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Loss of normal microbial diversity may be culprit behind chronic sinusitis

A common bacteria ever-present on the human skin and previously considered harmless, may, in fact, be the culprit behind chronic sinusitis, a painful, recurring swelling of the sinuses that strikes more than one in ten Americans each year, according to a study by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco.

13 Sep 2012

Roughly two in five women in the U.S. do not use any form of birth control: Survey

Roughly two in five women in the United States do not use any form of birth control and many underestimate their risk for pregnancy, according to a recent survey about contraceptive practices in the United States.

13 Sep 2012

Electronic jewelry for health

Bracelets and amulets are in the works at Dartmouth's Institute for Security, Technology, and Society (ISTS). Rather than items of mere adornment, the scientists and engineers are constructing personal mobile health (mHealth) devices-highly functional jewelry, as it were.

12 Sep 2012

Roundup: Mass. voters to consider 'right-to-die'; Texas Planned Parenthood hearing contentious; Calif. kids' palliative care

On Election Day, voters in the Bay State will consider whether to approve the "Death With Dignity Act," a measure that would make Massachusetts just the third state in the country to formally approve physician-assisted suicide. The proposal, identified as Question 2 on the ballot, is nearly identical to laws passed in Oregon in 1994 and in Washington in 2008. But the politics is very different. The looming vote has split the state's medical community and mobilized opposition from the politically powerful Catholic Church.

12 Sep 2012

Karolinska Institutet professor receives Fernström Foundation Nordic Prize for obesity research

This year's Fernström Foundation Nordic Prize, worth SEK 1 million, goes to Professor Peter Arner from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, who conducts research on fat. His team was the first to show that fat cells are formed throughout one's lifetime, not just in childhood.

11 Sep 2012

Strep throat should be treated with penicillin or amoxicillin: IDSA guidelines

Although people often say they have "strep" throat, most sore throats actually are caused by a virus, not streptococcus bacteria, and shouldn't be treated with antibiotics, suggest guidelines published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses.

11 Sep 2012

Big profits for Minn. HMOs despite Medicaid money give-back

Minnesota HMOs recorded another year of healthy operating profits in 2011 despite agreeing to cap income on state Medicaid underwriting programs, a new analysis of state plans shows. Four HMOs returned $103 million in 2011 to the state after agreeing to limit their income on Medicaid underwriting business to 1 percent of their premiums.

11 Sep 2012

Low-income children of immigrants have poor health, see doctors and dentists less often

Health is an important part of development, with links to how children do cognitively and academically, and it's a strong predictor of adult health and productivity. A new study of low-income families in the United States has found that children's health and access to health care services differ according to the immigrant status of their parents.

11 Sep 2012

Rhode Island receives NIH grant to study cartilage and joint health

Rhode Island Hospital's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in Skeletal Health and Repair has been awarded a $10.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of the largest grants in Rhode Island Hospital history. This grant, to be paid over five years, will fund studies of cartilage and joint health.

11 Sep 2012

Wall Street Journal examines drug-resistant TB

The Wall Street Journal examines global efforts to stop the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) strains, stating, "Global health officials view the emergence of incurable cases of tuberculosis in India as a worrisome evolution in a trend they have been concerned and intensely frustrated about for years -- the rise of drug resistant forms of tuberculosis around the world."

10 Sep 2012

Concussion: an interview with Dr Rob Reid

Concussion happens when something produces a concussive force to the head, such as a blow to the head. The definition from the 2008 consensus, which was in Zurich, is, “concussion is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces.”

10 Sep 2012

Doctors as delegates and health reform activists

In this pair of stories, Medpage Today offers the view seen from the Democratic convention floor by two physician delegates as well as a look at a doctors' group dedicated to supporting the health law.

7 Sep 2012

Biopsies may misdiagnose eosinophilic esophagitis

University of Utah engineers mapped white blood cells called eonsinophils and showed an existing diagnostic method may overlook an elusive digestive disorder that causes swelling in the esophagus and painful swallowing.

7 Sep 2012

Washington Post examines India's efforts against TB amid fears of drug resistance

The Washington Post examines how the "discovery of an almost untreatable form of tuberculosis [TB] in India has set off alarm bells around the world and helped spur a dramatic expansion of government efforts to battle the killer lung disease."

7 Sep 2012

University of Rhode Island engineers develop new blood-testing technology

A team of engineers and students at the University of Rhode Island has developed an advanced blood-testing technology that incorporates a smartphone application, a hand-held biosensor and a credit card-sized cartridge to provide rapid, accurate biological analysis and wireless communication of test results.

7 Sep 2012

Longer looks: Insurers balk at price of new asthma relief; Despite health law, costs still overwhelming for some patients

For two decades, Patricia DiGiusto struggled with severe asthma. Powerful medications and frequent use of her inhaler could not prevent repeated trips to the emergency room. ... Two years ago, Ms. DiGiusto's doctor told her about a new procedure called bronchial thermoplasty, the first non-drug therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with severe asthma.

7 Sep 2012

Association between childhood sexual abuse and heart attacks among men

Men who experienced childhood sexual abuse are three times more likely to have a heart attack than men who were not sexually abused as children, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Toronto. The researchers found no association between childhood sexual abuse and heart attacks among women.

7 Sep 2012