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Nigeria can eradicate polio with international support

"Nigeria is one of only three countries -- along with Afghanistan and Pakistan -- that remains blighted by polio," Aliko Dangote, founder and CEO of the Dangote Group and chair of the Dangote Foundation, writes in a Project Syndicate opinion piece.

21 Dec 2012

Scientists sequence complete genome of leeches

Leeches, despite the yuck factor, have captured the hearts of two University of California, Berkeley, scientists who are part of a team that this week is publishing the leech's complete genome sequence.

21 Dec 2012

Blogs respond to attacks against polio workers in Pakistan

The following blog posts were published in response to a series of attacks against polio workers in Pakistan this week, which have left eight dead since Monday.

21 Dec 2012

Novel virus-based gene therapy holds promise for Canavan disease

Research led by Paola Leone, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM), demonstrates the long term safety and benefit of a virus-based gene therapy that has been applied for the first time in a clinical setting.

21 Dec 2012

House passes bio-threat vaccines, Medicare coverage bills

The House passed several health measures Wednesday including bills on developing vaccines to thwart bio-threats and on Medicare coverage for immune deficiency care.

21 Dec 2012

New low-cost combined therapy shows promise against malaria

Malaria brings misery and death to millions in the developing world each year, and fighting it keeps medical researchers up at night because the mosquito-borne parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which causes the deadliest form of the disease, has developed resistance to every drug thrown at it. Resistance has cut short the useful life of nearly every therapy tried so far, experts say.

21 Dec 2012

Improvements in child survival a 'sweeping accomplishment'

"There is reason for optimism about the health of the world's youngest," columnist Tina Rosenberg writes in the New York Times "Opinionator" blog, noting, "A massive study published last week called the Global Burden of Disease report found that in the past 20 years, the death rate of children under five has dropped in every country in the world save three -- Kuwait, Tonga and Zimbabwe."

21 Dec 2012

CMS awards $306M to states for enrolling more kids in Medicaid

The Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday awarded $306 million in bonuses to 23 states for enrolling more children in Medicaid. The move is meant to help offset the expense of covering more kids in the state-federal health care program.

21 Dec 2012

Voluntary moratorium on H5N1 avian flu research likely to end soon

Following the conclusion of a two-day meeting at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) this week -- meant "to gather feedback from flu researchers, others in the science community, and the public on its draft framework for funding H5N1 gain-of-function studies and to continue an international dialogue on issues related to benefits and risks of the research" -- "experts anticipated that a voluntary moratorium on work with lab-modified strains that have increased transmissibility might end soon," CIDRAP News reports.

21 Dec 2012

UAB research succeeds in testing a vaccine against leishmaniasis

A research coordinated by the UAB has succeeded in testing a vaccine against leishmaniasis. The vaccine was tested with the best animal model existing, the golden hamster, and can be produced at low costs by using insect larvae.

21 Dec 2012

U.S. 'unprepared for' resurgence of MDR-TB, Wall Street Journal reports

"Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is at epidemic proportions in some parts of the world -- a growing problem the U.S. is surprisingly unprepared for," the Wall Street Journal reports.

21 Dec 2012

Researcher looks at role of TIMP3 protein linked with aortic aneurysms in the abdomen

A researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute is looking closely at a molecule linked to aortic aneurysms in the abdomen, and her findings could lead to a treatment to reduce swelling of the aortic artery, which would be a life-saving treatment.

21 Dec 2012

International community condemns attacks on polio workers in Pakistan

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling the killing of health workers trying to vaccinate Pakistani children against polio in a U.N.-backed campaign 'cruel, senseless and inexcusable,'" the Associated Press reports, noting, "Ban said at his year-end news conference on Wednesday that the eight killed were among thousands across Pakistan 'working selflessly to achieve the historic goal of polio eradication.'"

21 Dec 2012

Report: States underprepared to meet public health needs during a crisis

The report by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that although some states have improved their preparedness, gaps persist largely because of state budget cuts.

21 Dec 2012

Mayo Clinic to receive Biomarkers of Gut Function grant

Mayo Clinic announced today that it will receive funding through the Biomarkers of Gut Function and Health program within the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative. This initiative was launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to overcome persistent bottlenecks preventing the creation of new and better health solutions for the developing world. William Faubion, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, will continue to pursue a research project titled "Gut Permeability in Environmental Enteropathy."

21 Dec 2012

FDA seeks input from states on drug compounders

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg convened a meeting that included federal officials and representatives from state boards of pharmacy and governors' offices. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports on "rogue pharmacists."

21 Dec 2012

Real estate businessman delivers $2.5M gift to University of Chicago Medicine for GI study

Real estate businessman Seymour "Sy" Taxman and his wife, Nancy, presented a gift of $2.5 million to the University of Chicago Medicine on Wednesday in honor of the late Joseph B. Kirsner, MD, PhD, the Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and a pioneer in the research and treatment of digestive disease.

21 Dec 2012

Statement, article respond to new U.S. Office of Global Health Diplomacy

The State Department on Friday announced the selection of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby to lead the State Department's new Office of Global Health Diplomacy.

21 Dec 2012

Exercise and mental health: an interview with Professor Nanette Mutrie

Perhaps we should first of all clear up the definition of exercise. In public health terms it is more common to use the phrase ‘physical activity’ because this phrase encompasses all kinds of movement- indeed anything we do above sitting and resting levels.

21 Dec 2012

NPR, Inter Press Service examine efforts to prevent drug-resistant malaria

As part of its continuing coverage of malaria, NPR's "Shots" blog features a story on counterfeit anti-malarial drugs, which "are among the most popular drugs to fake." According to the blog, "These faux pharmaceuticals are particularly dangerous because malaria can kill a person in a matter of days," and, if the drugs contain only a small amount of the real drug, they can contribute to the development of drug-resistant malaria parasites.

21 Dec 2012