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USAMRMC to develop strategic research plan that identifies critical research priority areas in TBI

The U.S. Department of Defense funds more than 500 neurotrauma research projects totaling over $700 million. Yet there remains a large unmet medical need for effective treatments of traumatic brain injury (TBI), a major cause of disability and mortality.

6 Jan 2014

Rates of smoking, drinking and drug use are higher among people with psychotic disorders

In the largest ever assessment of substance use among people with severe psychiatric illness, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Southern California have found that rates of smoking, drinking and drug use are significantly higher among those who have psychotic disorders than among those in the general population.

2 Jan 2014

Consumption of nuts promotes health and longevity, finds study

In a study published November 20, 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine1, researchers looked at the association of nut consumption with total and cause-specific mortality among 76,464 women in the Nurses' Health Study and 42,498 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Consumption of nuts, including tree nuts (such as pistachios, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, and walnuts), was inversely associated with total mortality in both men and women, independent of other predictors for death.

28 Dec 2013

Surgery leads to greater long-term improvement for patients with herniated discs in lower spine

For patients with herniated discs in the lower (lumbar) spine, surgery leads to greater long-term improvement in pain, functioning, and disability compared to nonsurgical treatment, concludes an eight year follow-up study in Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

27 Dec 2013

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent delays neuropathy progression, preserves quality of life

Among patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy, a lethal, genetic neurodegenerative disease, use of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent diflunisal compared with placebo for 2 years reduced the rate of progression in neurological impairment and preserved quality of life, according to a study appearing in the December 25 issue of JAMA.

27 Dec 2013

Combination of medication and psychological therapy effective for treating chronic migraines in children

Psychological therapy plus medication appears to be the most effective treatment strategy for chronic migraine in children, but it may take time for the medical system to widely adopt this approach, says an editorial in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association by Mark Connelly, PhD, a pain psychologist and co-director of the Comprehensive Headache Clinic at Children's Mercy Hospital.

26 Dec 2013

Cognitive behavioral therapy reduces headache frequency, migraine-related disability in children

Among children and adolescents with chronic migraine, the use of cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in greater reductions in headache frequency and migraine-related disability compared with headache education, according to a study appearing in the December 25 issue of JAMA.

25 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Impact of 'meddling with' health law; antibiotics on farms; 'Let thirtysomethings' join Medicare

[A]ll of these last-minute policy shifts confuse people who were already struggling to understand a complex new system, ... The cumulative effect is that at least some people - we hope not many - will misunderstand their responsibilities under the law or be deterred from seeking coverage. The biggest danger is that the Obama administration is encouraging politicians to meddle in the health-care system every time a few vocal constituents get upset about its requirements (12/21).

24 Dec 2013

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School's David Perlin explains how fungal infections can become deadly

Ask someone what the term 'fungus' brings to mind, and chances are it will be an image of something that smells or looks disgusting. Ask David Perlin, executive director of the Public Health Research Institute at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and the response will be far more somber - because he knows how deadly fungi can be.

24 Dec 2013

Inosine drug raises blood and cerebrospinal fluid urate levels in Parkinson disease patients

The drug inosine appears to be a safe and effective way to raise blood and cerebrospinal fluid urate levels in patients with early Parkinson disease, suggesting it may be a potential strategy to slow the disability progression of the degenerative neurological disorder, according to a report published by JAMA Neurology, a JAMA Network publication.

23 Dec 2013

Hazards of dietary supplements, new birth control device explored

Dietary supplements account for nearly 20 percent of drug-related liver injuries reported by hospitals, according to The New York Times, while a surge in adverse event reports about Essure, a device hailed as next generation birth control, is explored by the Chicago Tribune. NPR looks at the increase in newborn screening tests.

23 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 23, 2013

The early morning highlights from the major news organizations examine today's deadline for enrolling for health insurance that would begin Jan. 1, as well as a variety of other health law stories and several articles on mental health issues:

23 Dec 2013

Icahn School of Medicine receives $1.3M grant to build collaborative research infrastructure for stroke center

23 Dec 2013

Kessler Foundation scientists awarded subcontract to study ways to improve disability statistics

Kessler Foundation scientists John O'Neill, PhD, CRC and Amanda Botticello, PhD, MPH, were awarded a subcontract on the University of New Hampshire's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center grant on Disability Statistics and Demographics. The five-year grant is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research under cooperative agreement H133B130015. Economist Andrew Houtenville, PhD, of UNH's Institute on Disability, is project director of the StatsRRTC grant, which totals $4.3 million.

22 Dec 2013

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai joins NIH Stroke Trials Network

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai joins a top-flight network of 25 regional stroke centers announced by the National Institute of Health that will focus on prevention, treatment, and recovery from stroke. As part of the NIH Stroke Trials Network (NIHStrokeNet), the medical school will receive a 5-year, $1.3 million grant to build a collaborative research infrastructure for a regional coordinating stroke center.

20 Dec 2013

Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration approves Genzyme's Lemtrada for multiple sclerosis

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced today that the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis for patients with active disease defined by clinical or imaging features to slow the accumulation of physical disability and reduce the frequency of clinical relapses.

19 Dec 2013

Study reveals why people are predisposed to cardiovascular disease and death

A genetic trait known to make some people especially sensitive to stress also appears to be responsible for a 38 percent increased risk of heart attack or death in patients with heart disease, scientists at Duke Medicine report.

19 Dec 2013

Restraint, seclusion in schools are used more frequently on students with disability

The restraint and seclusion of students in U.S. public schools in response to student behavior problems are used much more frequently on students with a disability than on students without a disability, and especially in affluent school districts, according to new research at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.

18 Dec 2013

Studies suggest that stress-related disorders may be associated with hippocampal volume loss

Depression has been associated with reduced volume of the hippocampus in magnetic resonance imaging studies in humans. A new study just published in Biological Psychiatry now clarifies the cellular basis of these volumetric changes, which have been unclear until now.

18 Dec 2013

Affordable Care Act may help strengthen trauma systems

Traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for people under the age of 45 and the fourth-leading cause of death for people of all ages. Much progress has been made over the last 50 years in developing statewide regionalized trauma systems to care for these injuries, but authors of a review appearing in the December issue of Health Affairs, believe more work is needed to ensure the right patient gets to the right place at the right time, and that the Affordable Care Act may offer opportunities to strengthen trauma systems.

17 Dec 2013

Disability News and Research

USAMRMC to develop strategic research plan that identifies critical research priority areas in TBI

Rates of smoking, drinking and drug use are higher among people with psychotic disorders

Consumption of nuts promotes health and longevity, finds study

Surgery leads to greater long-term improvement for patients with herniated discs in lower spine

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent delays neuropathy progression, preserves quality of life

Combination of medication and psychological therapy effective for treating chronic migraines in children

Cognitive behavioral therapy reduces headache frequency, migraine-related disability in children

Viewpoints: Impact of 'meddling with' health law; antibiotics on farms; 'Let thirtysomethings' join Medicare

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School's David Perlin explains how fungal infections can become deadly

Inosine drug raises blood and cerebrospinal fluid urate levels in Parkinson disease patients

Hazards of dietary supplements, new birth control device explored

First Edition: December 23, 2013

Icahn School of Medicine receives $1.3M grant to build collaborative research infrastructure for stroke center

Kessler Foundation scientists awarded subcontract to study ways to improve disability statistics

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai joins NIH Stroke Trials Network

Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration approves Genzyme's Lemtrada for multiple sclerosis

Study reveals why people are predisposed to cardiovascular disease and death

Restraint, seclusion in schools are used more frequently on students with disability

Studies suggest that stress-related disorders may be associated with hippocampal volume loss

Affordable Care Act may help strengthen trauma systems

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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