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Quality issue roundup: J & J revamping controls; The odds for orthopedic surgery; Automatic prescription refills and patient compliance

The New York Times: Johnson & Johnson has said it will "revamp its quality controls, creating a single framework for its drug, medical device and consumer health care divisions." The move comes after the drugmaker saw a number of recalls of its medicines, such as Tylenol and Motrin, as well as probes by a congressional committee and the FDA into actions at its McNeil Consumer Healthcare subsidiary.

20 Aug 2010

Scientists suggest combination vaccine prevents pertussis

If you think you shouldn't be worried about your child's—or your—lingering, nagging cough, think again. Pertussis has reemerged on the scene. In what some public health officials are calling the worst outbreak in 50 years, pertussis, better known by its unique sound—whooping cough, has been found in six states with 1,500 cases reported, six of them fatal.

19 Aug 2010

Helping Hand for Relief and Development raises appeal to $5 million for Pakistan flood disaster

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that amongst all the natural disasters he has witnessed, he has never seen anything like the disaster that has occurred due to the floods in Pakistan. The floods of Pakistan 2010 have been recorded as the worst natural disaster in the history.

19 Aug 2010

Scientists produce atlas of worm infection prevalence, distribution throughout Africa

On Tuesday at the 12th International Congress of Parasitology, a group of scientists, led by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, launched an online series of maps showing the distribution and prevalence of worm infections across Africa, Tropika.net reports (Chinnock, 8/17).

19 Aug 2010

Concern about slow pace of aid for Pakistan mounts as U.N. secures additional funds

U.N. officials and aid groups "expressed alarm on Tuesday that the plight of millions of Pakistanis flooded from their land has yet to strike a sufficiently sympathetic nerve among donors - neither governments nor the general public - with aid trickling in far more slowly than needed," the New York Times reports.

19 Aug 2010

Emunamedica licenses technology for near-infrared wound monitor from Drexel University

Patients with diabetes-associated wounds could receive faster and more effective treatment thanks to a non-invasive device that monitors wound healing and is one step closer to market. Emunamedica LLC, a Florida-based healthcare start-up, has licensed technology for a near-infrared wound monitor from Drexel University. The device was developed by Dr. Elisabeth Papazoglou and Dr. Leonid Zubkov of Drexel's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems in collaboration with Dr. Michael S. Weingarten, M.D. of Drexel College of Medicine and their teams.

19 Aug 2010

Humana announces 2010 finalists for Houston charitable grant

Today, health-benefits company Humana announced the three finalists for its 2010 $100,000 Humana Communities Benefit - Houston charitable grant.

19 Aug 2010

UT Southwestern pediatric urologist pioneers surgical procedure for girls with rare vaginal defects

A pediatric urologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center has pioneered a successful surgical procedure for young girls who have absent or malformed vaginas, a condition that affects about one in 4,000 females.

19 Aug 2010

Maternal stress contribute to an elevated risk for depression in offspring: Research

For more than a century, clinical investigators have focused on early life as a source of adult psychopathology. Although the hypothesized mechanisms have evolved, a central notion remains: early life is a period of unique sensitivity during which experience confers enduring effects.

19 Aug 2010

Prenatal pesticide exposure increases susceptibility to ADHD in children

Exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides before birth can increase susceptibility to attention disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to new research published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). The new study is part of a growing body of research indicating that exposure to OP pesticides can adversely affect brain development.

19 Aug 2010

24% more children with progeria discovered

Spectrum, a health and science communications firm, announced the results of a global awareness campaign that "found" 24 percent more children identified with a rare, fatal, and rapid aging disease called Progeria. The findings are being shared at a Centers for Disease Control national conference on health communications.

19 Aug 2010

Unavoidable breakdowns in brain connections as we age: Study

It's unavoidable: breakdowns in brain connections slow down our physical response times as we age, a new study suggests.

19 Aug 2010

U.S. children and adolescents become fatter over the last decade: Study

Overweight American children and adolescents have become fatter over the last decade, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and National Institute on Aging (NIA). They examined adiposity shifts across socio-demographic groups over time and found U.S. children and adolescents had significantly increased adiposity measures such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and triceps skinfold thickness (TST).

19 Aug 2010

TPRF grants $25k to St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital for children's eye care program

For the third consecutive year, a grant for $25,000 from The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) will help St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital (SJJEH) provide eye care to children in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

19 Aug 2010

Scientists reveal lab approach method to treat neuroblastoma in children

A study led by scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) reveals a new method of identifying drugs to treat children suffering from fatal cancers for which an effective treatment has not been found. Rather than developing a new drug from scratch, which is a complicated and time-consuming process, they tried a different approach: in the lab, they tested existing drugs on cancer stem cells from young patients with neuroblastoma, one of the common cancers of infants and children.

19 Aug 2010

Reuters examines measles outbreaks in Africa

Reuters reports on how some health experts worry that growing complacency about the threat of measles in Africa is contributing to "some of the largest and most deadly outbreaks in years." Worldwide, "[a]bout 164,000 people died from measles in 2008, down 78 percent from 733,000 in 2000, according to the Measles Initiative," Reuters reports, adding that "UNICEF fears the combined effect of decreased political and financial commitment to measles could reverse the gains, resulting in an estimated 1.7 million measles-related deaths globally between 2010 and 2013."

19 Aug 2010

Behavioral Innovations includes In-home Autism Treatment programs in ABA services at San Antonio

SANBehavioral Innovations, the premier provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for families of children with Autism and other developmental disorders, announces the expansion of its San Antonio services to include In-home Autism Treatment programs and consultation services for schools and professionals.

19 Aug 2010

BBC reports on efforts to broaden access to childhood vaccines

The BBC reports on discussions about childhood immunization at the International Pediatric Association (IPA) meeting last week in Johannesburg, South Africa. "Vaccines are a key plank in meeting Millennium Development Goal 4 - to reduce child mortality by two thirds by 2015 - and many sessions at the congress were devoted to them," the news service writes.

18 Aug 2010

Also in Global Health News: Global Fund in El Salvador; World Bank investment in Nepal; Bed nets in Africa; Ukraine caps grain exports

Global Post examines how the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is impacting HIV/AIDS care and human rights in El Salvador. The article profiles Carla, a Salvadorian transvestite who tested positive for HIV in jail and was able to receive anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment through a program supported by the Global Fund, which the article calls a "revolutionary model."

18 Aug 2010

Researchers participate in Alzheimer's Breakthrough Ride to urge Congress make the disease a national priority

This summer, more than 55 researchers participating in the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Ride are cycling relay-style across the country, collecting petition signatures asking Congress to make Alzheimer's disease a national priority. The public response to the petition has been so overwhelming that as the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Riders hit the halfway point in their 67-day route from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. on August 18, they are already more than 80% of the way to their goal of 50,000 signatures.

18 Aug 2010

Children News and Research

Quality issue roundup: J & J revamping controls; The odds for orthopedic surgery; Automatic prescription refills and patient compliance

Scientists suggest combination vaccine prevents pertussis

Helping Hand for Relief and Development raises appeal to $5 million for Pakistan flood disaster

Scientists produce atlas of worm infection prevalence, distribution throughout Africa

Concern about slow pace of aid for Pakistan mounts as U.N. secures additional funds

Emunamedica licenses technology for near-infrared wound monitor from Drexel University

Humana announces 2010 finalists for Houston charitable grant

UT Southwestern pediatric urologist pioneers surgical procedure for girls with rare vaginal defects

Maternal stress contribute to an elevated risk for depression in offspring: Research

Prenatal pesticide exposure increases susceptibility to ADHD in children

24% more children with progeria discovered

Unavoidable breakdowns in brain connections as we age: Study

U.S. children and adolescents become fatter over the last decade: Study

TPRF grants $25k to St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital for children's eye care program

Scientists reveal lab approach method to treat neuroblastoma in children

Reuters examines measles outbreaks in Africa

Behavioral Innovations includes In-home Autism Treatment programs in ABA services at San Antonio

BBC reports on efforts to broaden access to childhood vaccines

Also in Global Health News: Global Fund in El Salvador; World Bank investment in Nepal; Bed nets in Africa; Ukraine caps grain exports

Researchers participate in Alzheimer's Breakthrough Ride to urge Congress make the disease a national priority

Event guide: 4th Extra-Hepatic Lipid-Based Nanoparticles Delivery Summit eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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