texas sex-ed policies questioned

The considerable progress in recent years - including the 22-fold increase in the number of people receiving anti-retroviral drugs between 2001-2010 - has been due to scientific breakthroughs and to civil society's efforts to keep AIDS on the political agenda. This is now changing.

23 Sep 2011

Roundup: Texas House Dems ask CMS to reject Medicaid waiver request; Jobs lost as Ariz. mental health Medicaid cuts kick in

The nine House Democrats from Texas want the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reject their state's request that Medicaid beneficiaries get their prescription drugs through managed care plans.

23 Sep 2011

New poll reveals continued public confusion about health law, little faith in 'Super Committee'

A second survey, this one from National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, found that public opinion opposes cutting Medicare and Social Security to reduce the deficit, and that this view cuts across partisan lines.

23 Sep 2011

More funding for leishmaniasis treatment could save more lives in East African outbreak

"East Africa's worst outbreak in a decade of visceral leishmaniasis, the deadliest parasitic disease after malaria, could ease if donors paid more attention to the illness," which infects approximately 500,000 people and kills up to 60,000 annually in 70 countries, the non-profit group "Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform, or LEAP, said in a statement from Nairobi" on Friday, Bloomberg reports.

23 Sep 2011

USAID, Aspen Institute, others announce commitment to address disabilities in Vietnam

USAID, the Aspen Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, IBM, Hyatt Hotels and many other private sector donors on Thursday announced a commitment of more than $3.5 million "to provide assistance to address the challenges of the disabled in Vietnam, without regard to cause," according to an Aspen Institute press release.

23 Sep 2011

Urgency of antimalarial drug resistance must be recognized

Arjen Dondorp, deputy director of the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Research Unit at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, and colleagues discuss the need to combat antimalarial drug resistance in this New England Journal of Medicine opinion piece, writing, "Researchers, funders, and policy leaders must recognize the urgency of the problem, take action to address simultaneously several important knowledge gaps, and focus immediately on eliminating the threat of artemisinin resistance."

23 Sep 2011

Fight against HIV losing momentum; Robust analysis needed to develop long-term strategy

"After a decade of unprecedented increases in donor funding and a corresponding 17 percent decline worldwide in the number of new infections, the fight against HIV is losing momentum," Bjorn Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and an adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School, and Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and former executive director of UNAIDS, write in this Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

23 Sep 2011

Is enough being done to fight child mortality?

Though the recent UNICEF report on child mortality shows progress is being made in every region to prevent childhood deaths, "it is clear that we still need to increase the coverage of high-impact, low-cost interventions like vaccines, including those for pneumonia and diarrhea that are rolling out," Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

23 Sep 2011

Gender discrimination a driving factor behind malnutrition in Nepal, experts say

"Gender discrimination lies behind much of the malnutrition found in under-five children in Nepal, say locals and experts," IRIN reports. "Women live hard lives from day one, born with no fanfare, contrasting starkly to the six-day celebration to mark the birth of a boy.

23 Sep 2011

Examining alternatives to assessing Global Fund effectiveness

In this post in the Center for Global Development's "Global Health Policy" blog, William Savedoff, a senior fellow at the center, responds to a high level panel's assessment (.pdf) of fiduciary controls at the Global Fund to Fight, AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, examining "what this report might mean for an organization that was expressly created to blaze an innovative approach to international aid and is being counseled to back away from that vision."

23 Sep 2011

Annual World Disasters Report focuses on hunger and malnutrition, highlights dichotomy between economic classes

This year's annual World Disasters Report, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Thursday, focuses on hunger and malnutrition, but highlights a growing gap between economic classes, the Australian reports, noting "15 percent of the world's population is going hungry while a record 20 percent now suffer the effects of 'excess nutrition'" (Hodge, 9/23).

23 Sep 2011

Health Care News and Research

Self-reported mental health disability more prevalent among U.S. adults

Administration faces Monday deadline on health lawsuit

Rotavirus vaccine saved 65,000 hospitalizations and $278 million in healthcare costs: Study

Primatene inhalers to be phased out this December: FDA

VDF honors physicians, leaders in the field of vascular disease with President's Awards

Alexion receives FDA approval for Soliris to treat atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

Seniors deeply concerned about Medicare, Medicaid future as 'super committee' decisions loom

White House fact sheet on Global Health Security

Vaccination must be part of response to cholera outbreak in Haiti

Viewpoints: Concerns that AIDS fight is losing steam; Pharmacy choice bill is praised; Texas sex-ed policies questioned

Roundup: Texas House Dems ask CMS to reject Medicaid waiver request; Jobs lost as Ariz. mental health Medicaid cuts kick in

New poll reveals continued public confusion about health law, little faith in 'Super Committee'

More funding for leishmaniasis treatment could save more lives in East African outbreak

USAID, Aspen Institute, others announce commitment to address disabilities in Vietnam

Urgency of antimalarial drug resistance must be recognized

Fight against HIV losing momentum; Robust analysis needed to develop long-term strategy

Is enough being done to fight child mortality?

Gender discrimination a driving factor behind malnutrition in Nepal, experts say

Examining alternatives to assessing Global Fund effectiveness

Annual World Disasters Report focuses on hunger and malnutrition, highlights dichotomy between economic classes

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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