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Tips for people with eating disorder

Many people equate the holidays with food - big meals equals big times. Americans, especially, attach a lot of social and personal value to what, and how, we eat, often through family rituals or attitudes. For many, family gatherings are positive events, but for the 9 million men, women or young people who have an eating disorder, the holidays, without proper planning, can feel like nightmares.

9 Dec 2009

House Democrats criticize recent increases in brand-name drug prices

The Wall Street Journal: "Reports of prescription drug-price increases have congressional Democrats complaining about price gouging and questioning whether drug companies are reneging on a pledge to provide billions of savings as part of a U.S. health-care overhaul sought by President Barack Obama.

8 Dec 2009

Liberals may trade public option for expansion of Medicare, Medicaid

In exchange for accepting a proposed compromise on a public option in the health bill, liberal Democratic Senators are hoping to win expansions of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, The New York Times reports. "One of the changes being pushed by the liberals would lower the age of eligibility for Medicare to 55, from 65. Another would expand Medicaid to cover people with incomes up to 150 percent of the poverty level."

8 Dec 2009

Study: Besides nerves, skin has a unique sensory system

The human sensory experience is far more complex and nuanced than previously thought, according to a groundbreaking new study published in the December 15, 2009 issue of the journal Pain (http://www.painjournalonline.com/article/S0304-3959%2809%2900526-0/abstract).

8 Dec 2009

NPA responds to DEA's steroid classification action

"The Natural Products Association and its members are very excited to see the DEA use the additional power the NPA and many others worked so hard to give to it through the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004.

5 Dec 2009

Vermillion files First Amended Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement with the United States Bankruptcy Court

Vermillion, Inc. (VRML) (Pink Sheets: VRMLQ) announced that on December 3, 2009, it filed its First Amended Plan of Reorganization and related amended Disclosure Statement with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

5 Dec 2009

U.S. Court grants preliminary approval of $350M settlement in lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group

The American Medical Association (AMA) announced today that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has granted preliminary approval of the previously disclosed $350 million settlement that would resolve a class-action lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group.

4 Dec 2009

Controversy over recent breast cancer screening guidelines discussed

The controversy over recent breast cancer screening guidelines offers an opportunity to engage individual patients in an informed discussion of the importance of evidence-based clinical efficacy assessments in contributing to better care decisions, Donna Sweet, MD, MACP today told the Subcommittee on Health of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Dr. Sweet testified at a hearing, Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations, on behalf of the American College of Physicians (ACP).

4 Dec 2009

Geisinger Medical Center opens new ‘Vestibular and Balance Center’

Geisinger Medical Center recently opened a new Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery - Vestibular and Balance Center to help patients who are affected by vertigo, dizziness or balance problems.

4 Dec 2009

At House hearing, panel seeks to clarify advice on mammograms

Members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force testified at a hearing Wednesday before the the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health.

3 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 3, 2009

Today's headlines indicate that Senate leaders may have broken their stalemate regarding the pending, Democratic-backed health reform legislation -- clearing the way today for votes on amendments.

3 Dec 2009

USAID administrator hearing begins

Ahead of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday, Rajiv Shah, President Barack Obama's nominee for USAID administrator, submitted "a long list of detailed answers to questions" and "weighed in on a number of substantive issues while deferring to the ongoing reviews at both State and the [National Security Council] NSC when it came to matters related to the structure of USAID and its relationship with the State Department," Foreign Policy's blog "The Cable" reports.

3 Dec 2009

Clinical groups discuss the usage of EAS in adults and children

Electric acoustic stimulation (EAS) combines electric stimulation in the mid- to high-frequency regions with acoustic stimulation in the low-frequency range with the aim to preserve residual low-frequency hearing after cochlear implantation, which together particularly improves speech understanding, pitch discrimination and music appreciation.

2 Dec 2009

AHF protests against budget cuts to AIDS services

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, is joining a coalition of AIDS advocates and patients to protest drastic California budget cuts to lifesaving AIDS services—including California’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)—that is jeopardizing the public health by eliminating the vast majority of funding for AIDS care and treatment, including lifesaving AIDS drugs.

2 Dec 2009

Howard Leight dispels common misconceptions associated with hearing protection

In the world of personal protective equipment, bad assumptions are hazardous and can result in injury -- or worse. Yet, despite 25 years of government regulation, a handful of persistent bad assumptions are widespread -- endangering both the effectiveness of occupational Hearing Conservation Programs (HCPs) -- and worker hearing.

2 Dec 2009

MRI pioneer honored with MRC Millennium Medal

Sir Peter Mansfield, The University of Nottingham's Nobel Laureate for Physiology and Medicine, is to be recognised, once again, for his part in one of the most important breakthroughs in medical science.

2 Dec 2009

Study suggests humans naturally process tactile information to perceive speech sounds

Humans use their whole bodies, not just their ears, to understand speech, according to University of British Columbia linguistics research.

1 Dec 2009

Researchers identify better strategies to control weight in adolescents

Adolescent obesity is a major public health problem that impacts one out of every three children, resulting in 4-5 million overweight youth in the United States.

1 Dec 2009

Investigators identify effective weight control strategies for overweight adolescents

Adolescent obesity is a major public health problem that impacts one out of every three children, resulting in 4-5 million overweight youth in the United States. In a study published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers evaluated differences in weight control behaviors, including dietary intake and physical activity, comparing overweight adolescents who lost weight and those who did not in order to better understand which strategies could be most effective.

1 Dec 2009

"Skin" to aid hearing

An apparatus that converts sound to vibrations makes it possible for individuals who are deaf and blind or severely hearing impaired to perceive and recognize sounds with their skin. The method, which can also be adapted for infants, has been developed by engineering researcher Parivash Ranjbar, who is submitting his findings in a new dissertation at örebro University in Sweden.

30 Nov 2009