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Patient registry yields new data that is crucial for early diagnosis and treatment of FMD

A patient registry is proving invaluable in cataloging the clinical features, symptoms, severity, and outcomes of fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), a non-inflammatory vascular disease that can cause narrowing of arteries in the carotid (neck) and renal (kidney) arteries, which can result in headache, strokes, and aneurysms.

27 Jun 2012

Jin Shin Jyutsu improves side effects of cancer treatment

A new study by the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center shows that patients reported significant improvement in side effects of cancer treatment following just one Jin Shin Jyutsu session. Jin Shin Jyutsu is an ancient form of touch therapy similar to acupuncture in philosophy.

27 Jun 2012

Decline in preventive mammography rates after USPSTF recommendation

Preventive mammography rates in women in their 40s have dropped nearly 6 percent nationwide since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against routine mammograms for women in this age group, a Mayo Clinic analysis shows.

27 Jun 2012

Palin revisits 'death panel' claims

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin renews her allegations that the health law creates death panels.

27 Jun 2012

Analysis finds double payments for Medicare, VA plans

The federal government, and by extension the taxpayer, pays "substantial and increasing" duplicate costs for healthcare among adults enrolled in both Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and the Veterans Administration (VA) health care program, a retrospective analysis determined.

27 Jun 2012

Gates Foundation blog highlights work of CDC Kenya

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, editor Amie Newman, a communications officer at the foundation, highlights the work of "two HIV home-visit health workers who work with the CDC Kenya (Centers for Disease Control) to visit with a family in a remote area in the Nyanza province."

27 Jun 2012

USAID foreign assistance data available in online tool

In a media note, the State Department and USAID announce that "USAID's foreign assistance obligation and expenditure data is now available on the Foreign Assistance Dashboard."

27 Jun 2012

Scientists discover serum biochemical signature that predicts Alzheimer's

Scientists from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland have recently discovered a serum biochemical signature which predicts progression to Alzheimer's disease months or even years before the first symptoms of the disease occur. The goal of the new collaboration between VTT and GE Healthcare is to validate this biomarker in a large patient cohort as well as to discover novel biomarker candidates.

27 Jun 2012

Preventable ER dental care in Florida cost $88M in 2010

In Florida, preventable ER visits for dental care cost that state $88 million, a new report said. In the meantime, California lawmakers sent the governor a bill for his approval that would give low-income children a new way to get dental care.

27 Jun 2012

CAMH releases comprehensive reviews of most effective treatments for alcohol dependence

Scientists from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have released comprehensive reviews of the most effective treatments for alcohol dependence, one of the most prevalent addictions in Canada.

27 Jun 2012

State roundup: Rules would ban collections in nonprofit ERs

The U.S. Department of Treasury released proposed regulations Monday that would ban debt collection activities in the emergency rooms of non-profit hospitals. The proposed restriction comes in the wake of a lawsuit by Minnesota's attorney general alleging Fairview Health Systems former contractor, Accretive Health hit up patients in emergency rooms for payment before treatment. The Treasury Department has proposed adding regulations to a part of the federal health care law to protect patients from abusive collection practices.

27 Jun 2012

Obese children show greater exposure to phthalates

Obese children show greater exposure than nonobese children to a phthalate, a chemical used to soften plastics in some children's toys and many household products, according to a new study, which found that the obesity risk increases according to the level of the chemical found in the bloodstream.

27 Jun 2012

Broken heart syndrome may protect the heart from adrenaline overload

A condition that temporarily causes heart failure in people who experience severe stress might actually protect the heart from very high levels of adrenaline, according to a new study published in the journal Circulation. The research provides the first physiological explanation for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also called "broken heart syndrome" because it affects people who suffer severe emotional stress after bereavement, and suggests guidance for treatment.

27 Jun 2012

Analyzing the FDA bill's course: Bipartisanship or something else?

The bipartisan treatment the FDA user fee bill has enjoyed did not fall like manna from heaven. It came at the insistence of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, the FDA and legislators on both sides of the aisle who agreed early on they would get a deal done. And then actually did it.

27 Jun 2012

New issue of Global Health Governance journal available online

Volume V, Issue 2 of the online journal Global Health Governance is now available online. Among other articles, the issue features a piece examining the sustainability of sub-regional disease surveillance networks, a piece examining the impact of regional health meetings in the Pacific on health governance, and a commentary on investing in strengthening health systems.

27 Jun 2012

New York Times examines bird flu studies, history of controversy

The New York Times examines several studies published in the journals Nature and Science looking at how the H5N1 bird flu virus could mutate to become more virulent among humans and outlines the history of controversy surrounding the studies.

27 Jun 2012

Researchers identify latest gene associated with typical late-onset Lewy body Parkinson's

An international team led by human genetic researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health has identified the latest gene associated with typical late-onset Lewy body Parkinson's disease (PD), with the help of a Canadian Mennonite family of Dutch-German-Russian ancestry.

27 Jun 2012

Examining how mobile gaming could improve sanitation practices

Ben Armstrong and Luis Arbulu of Hattery Labs, a collaborative design firm, write in this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog about how they are beginning "to explore how games might improve sanitation practices."

27 Jun 2012

SIR/TAC combination more effective in preventing GVHD after allogeneic blood cell transplantation

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have conducted a clinical trial aimed at preventing graft vs. host disease (GVHD) in patients who have received hematopoietic (blood) cell transplants (HCT). The study, comparing the drug tacrolimus (TAC) in combination with either methotrexate (MTX ) or sirolimus (SIR), found that the sirolimus/tacrolimus (SIR/TAC) combination was more effective in preventing grades II-IV acute GVHD and moderate-severe chronic GVHD after allogeneic blood cell transplantation.

27 Jun 2012

USA Today features Q&A on Truvada's potential as prevention tool

USA Today features a Q&A on Truvada, an antiretroviral drug that a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel in May recommended be approved for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among healthy people at risk of contracting the virus.

27 Jun 2012