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U.S. foreign aid is 'good value'

"Unfortunately, most Americans don't realize what a good value our foreign assistance efforts are," and "most would be surprised to learn that foreign aid amounts to only about one percent of the federal budget," Carolyn Woo, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece.

9 Feb 2013

Academic medical centers play an integral role in developing new treatments and cures

As an internationally recognized researcher into aging and dementia, Suzanne Craft is keenly aware of the importance of volunteers in clinical studies.

9 Feb 2013

Alzheimer's appears to be on the rise

The number of people with Alzheimer's disease is expected to triple in the next 40 years, according to a new study by researchers from Rush University Medical Center published in the February 6, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Feb 2013

Hoping for universal family planning by 2030

Dana Horvig, CEO of Marie Stopes International, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog that his hope is "that by 2030 we are finally living in the golden age of family planning ... in which everyone has access to whatever type of contraception they want, no matter where they live or what their circumstances are." He continues, "If we are to reach this golden age though, we must keep an ever watchful eye on results and impact, and make sure family planning services are available to the people who need them most."

9 Feb 2013

Scientists create nanoscale vehicle to battle cancer without harming healthy cells

A tiny capsule invented at a UCLA lab could go a long way toward improving cancer treatment. Devising a method for more precise and less invasive treatment of cancer tumors, a team led by researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a degradable nanoscale shell to carry proteins to cancer cells and stunt the growth of tumors without damaging healthy cells.

9 Feb 2013

TIC10 may improve usefulness of TRAIL protein in cancer therapy

A compound that stimulates the production of a tumor-fighting protein may improve the usefulness of the protein in cancer therapy, according to a team of researchers.

9 Feb 2013

Measuring cost-effectiveness of new medical technologies

To decide whether a new medical technology is cost effective, researchers often "compare a new technology's incremental cost-effectiveness ratio or ICER to a threshold that is some multiple of a country or income group's GDP per capita, per WHO convention," Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), writes in the CGD's "Global Health Policy" blog

9 Feb 2013

Nerve stimulator may be new option for migraine sufferers

Wearing a nerve stimulator for 20 minutes a day may be a new option for migraine sufferers, according to new research published in the February 6, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Feb 2013

Ongoing conflict aggravating health of Syrians, WHO warns

The WHO on Tuesday "warned that the ongoing conflict in Syria, which will soon enter its third year, will lead to a sharp spike in the number of people needing urgent aid, including food, clean water and vital medical services," the U.N. News Centre reports.

9 Feb 2013

Plans scaled back for vets' computerized health records system

The U.S. government is ditching ambitious plans to create a single computer system for troops and military veterans to track their health records, opting instead for a more modest, less costly plan that officials said will deliver on goals faster.

9 Feb 2013

Emphasis on 'How' missing from 'IF campaign' against global hunger

The "Enough Food for Everyone If" campaign (IF campaign), "supported by a coalition of more than 100 development organizations, has identified four priorities on aid, land, tax avoidance and market transparency," Zahid Torres-Rahman, founder of Business Fights Poverty, writes in the Guardian Sustainable Business blog.

9 Feb 2013

Certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration

"You are what you eat," the saying goes, but is what you eat playing a role in how much you sleep? Sleep, like nutrition and physical activity, is a critical determinant of health and well-being. With the increasing prevalence of obesity and its consequences, sleep researchers have begun to explore the factors that predispose individuals to weight gain and ultimately obesity.

9 Feb 2013

Medicaid expansion, health exchanges tempt some GOP governors

Politico reports that certain Republican governors are going forward with the implementation of these health law provisions without facing a backlash within their states.

9 Feb 2013

High prevalence of total knee replacement revealed

Research highlights the growing use of total knee replacement in the USA among patients with osteoarthritis and the associated healthcare burden.

8 Feb 2013

Metabolic syndrome risk factors prevalent in bipolar disorder

People who have bipolar disorder are at a high risk for developing the metabolic syndrome and related cardiovascular disorders, say researchers.

8 Feb 2013

Intravitreal ranibizumab shows little benefit after hemorrhage

Ranibizumab given intravitreally offers no clear benefit in the treatment of vitreous hemorrhage due to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, a randomized clinical trial indicates.

8 Feb 2013

Tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 involved in renal decline in diabetes

Researchers have found that circulating levels of tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 are independently associated with the development of chronic kidney disease in nonobese Japanese patients with Type 2 diabetes.

8 Feb 2013

eGFR ‘powerful’ operative risk gauge

Patients’ estimated glomerular filtration rate is highly predictive of their risk for dying after surgery, shows a systematic review and meta-analysis.

8 Feb 2013

HIV prevention: don’t just target serodiscordant couples

A large proportion of heterosexual HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa occurs among stable couples who have sexual partners outside of their relationship, shows research published in The Lancet.

8 Feb 2013

Novel combination of ibrutinib and bortezomib could be effective new therapy for blood cancers

Laboratory experiments conducted by scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center suggest that a novel combination of the drugs ibrutinib and bortezomib could potentially be an effective new therapy for several forms of blood cancer, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

7 Feb 2013