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U.S., Haitian partners meet to discuss elections as Haitian parliamentary terms expire

In an article examining elections in Haiti and their impact on the country's recovery from the January 12 earthquake, the Miami Herald writes that Canada, the U.S., the Organization of American States, the U.N. and other partners have "dispatched top lieutenants [to Port-au-Prince] for a Monday meeting" with President Rene Preval to discuss elections.

11 May 2010

Global efforts to combat HIV and AIDS confront changes as funding priorities shift

The New York Times detailed the current funding challenges facing the global effort to combat HIV and AIDS, using the country of Uganda as an example. "Uganda is the first and most obvious example of how the war on global AIDS is falling apart." Although this nation has made significant advances in what "some doctors call a 'golden window' for treatment," clinics are now routinely turning people away.

11 May 2010

Improving newborn care in first month of life essential for reducing child mortality

Improving newborn care in the first month of life is essential for reducing child deaths in developing countries, according to a global update on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released today in the World Health Statistics 2010.

11 May 2010

St. Jude’s Volunteen Program offers hands-on learning experience for teenagers

They have glue on their fingers and smiles on their faces; crayons spread before them and kids crowded around them. It's all part of a day's work for the Volunteens of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

11 May 2010

Health Reform news: Grandfather clause could mean some lose benefits

Kaiser Health News: Millions of people could end up losing some benefits of the new health law because of the interpretation of "grandfathered."

11 May 2010

Folic acid supplement may improve blood flow in young amenorrheic runners

A study led by sports medicine researcher Anne Hoch, D.O. at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has found that oral folic acid may provide a safe and inexpensive treatment to improve vascular function in young female runners who are amenorrheic (not menstruating).

11 May 2010

Dyslexic children may have structural differences in brain region, says study

Children with dyslexia often struggle with reading, writing, and spelling, despite getting an appropriate education and demonstrating intellectual ability in other areas.

11 May 2010

Vigorous physical activity in childhood strengthens hip bones

Researchers from Southhampton and Cambridge Universities in the UK have presented evidence that vigorous physical activity in young children results in stronger hip bones. The results were presented at the World Congress on Osteoporosis (IOF WCO-ECCEO10) in Florence, Italy.

11 May 2010

'Striking improvements' toward MDG targets, progress is unequal, WHO report says

The WHO's annual health statistics report, released Monday, found that global efforts aimed at achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets have led to "striking improvements" among goals related to child health, maternal mortality, malaria and HIV/AIDS, Reuters reports.

11 May 2010

Consumers, officials work to sort out new health law

For at least one state, implementing health reform is starting to appear easier said than done. The Daily Record, a Baltimore legal newspaper, reports, "Maryland's new Health Care Reform Coordinating Council held its first meeting last week, resolving to find the best way to implement provisions of the landmark federal health care overhaul.

11 May 2010

CVS calls on FDA to suspend use of contaminated rotavirus vaccines

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a panel of experts to review recent findings that rotavirus vaccines given to infants in the U.S., Rotateq, produced by Merck Pharmaceuticals and Rotarix produced by GlaxoSmithKline, are contaminated with DNA from pig viruses PCV1 and PCV2. On March 22nd the FDA Commissioner asked doctors to suspend use of the Rotarix vaccine due to the contamination. Upon additional testing, Rotateq was also found to be contaminated.

10 May 2010

First Edition: May 10, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include the feature coverage of aspects of health reform implementation, including how "gradfathering" will be defined in regulations and the latest details on the early retiree reinsurance program.

10 May 2010

Integrated NextGen platform to be implemented at Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc., and leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced it has executed an agreement with Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center to deploy NextGen® EHR, NextGen® Practice Management and electronic dental records from Quality Systems.

10 May 2010

NIH awards UF scientists $7.5M for study of MRI technology in evaluating children with DMD

Duchenne muscular dystrophy research at the University of Florida got a major boost with the award of $7.5 million in National Institutes of Health funding to study the use of magnetic resonance imaging in determining the natural progression of the disease.

10 May 2010

Parents, young adult children eagerly await health insurance expansion

The provision of the new health law that allows young adults to stay on their parents' insurance plan is in the news.

10 May 2010

GSK participates in FDA advisory committee's rotavirus vaccine meeting

GlaxoSmithKline today participated in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee meeting convened to discuss recent findings of porcine circovirus (PCV) in rotavirus vaccines. Although the committee did not issue any formal recommendations, members widely acknowledged that the benefits of vaccinating infants worldwide against rotavirus disease clearly outweigh the theoretical risks associated with the presence of porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV-1) in the vaccines.

10 May 2010

Scientists develop dry, inhalable measles vaccine, will begin testing in India this summer

CBSNews.com reports on the development of a dry, inhalable measles vaccine by researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder), who hope that their work will "help pave the way for the inexpensive treatment of a range of other illnesses" (Cooper, 5/5).

10 May 2010

Coffee and fizzy drinks do not cause bowel cancer, says US study

People who drink even large amounts of coffee or sugar-filled fizzy drinks are unlikely to increase their risk of bowel cancer, a large US study has concluded.

10 May 2010

President says health reform already delivering 'real benefits'

The Associated Press: "The new health care law already is helping millions of people through tax breaks for small businesses and assistance for families with young adults, President Barack Obama said Saturday" (Babington, 5/8).

10 May 2010

Lancet examines Canada's G8 strategy for maternal, child health initiatives

A Lancet World Report examines the details of the Canadian government's strategy for the G8 maternal and child health initiative and reactions from global health leaders and politicians to the plan, including the announcement during a meeting of G8 leaders Halifax, Nova Scotia, that the initiative would not support abortion.

10 May 2010