Research News and Research

RSS

PATH Blog highlights efforts to reduce HIV in DRC

The PATH Blog reports on the organization's efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) "to reduce transmission of HIV, deliver integrated care and services for people affected by HIV/AIDS, and build up the country's health system to expand and improve services."

19 Jul 2012

Statistical method uses evolutionary information to enhance identification of disease-associated alleles

A book containing misprints may cause annoyance for the reader, but typos in an individual's genetic blueprint (DNA) can mean serious disease or even death. The search for genetic correlates for the wide range of diseases plaguing humankind has inspired a wealth of research falling under the heading of genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

19 Jul 2012

U.S. faces problems tracking cadaver tissue donation

In the United States, almost 1.5 million medical products are used each year for surgeries made with tissue taken from cadavers. For tissue to be safe, the donor must be carefully screened.

19 Jul 2012

State officials stake out positions on implementing health law

Virginia's Republican attorney general, the first to file suit against the health law, takes a hardline position against expanding Medicaid, while Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, a Republican, signals his state will pass on setting up a state-based health exchange. In Kentucky, Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, issues an executive order to authorize such an exchange.

19 Jul 2012

Huddersfield scientist receives Pain Relief Foundation grant for research into BH4 pathway

SOME victims of serious illness experience much less pain than other sufferers, thanks to a natural biochemical variation in the cells of their bodies. Now a scientist at the University of Huddersfield has been awarded research funding that will aid his project to learn more about this variation and therefore develop treatments that could lead to the relief of pain for all patients, with much less dependence on drugs that can have distressing side effects.

19 Jul 2012

Opponents see possible avenues to send health law back to court

But in related news, a federal judge in Nebraska rejected a suit filed by seven states to block the measure's contraception coverage mandate, saying the states did not have standing to file it because they failed to prove they would suffer "immediate harm."

19 Jul 2012

Adolescents and young adult cancer patients more likely to report unmet need

A cancer diagnosis for adolescents and young adults can be especially challenging, and new research shows the social, psychological and informational support these patients need might be going unmet.

19 Jul 2012

Better methods needed to diagnose and treat HIV, TB in children

Jennifer Furin, an infectious diseases physician and medical anthropologist who specializes in the management of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV in resource-poor settings, writes in a post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog that "when it comes to the great advancements made in global HIV and TB care, children are being left behind."

19 Jul 2012

Escalating Miss. abortion fight could be blueprint for similar challenges

State health inspectors inspect Mississippi's only abortion clinic -- the first step towards shutting it down-- while a judge considers whether to let the law stand. Meanwhile, anti-abortion activists hone in on other states with single abortion providers to see if they can use similar approaches to shut them down, Politico Pro reports.

19 Jul 2012

Duke-led consortium to focus on inducing neutralizing antibodies for HIV-1 prevention

Two Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists are among the team recently funded to explore ways to create the precise immune factors needed for effective vaccines against HIV.

19 Jul 2012

NPR reports on Brazilian clinical trial of Truvada as prevention strategy

NPR's "Shots" blog reports on one of the drug trials considered by the FDA in its approval of the antiretroviral drug Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among people at risk of contracting the virus, which "was done at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Research Institute, also known as Fiocruz, in Rio de Janeiro."

19 Jul 2012

Green plants in city streets can effectively reduce levels of air pollutants

Trees, bushes and other greenery growing in the concrete-and-glass canyons of cities can reduce levels of two of the most worrisome air pollutants by eight times more than previously believed, a new study has found. A report on the research appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

19 Jul 2012

Targets reached in Haiti's pilot cholera vaccination program, NPR reports

NPR's "Shots" blog reports on the results of a "high-visibility pilot project to vaccinate 100,000 Haitians against cholera." The blog writes, "Almost 90 percent of the target population -- half in Port-au-Prince and the other half in a remote rural area -- got fully protected against cholera, meaning they got two doses of the oral vaccine."

19 Jul 2012

New research sheds light on pluripotency

New research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem sheds light on pluripotency-the ability of embryonic stem cells to renew themselves indefinitely and to differentiate into all types of mature cells.

19 Jul 2012

Egg allergies in children can be treated with oral immunotherapy

Giving children with egg allergies increasingly higher doses of the very food they are allergic to can eliminate or ease reactions in most of them, according to results from a federally funded study conducted at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and four other U.S. institutions.

19 Jul 2012

Africa's new partnership for sustainable health development 'makes sense'

With Africa's "emerging position in the global order, ... astute African leaders are striving to ensure that this realignment delivers a new paradigm of partnership for sustainable health development -- a partnership that is led by Africa, for Africans, through African-sourced solutions," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe writes in a Huffington Post "Impact Blog" opinion piece.

19 Jul 2012

Pioneering technique that uses thermal imaging can help fight obesity

Scientists at The University of Nottingham believe they've found a way of fighting obesity — with a pioneering technique which uses thermal imaging. This heat-seeking technology is being used to trace our reserves of brown fat — the body's 'good fat' — which plays a key role in how quickly our body can burn calories as energy.

19 Jul 2012

Dementia patients allowed to live at home thanks to new research program

A Johns Hopkins research program that brought resources and counselors to elderly Baltimore residents with memory disorders such as dementia significantly increased the chance they could continue to live successfully at home, a preference for most of them.

19 Jul 2012

States opting-out of health law's Medicaid expansion likely to see downside

After several state officials announced their intention to reject the expansion -- and the federal funds that come with it -- news outlets report on possible implications, including costs to county taxpayers, businesses and people who would go without health benefits.

19 Jul 2012

IOM: Paying providers more in some parts of county won't solve access problems

In a new report, the Institute of Medicine concludes that raising Medicare reimbursements for some areas of the country will not necessarily address the physician shortage.

19 Jul 2012