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Study looks at feasibility of text message use to deliver health educational information to teens

Teenagers spend a lot of time texting, receiving an average of 3,417 texts a month, or 114 per day, according to the Nielsen consumer research group.

21 Jan 2013

Study refocuses on how neuroblastoma tumors evolve in response to medicine and other factors

An extensive genomic study of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma reinforces the challenges in treating the most aggressive forms of this disease. Contrary to expectations, the scientists found relatively few recurrent gene mutations—mutations that would suggest new targets for neuroblastoma treatment. Instead, say the researchers, they have now refocused on how neuroblastoma tumors evolve in response to medicine and other factors.

21 Jan 2013

G-quadruplexes also exist within the human genome

In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving 'double helix' DNA structure - the chemical code for all life.

21 Jan 2013

Federal gov't. awards health exchange grants to some states

The federal health department announced $1.5 billion in new grants Thursday for states to continue building their insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. California, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Vermont received funding - either one-or multi-year awards based on their progress in creating the marketplaces.

20 Jan 2013

New study: Loneliness can harm overall health

New research links loneliness to a number of dysfunctional immune responses, suggesting that being lonely has the potential to harm overall health.

20 Jan 2013

Mental health issues take pole position in gun violence debate

Agreement appears to exist that mental health is central to this debate, with the Obama administration eyeing the related provisions of the health law as one of the answers.

19 Jan 2013

FDA to step up evaluation of metal hip implants, other devices

The Food and Drug Administration is studying whether several medical devices already on the market, such as electroconvulsive therapy devices for depression and emergency defibrillators, require additional evidence to prove they're safe.

19 Jan 2013

Study shows first empirical evidence of exposure to conflict-of-interest policies

Psychiatrists who are exposed to conflict-of-interest (COI) policies during their residency are less likely to prescribe brand-name antidepressants after graduation than those who trained in residency programs without such policies, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

19 Jan 2013

Carter Center Guinea worm eradication program in 'final stages'

"Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced today that the international Guinea worm eradication campaign spearheaded by the Carter Center has reached its final stages with only 542 cases reported worldwide in 2012," a Carter Center press release reports.

19 Jan 2013

New review examines role of nutrition in sarcopenia

Sarcopenia, or the gradual loss of muscle mass, is a common consequence of ageing, and poses a significant risk factor for disability in older adults. As muscle strength plays an important role in the tendency to fall, sarcopenia leads to an increased risk of fractures and other injuries.

19 Jan 2013

Law banning genetic discrimination doesn't apply to some insurers

NPR examines a key loophole in the law designed to keep health insurers from raising rates or denying coverage because of genetic issues. The law doesn't apply to life, disability or long-term-care insurance.

19 Jan 2013

Low blood flow to the premature brain disrupts cells' ability to fully mature

Physician-scientists at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital are challenging the way pediatric neurologists think about brain injury in the pre-term infant. In a study published online in the Jan. 16 issue of Science Translational Medicine, the OHSU Doernbecher researchers report for the first time that low blood and oxygen flow to the developing brain does not, as previously thought, cause an irreversible loss of brain cells, but rather disrupts the cells' ability to fully mature.

19 Jan 2013

DRC reducing mother-to-child HIV transmission, PlusNews reports

"The HIV infection rate has declined among pregnant women in the Republic of Congo from 3.4 percent in 2009 to 2.8 percent in 2012, according to a study by the Ministry of Health, which said it had taken specific action to help this section of the population," PlusNews reports.

19 Jan 2013

Having 2 attending physicians during spinal surgeries can benefit patients in multiple ways

Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes - and a new study by a duo at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) demonstrates how having two attending surgeons in the operating room during spinal surgeries can benefit patients in multiple ways.

19 Jan 2013

Debt ceiling, March spending cuts present policy and political choices

As the White House and congressional Republicans wrestle with strategies to deal with these upcoming budget issues, Medicare and Medicaid will be important factors.

19 Jan 2013

Accelerated partnerships critical to ensuring malaria elimination goals

Writing in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog in advance of the Monitoring & Evaluation Reference Group (MERG) meeting convened by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and taking place in Namibia this week, Lucy Chesire, executive director and secretary to the board of the TB ACTION Group, interviews Roly Gosling, current head of the Malaria Elimination Initiative at the University of California, San Francisco, "regarding malaria elimination, its importance, and why the Global Fund is critical to achieving that goal worldwide."

19 Jan 2013

Nurse practitioners, certified midwives and PAs can provide safe early abortion care

First trimester abortions are just as safe when performed by trained nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives as when conducted by physicians, according to a new six-year study led by UCSF.

19 Jan 2013

UnitedHealth indicates limited participation in state-based exchanges

CEO Stephen Hemsley said Thursday that the insurer expects to participate in 10 to 25 of these marketplaces and noted that there should be no assumptions that the company will participate widely. His announcement comes along with news that the company's 4th quarter profits were down slightly, which was mainly attributed to rising medical costs.

19 Jan 2013

Checklists can help surgical teams perform better during emergencies

When doctors, nurses and other hospital operating room staff follow a written safety checklist to respond when a patient experiences cardiac arrest, severe allergic reaction, bleeding followed by an irregular heart beat or other crisis during surgery, they are nearly 75 percent less likely to miss a critical clinical step, according to a new study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

19 Jan 2013

China, U.K. form global health partnership

"The Chinese and British governments are cooperating on a program to improve global health policy for developing countries, with the launch in Beijing on January 16 of a new U.K.-China partnership," China Daily reports.

19 Jan 2013