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GOP Reps. grill CMS Chief Berwick about health reform law, earlier remarks on British system

Republicans on the US House Committee on Ways and Means this morning pounded Donald Berwick, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on the effects of the new health care law on seniors, and Berwick's past statements in praise of the publicly-funded British health care system.

11 Feb 2011

ACE: Hula hooping workouts offer substantial and positive results

The American Council on Exercise, America's leading authority on fitness and the largest nonprofit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world, today announced exclusive study findings that conclude hula hooping workouts offer substantial and positive results.

9 Feb 2011

Extensive, reversible changes in heart take place when exposed to low oxygen levels

From the highest mountaintop comes a new research report in the FASEB Journal that gets to the bottom of what happens to the hearts of people when exposed to low-levels of oxygen, such as those on Mount Everest or in the intensive care unit of a hospital.

1 Feb 2011

Exploration Emergency Medicine Focus Program helps children to save people in crisis

Since when have 11-year-old kids spent the summer learning how to suture wounds and defibrillate patients in cardiac arrest? Since the world of summer camp moved beyond canoeing and friendship bracelets. Learning to save people in crisis is what 11- and 12-year-olds do when they attend the Exploration Emergency Medicine Focus Program outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

25 Jan 2011

Looking beyond repeal vote, House Republicans plan their own health bills

The House GOP moved forward Thursday with targeted measures to advance their own version of health legislation. Four committee chairmen outlined plans to develop specific plans to kill or replace certain elements of the health law. A bill to permit interstate sales of health insurance is among the specific proposals on the table, and a group of conservative Republicans also unveiled a fiscal plan that would stall health law implementation efforts by defunding them.

21 Jan 2011

U.N. has 'largely' met its goals in Haiti since the quake, official says

The U.N. has mostly achieved its short-term goals since a major earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, Nigel Fisher, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Haiti, said during a video teleconference on Monday, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports.

12 Jan 2011

Seattle Times looks at response to Haitian cholera outbreak on the ground

Though Haiti's cholera "epidemic continues to spread, infecting more than 125,000 people and killing more than 3,200," it seems to have "stabilized in" the town of Mirebalais, which is close to the "U.N. camp of Nepalese peacekeepers who are under investigation as a possible source" of the outbreak, the Seattle Times reports in a story outlining how aid groups and health workers are dealing with the situation.

5 Jan 2011

Military health: Philanthropy, not the Pentagon, leads to quality care for brain-injured soldiers

To see what cognitive therapy looked like, ProPublica and NPR spent several days with McKinney and fellow soldiers and veterans at Project Share, a charity to help brain-damaged soldiers. (This article is part of an ongoing investigation.) The program is based out of the Shepherd Center for Brain and Spinal Cord Injury in Atlanta, a nationally recognized hospital for head injuries (Miller and Zwerdling, 12/21).

22 Dec 2010

U.N. says it will investigate source of Haitian cholera epidemic as death toll rises

The U.N. is looking into establishing an independent commission to identify the source of Haiti's cholera epidemic, Alain Le Roy, the U.N. under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, said on Wednesday, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. "We are urging and we are calling for what we could call an international panel," Le Roy said at a news conference at the U.N. headquarters in New York. "We are in discussions with (the U.N. World Health Organization) to find the best experts to be in a panel to be completely independent," he added.

17 Dec 2010

African sleeping sickness parasite's previously unrecognized extreme social behavior discovered

Long considered a freewheeling loner, the Trypanosoma brucei parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness has revealed a totally unexpected social side, opening a potential chink in the behavioral armor of this and other supposedly solitary human parasites, according to research presented at the American Society for Cell Biology's 50th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

15 Dec 2010

Haitian health ministry says more than 2,000 have died from cholera; Report identifies outbreak's source, some dispute findings

More than 2,000 people have died of cholera in Haiti since late October, Haitian officials said on Monday, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (12/6). According to Haitian health ministry figures, a total of "2,013 people have died from the water-borne bacterial infection and 88,789 cases have been recorded," Agence France-Presse writes (12/6).

9 Dec 2010

Closer to restoring vision loss due to optic nerve damage

Damage to the optic nerve, connecting the eye with the brain, is a major cause of blindness. The most common culprit is glaucoma, estimated to affect more than 4 million Americans. There is currently no way to restore the lost vision, because the optic nerve, like other nerves in the mature central nervous system (CNS), cannot regenerate. Now, scientists at Children's Hospital Boston report achieving the greatest regeneration to date in the mammalian optic nerve.

4 Dec 2010

Red Cross field hospital treats people who have contracted cholera in Haiti

Canadian Red Cross will deploy its new field hospital to treat people who have contracted cholera in Haiti. The field hospital was created as part of the First Responder Initiative, a partnership with the Government of Canada.

2 Dec 2010

Methodist to develop national training center for treatment of cardiovascular disease

The Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center recently received a generous gift to develop a national training center for surgical and interventional treatments for cardiovascular disease, the number one killer of Americans. The benefactor wishes to remain anonymous.

30 Nov 2010

Haiti requires additional trained nurses, doctors to address cholera epidemic, U.N. official says

Haiti needs about 1,000 additional trained nurses and at least 100 more physicians to control the cholera epidemic, Valerie Amos, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said during a recent visit to the capital of Port-au-Prince, Reuters reports.

30 Nov 2010

MedStart Summer Enrichment Program helps students better understand medical conditions: Studies

Two new studies have shown that a unique program in East Harlem that helps middle school students learn practical health skills and gain a better understanding of medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, resulted in increased interest in college attendance and medical careers among the students who attended the program.

19 Nov 2010

Cholera case confirmed in Dominican Republic; Haitian protestors blame U.N. peacekeeping troops for cholera outbreak

Officials on Tuesday said they had confirmed the first case of cholera in Haiti's neighbor, the Dominican Republic, the Associated Press/Forbes reports

18 Nov 2010

Republicans' committee plans take shape amid health reform questions

The Hill: "House Ways and Means Chairman-to-be Dave Camp (R-Mich.) is making his case for repealing and replacing the healthcare overhaul, touting his own version of a bill that he says would reduce premiums." Camp made his case in a USA Today editorial and says the GOP plan would reduce premiums by up to 10 percent. Camp says his plan would reform medical malpractice lawsuits, allow Americans to buy health insurance across state lines, and gives "states the flexibility to make changes that best meet the needs of their residents."

10 Nov 2010

WHO Director-General in Pakistan to monitor flood relief, polio vaccinations

The WHO will continue to support efforts to boost polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said recently during talks with Pakistani health officials, the Associated Press of Pakistan reports.

2 Nov 2010

Medicare plan choices attract attention as open enrollment approaches

Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say they have taken steps to streamline this year's plan options for private Medicare plans, including Part D, the prescription drug plan including eliminating some plans they consider duplicative.

26 Oct 2010