Research News and Research

RSS

World Bank should re-evaluate programs to reduce maternal mortality

"The World Bank boasts that it has positioned itself as a 'global leader' in reproductive health, especially for youth and the poor," but in 2011, it dedicated "just 0.2 percent of its $43 billion budget" to reproductive health projects, and much of that money was provided as loans, which can "leave poor countries indebted and threaten to divert domestic spending away from vital public health services," Elizabeth Arend, program coordinator at Gender Action, writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

7 Mar 2012

New clinical trial: Pycnogenol improves signs and symptoms of menopause

Half the population experiences menopause, and for those women, it is a condition they will experience for approximately one third of their lifetime. Alternative or natural remedies are an easy, effective way to improve signs and symptoms linked to the menopausal transition, without side effects.

7 Mar 2012

South Africa announces initiative to test thousands of miners for TB

"South Africa wants to test hundreds of thousands of miners for tuberculosis [TB] and ensure sufferers get treatment over the next year," David Mametja, head of South African National Department of Health's TB program, said Tuesday at a workshop organized by the Stop TB Partnership, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

7 Mar 2012

Health system framework, patterns make change from within unlikely

The New York Times talks to Victor Fuchs, emeritus professor of economics and health research and policy at Stanford University, about the cost control challenges presented by the health system. Meanwhile, the National Journal reports on how individual health care choices also help drive costs.

7 Mar 2012

Heroes of Military Medicine award recipients to be honored on May 2, 2012

The Center for Public-Private Partnerships at The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 Heroes of Military Medicine awards.

7 Mar 2012

Drugmakers paid out $8 billion in Medicare and Medicaid fraud fines in 10 years

The nation's largest drugmakers have paid at least $8 billion in fines for repeatedly defrauding Medicare and Medicaid over the past decade, but they remain in business with the federal government because they are often the sole suppliers of critical products, records show.

7 Mar 2012

Autism Research Institute Conference to take place in Newark, N.J.

The Autism Research Institute, a pioneer organization in the biomedical, whole-body approach to autism, will host leading experts at the Autism Research Institute (ARI) Conference from Thursday, April 26 through Sunday, April 29 at the Newark Airport Marriott in Newark, N.J.

7 Mar 2012

World achieves MDG for safe water years before target date

"Developing countries have already achieved their 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of drastically reducing the number of people without regular access to improved drinking water, though much of the credit lies with India and China," UNICEF and the WHO said in a joint report on Tuesday, Reuters reports

7 Mar 2012

Oregon seeks federal approval of 'coordinated care plan,' approves exchange bill

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is looking for federal approval of a recently signed law there that provides care for Medicaid patients through new "coordinated care organizations." The Oregon Legislature also approved a health insurance exchange bill before it adjourned.

7 Mar 2012

Study identifies mechanism that explains how cancer cells spread to the lymph nodes

Metastasis is responsible for 90% of deaths in patients with cancer. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for this process is one of the top goals of cancer research. The metastatic process involves a series of steps chained where the primary tumour invades surrounding tissues and ends spreading throughout the body. Ones of the first tissues undergoing metastasis are the lymph nodes surrounding the tumour.

7 Mar 2012

Mysterious kidney disease 'devastating' Central America's Pacific Coast, AP reports

The Associated Press/Seattle Times reports on a "mysterious epidemic that is devastating the Pacific Coast of Central America, killing more than 24,000 people in El Salvador and Nicaragua since 2000 and striking thousands of others with chronic kidney disease at rates unseen virtually anywhere else."

7 Mar 2012

Simple recommendations help reduce environmental exposures for women

Remove your shoes at the door of your home to avoid tracking in pollutants. Decrease consumption of processed and canned foods. Avoid the use of plastics with recycling codes #3, #4 and #7. Don't use chemical tick and flea collars or dips for pets. Reproductive health care providers should share these tips and more scientific information with women who want to become pregnant or who are pregnant, but that does not always happen.

7 Mar 2012

U.S. Farm Bill has global implications for food security

In this ONE Blog post, Jennifer Wynn, an intern with ONE's policy team, reports on a recent panel discussion held at George Washington University that examined the U.S. Farm Bill and its implications for global hunger and food security.

7 Mar 2012

Yemen to launch measles vaccination campaign after increase in number of cases, deaths

"Measles has killed 126 children in Yemen since mid-2011, a consequence of the breakdown of basic health services during the year-long political crisis," and "in response ... , the Yemeni government has appealed for international assistance and an outbreak-response vaccination campaign will begin in the hardest-hit regions on 10 March," IRIN reports.

7 Mar 2012

Mild TBI may increase risk of postconcussive symptoms in children

Children who experience mild traumatic brain injury may be more likely to show increases in symptoms over time that could impact quality of life, more so than children who experience an orthopedic injury. Injury severity could play a role.

7 Mar 2012

Congress must protect international family planning funding

"Opponents of birth control don't just want to limit access in the U.S., they want to slash U.S. support for international family planning programs. It's a perennial debate, and it's about to start all over again," Chloe Cooney, director of global advocacy at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, writes in an RH Reality Check blog post.

7 Mar 2012

Physicians study human stem cell use as possible treatment for ischemic stroke

Physicians at the Methodist Neurological Institute are studying the use of human stem cells as a possible treatment for acute ischemic stroke, a leading cause of death and disability. Each year, stroke affects more than 15 million people around the world.

7 Mar 2012