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Researchers at South Korean lab make advance in fight against neglected tropical diseases

VOA News reports on a scientific breakthrough, which researchers call a "game changer" for developing new drugs, developed at Institut Pasteur Korea [IPK], a South Korean branch of the 124-year-old French research institute that is developing new drugs to combat diseases mainly affecting developing countries, including neglected tropical diseases.

14 Sep 2011

AP: Working-age people losing ground on health coverage

Hurt by high unemployment, working-age Americans are expected to lose ground when new census figures on poverty and the uninsured are released.

14 Sep 2011

Rwanda to treat HIV-positive people in discordant relationships as soon as they test positive

After a landmark study published in May "showed major reductions in HIV transmission among discordant couples due to early treatment," Rwanda has decided to begin treating people in discordant relationships with antiretroviral therapy as soon as they test HIV-positive "as part of a plan to boost national HIV prevention and treatment efforts," PlusNews reports.

14 Sep 2011

Video: Ron Paul, Romney, Perry, Bachmann on personal health care responsibility, reform law

In this Kaiser Health News video clip from Monday's Republican debate, the presidential contenders were quizzed about health costs, the individual mandate and - in one of the evening's most controversial exchanges - moderator Wolf Blitzer asked Rep. Ron Paul a hypothetical question about who should pay for someone uninsured and in a coma.

14 Sep 2011

Suicidal teens not getting needed mental healthcare

Suicidal teens are not likely to get the mental healthcare they need. This is according to a team of researchers at Seattle Children's Research Institute, the University of Washington (UW), and Group Health Research Institute. The study, "Adolescents With Suicidal Ideation: Health Care Use and Functioning," was recently published in Academic Pediatrics.

14 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare bigger problem than social security; N.Y.'s long term care 'bad grade'

Sometimes they challenged Perry from the left (on Social Security and Medicare) and sometimes from the right (on immigration, taxes and mandatory vaccines), but it all came back to the same thing: The frontrunner was befuddled – seemingly stunned that his rivals would question his right to the Republican presidential nomination.

14 Sep 2011

Survey highlights need for better diabetes treatment guidelines

A survey of federally funded diabetes prevention and control programs in 57 U.S. states and territories has highlighted the need for better diabetes treatment guidelines that are specifically adapted to different populations. Such guidelines do not currently exist.

14 Sep 2011

U.S. Trade Representative issues white paper regarding trans-pacific partnership and access to medicines

This post in USAID's "IMPACTblog" reports on a white paper issued by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Monday "outlining a new strategic initiative entitled 'Trade Enhancing Access to Medicines'".

14 Sep 2011

Real-life health risks of outbreak portrayed in the movie 'Contagion'

Two opinion pieces published Monday examine the real-life health risks of an outbreak portrayed in "Contagion," a movie that opened this weekend in which a mysterious airborne virus kills thousands of people.

14 Sep 2011

Roundup: N.J. Governor opts not to cut Medicaid rolls; Seattle council mandates sick leave

Thousands of New Jersey's working poor will keep their health insurance under a new administration proposal to restructure Medicaid, abandoning a controversial plan that would have drastically reduced the number of eligible recipients.

14 Sep 2011

Intrauterine devices may lower risk of cervical cancer among users, study shows

Contraceptive intrauterine devices (IUDs), also called coils, "might actually protect women against developing cervical cancer even though they don't stop the infection that commonly leads to the disease," according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Oncology, Reuters reports.

14 Sep 2011

Children with more ADHD symptoms twice as likely to get hurt

Injury kills more 11-year-olds in the United States than all other causes combined, and a new study from University of Alabama at Birmingham reveals ADHD almost doubles the risk of serious injury among this age group.

14 Sep 2011

CBO: Medicaid, health sector likely to fare better with trigger cuts then with 'super committee' trims

Meanwhile, the deficit panel is getting input from a variety of sources - Medicare patients, actuaries, policy analysts and physician groups - on how critical issues about health care costs and spending should be considered.

14 Sep 2011

Update to federally mandated system significantly expands number of diagnostic codes used by health care providers

Today, hospitals and doctors use a system of about 18,000 codes to describe medical services in bills they send to insurers. Apparently, that doesn't allow for quite enough nuance. A new federally mandated version will expand the number to around 140,000 - adding codes that describe precisely what bone was broken, or which artery is receiving a stent.

14 Sep 2011

ACP offers menu of options to reduce health care spending and promote high-value care

Recommendations to reduce federal health care spending in a socially and fiscally responsible manner today were made in a letter to the Congressional Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction from the American College of Physicians.

14 Sep 2011

U.S. officials step up enforcement of 'responsible corporate officer doctrine' to pursue violations of federal food and drug laws

Use of this doctrine allows federal officials to hold health care executives personally and criminally responsible for corporate violations. Meanwhile, in other news related to health care fraud and abuse, a number of states have reached settlements with firms accused of defrauding the Medicaid program.

14 Sep 2011

Tips for choosing a childbirth education class

A recent report from the World Health Organization set off alarm bells for many expectant parents. The report showed that newborns in 40 countries, including Cuba, South Korea and Poland, have a lower risk of death than newborns in the United States.

13 Sep 2011

Data on veterans affairs hospitals shows high rates of readmissions

The Veterans Health Administration, the largest integrated health care system in the country, has long employed many of the approaches Medicare is pushing on all hospitals to reduce unnecessary readmissions. But new data show VA hospital patients are just as likely to end up back in a hospital bed as are patients at private hospitals.

13 Sep 2011

IBM's Watson supercomputer and WellPoint working towards computerized access to records and diagnoses

IBM's Watson supercomputer and a leading health insurer WellPoint Inc. are working towards diagnosis of medical ailments and authorize treatments for its 34.2 million members. Wellpoint operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states, including New York and California.

13 Sep 2011

Older drugs may be better than newly approved ones

It is a common belief that drugs given the okay by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safer and more effective than they have to be to win approval, according to a new study. Especially in the first few years after a drug becomes available, researchers note, there are still questions about how well it will work and whether it will have any serious side effects warn experts. For example FDA-approved painkiller Vioxx was pulled off the market in 2004 after longer-term evidence showed that it may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

13 Sep 2011

Health Care News and Research

Researchers at South Korean lab make advance in fight against neglected tropical diseases

AP: Working-age people losing ground on health coverage

Rwanda to treat HIV-positive people in discordant relationships as soon as they test positive

Video: Ron Paul, Romney, Perry, Bachmann on personal health care responsibility, reform law

Suicidal teens not getting needed mental healthcare

Viewpoints: Medicare bigger problem than social security; N.Y.'s long term care 'bad grade'

Survey highlights need for better diabetes treatment guidelines

U.S. Trade Representative issues white paper regarding trans-pacific partnership and access to medicines

Real-life health risks of outbreak portrayed in the movie 'Contagion'

Roundup: N.J. Governor opts not to cut Medicaid rolls; Seattle council mandates sick leave

Intrauterine devices may lower risk of cervical cancer among users, study shows

Children with more ADHD symptoms twice as likely to get hurt

CBO: Medicaid, health sector likely to fare better with trigger cuts then with 'super committee' trims

Update to federally mandated system significantly expands number of diagnostic codes used by health care providers

ACP offers menu of options to reduce health care spending and promote high-value care

U.S. officials step up enforcement of 'responsible corporate officer doctrine' to pursue violations of federal food and drug laws

Tips for choosing a childbirth education class

Data on veterans affairs hospitals shows high rates of readmissions

IBM's Watson supercomputer and WellPoint working towards computerized access to records and diagnoses

Older drugs may be better than newly approved ones

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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