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Alcohol can cause more than one pattern of birth defects

A collaborative research effort by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Duke University, and University College of London in the UK, sheds new light on alcohol-related birth defects.

23 Aug 2012

Massachusetts Institute of Technology to honor IHME's health measurement expert

For the first time, a prestigious technical innovation honor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will go to an expert in health measurement: Abraham Flaxman, an Assistant Professor of Global Health at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington (UW).

22 Aug 2012

Reasoning and behavioral control dependent on different regions of frontal lobes

The frontal lobes are the largest part of the human brain, and thought to be the part that expanded most during human evolution. Damage to the frontal lobes-which are located just behind and above the eyes-can result in profound impairments in higher-level reasoning and decision making. To find out more about what different parts of the frontal lobes do, neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently teamed up with researchers at the world's largest registry of brain-lesion patients.

22 Aug 2012

Deep abdominal muscle activation lessens lower back pain

Improving transversus abdominis slide appears to be associated with clinically important long-term pain reduction in people experiencing lower back pain, researchers report.

21 Aug 2012

Indiana bid for Medicaid waiver extension denied; Managed care contracts make news

In Indiana, officials are denied an extension on a Bush-era Medicaid waiver just as New Mexico seeks to revise its Medicaid overhaul plan.

21 Aug 2012

MitoTarget Project and neurodegenerative diseases: an interview with Rebecca Pruss, Ph.D., CSO of Trophos

The MitoTarget Project was a project funded by the European Commission, under their FP7 programme. It was funding for a call published in 2007.

21 Aug 2012

Study demonstrates MRI role in defining and understanding causes of MS

New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research shows that changes in brain blood flow associated with vein abnormalities are not specific for multiple sclerosis (MS) and do not contribute to its severity, despite what some researchers have speculated. Results of the research are published online in the journal Radiology.

21 Aug 2012

Physiotherapy beneficial for Parkinson’s patients

Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the BMJ suggest that physiotherapy interventions benefit Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, at least in the short term.

20 Aug 2012

Early MRI scans for acute lower back injury may lead to increased disability

If you've recently hurt your back on the job, getting a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan won't increase your chances of a good recovery, suggests a study in the August 15 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

17 Aug 2012

Maternal healthcare providers in developing world must be trained to show respect, compassion

"In teaching nurses and midwives in the developing world to care for their patients, a core tenet is that respectful care is quality care," Catherine Carr, senior maternal health advisor for the Jhpiego/MCHIP-Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program, writes in this post in Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

16 Aug 2012

Therapeutic breaks for prostate cancer patients

Men with advanced prostate cancer receiving androgen-deprivation therapy may be better off being treated intermittently rather than on a continuous basis, show study findings.

15 Aug 2012

Roundup: Abortion-rights groups mostly silent on fetal pain laws; Conn. advocates worry over Medicaid cuts; Examining readmission penalties

When new limits on abortions are proposed, abortion-rights groups usually go all out to stop them. So why haven't they gone all out against state fetal-pain laws, enacted in nine states since early 2010? These laws ban abortion after 20 weeks, based on the controversial assertion that the fetus can then experience pain. They're handing victories to anti-abortion groups, and so far there's only one major challenge from an abortion-rights group: in Arizona, where the 9th Circuit Court early this month temporarily blocked the state law.

15 Aug 2012

Religious beliefs may adversely affect care of very sick children

Deeply held religious beliefs of parents can prevent very sick children from receiving appropriate removal of care, say researchers.

14 Aug 2012

Somatic dysfunction possible linchpin to osteopathic back treatment

Somatic dysfunction, particularly in the lumbar and sacrum/pelvis regions, is common in patients with chronic lower back pain and contributes to poor functioning and general health, results from the OSTEOPATHIC Trial show.

14 Aug 2012

Physiotherapy beneficial for Parkinson’s patients

Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the BMJ suggest that physiotherapy interventions benefit Parkinson’s disease patients, at least in the short term.

14 Aug 2012

Novel Cornelia de Lange syndrome gene discovered

Scientists have discovered that mutations in the histone deacetylase 8 gene can cause the rare genetic disorder known as Cornelia de Lange syndrome, which is characterized by intellectual disability, limb deformity, and other disabilities resulting from problems in early development.

13 Aug 2012

Researchers identify new gene in Cornelia deLange syndrome

Genetics researchers have identified a key gene that, when mutated, causes the rare multisystem disorder Cornelia deLange syndrome (CdLS). By revealing how mutations in the HDAC8 gene disrupt the biology of proteins that control both gene expression and cell division, the research sheds light on this disease, which causes intellectual disability, limb deformations and other disabilities resulting from impairments in early development.

13 Aug 2012

Medical ethics: an interview with Anita Silvers

Medical ethics assists healthcare professionals to make decisions respectful of persons who happen to be their patients.

13 Aug 2012

HDAC8 gene mutations cause Cornelia deLange syndrome

13 Aug 2012

Highlights: New reports of problems at Parkland Hospital in Dallas; Mammogram rates did not rise under expanded Mass. coverage

Federal safety monitors produced a harsher critique of Parkland Memorial Hospital's reform efforts than recently portrayed by the hospital, finding ongoing dangers to patients from a botched surgery, medication errors and emergency care failures. Those problems, cited in a June compliance report obtained by The Dallas Morning News, were not disclosed in a Parkland summary released to The News two weeks ago.

12 Aug 2012