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U.S. officials pledge continuing support for solutions to hunger in Africa; Oxfam calls for action against emerging hunger in Sahel

"U.S. officials pledged Thursday to work for permanent solutions to ease hunger in the Horn of Africa, warning that Somalia remained a major crisis even though its famine is officially over," Agence France-Presse reports.

11 Mar 2012

Methylphenidate may affect learning and memory in children with ADHD

New research with monkeys sheds light on how the drug methylphenidate may affect learning and memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

11 Mar 2012

USAID publishes special edition news report commemorating International Women's Day

USAID on Thursday published a Global Health E-News Mini March Edition in commemoration of International Women's Day, which was celebrated on Thursday.

11 Mar 2012

ScienceInsider reports on Lancet letters regarding CDC Center for Global Health

In a letter published Wednesday in the Lancet, officials from the CDC refute "point by point" three letters previously published in the journal that were critical of the agency's Center for Global Health, ScienceInsider reports.

11 Mar 2012

Virginia uproar frames abortion, contraception legislation in many states

States are grappling with reproduction-related issues after Virginia's pre-abortion ultrasound bill passed: In California, lawmakers are set to consider a bill to give more women access to early-term abortions while lawmakers in Ohio and Minnesota consider legislation on contraception.

11 Mar 2012

Common sexually transmitted bacterial infection more than doubles risk of HIV

A common sexually transmitted bacterial infection more than doubles the risk of HIV infection in African women, according to a study by researchers at RTI International.

11 Mar 2012

Farzad Mostashari: Focusing on moving doctors into the digital age

New York hookers spreading HIV. Killer mosquitos. An anthrax-toting terrorist. An urban-scape rife with the sick and poor. These are just some of the challenges tackled by Farzad Mostashari, a Yale-educated physician, epidemiologist and self-confessed computer nerd. His current mission: moving doctors from the Age of Gutenberg into the 21st century. For starters, he'd like them to use e-mail at the office.

11 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: The fight against IPAB; Chinks in GOP armor on health care law

As part of their broader campaign to repeal health care reform, House Republicans are determined to kill off an independent board that is supposed to help rein in federal spending on Medicare. Their rhetoric is predictably distorted: charging that "15 unelected bureaucrats" should not be able to "ration care." In truth, the independent payment advisory board of nongovernmental experts is specifically precluded from rationing care, and Congress, not the board, has the final say on what cuts should be made.

11 Mar 2012

State highlights: Texas doctors feeling the effects of budget cuts; Iowa advocates seeking better services for disabled

(Dr. Javier Saenz's) troubles reflect a statewide problem for doctors who treat a disproportionately high number of the reported 320,000 low-income Texans who are fully and dually eligible for Medicare, the federal insurer of the elderly, and Medicaid, the joint state-federal health care program for indigent children, the disabled and the very poor.

11 Mar 2012

Women's health status linked to empowerment

"The health status of women is linked to their fundamental freedoms and empowerment," Susan Blumenthal, public health editor at the Huffington Post and former U.S. assistant surgeon general, and Jean Guo, a health policy intern at the Center for the Study of Presidency and Congress, write in the website's "Healthy Living" blog in a post marking International Women's Day, which was celebrated on Thursday.

11 Mar 2012

Texas Gov. says they'll find money for women's health program

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is directing officials to find money to help finance Texas' Women's Health Program after the state's move to kick Planned Parenthood out of the program endangered federal funds for the program.

11 Mar 2012

Women Democratic Senators urge Boehner to 'nix' vote on birth control coverage rule

The 12 senators wrote a letter to the House Speaker, asking him not to hold a vote on proposals to expand exemptions from the Obama administration's birth control coverage mandate.

11 Mar 2012

Implant to assume function of damaged venous valves

If heart valves don't close properly, they are replaced. Conventional treatment of venous valve failure, however, has up to now always and exclusively been via medication. In future, an implant will assume the function of damaged valves - and a new dispensing tool means these prostheses can be made using an automated process.

11 Mar 2012

The soon-to-be-released GOP budget plan: What will become of traditional Medicare?

How this question is answered could have big implications for the GOP's presidential and congressional candidates. Meanwhile, Politico Pro reports the plan being prepared by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R- Wis., is likely to include a reserve fund to deal with Medicare's sustainable growth rate formula.

11 Mar 2012

Grassley sends letter to Minnesota questioning Medicaid 'donation'

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Thursday questioning if the federal government should receive a portion of a "donation" a nonprofit health insurer made to Minnesota's Medicaid program and why Minnesota classified the payment as such.

11 Mar 2012

Research roundup: Confusing high priced for high quality care; Expanding digital records to all hospitals; Veterans and opiod use

An Experiment Shows That A Well-Designed Report On Costs And Quality Can Help Consumers Choose High-Value Health Care -- Researchers conducted an experiment with more than 1,400 people to see if the way information on quality and cost of care is displayed affects consumers' decision to choose a high value health care plan. The group was shown different presentations of the same information and was asked to pick their preferred plan.

10 Mar 2012

Potentially dangerous repercussions if proposed changes take effect

All over the globe, the mental health community is buzzing about the upcoming publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), to be released in May 2013. GoodTherapy.org, a leading mental health directory dedicated to advocating healthy therapy practices, has announced its support of the American Psychological Association's Division 32 committee on DSM-5 reform, citing potentially dangerous repercussions if the proposed changes take effect.

10 Mar 2012

White House views Supreme Court health law arguments as teachable moments

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration has begun an effort to use these arguments as an opportunity to educate the public and build support for the overhaul. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports that one of the lead plaintiffs in a challenge to the law has gone bankrupt with outstanding medical bills, leading some to question whether this transforms her from a "symbol of proud independence into an example of exactly the problem the healthcare law was intended to address."

10 Mar 2012

South Africa's evolving HIV/AIDS policy

In this interview in World Politics Review's "Trend Lines," Peter Navario, an adjunct associate professor of public policy at New York University and a former global health fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the evolution South Africa's HIV/AIDS policy over the last decade, the country's current relationship with pharmaceutical companies, and how South African President Jacob Zuma's HIV/AIDS policy is received in the region and by international donors.

10 Mar 2012

New drug approval pathway to encourage development of critically needed, lifesaving antibiotics

Congress will consider a new drug approval pathway to encourage development of critically needed, lifesaving antibiotics as part of a strategy to address the public health crisis of antibiotic resistance. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) proposed the new pathway, the "Special Population Limited Medical Use (SPLMU)" mechanism, to provide an important new approval option for companies interested in developing drugs to treat patients with serious infections where few or no treatment options exist.

10 Mar 2012