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Researchers reveal how antipsychotics affect metabolism by SMAD3 activation

In a paper published January 31 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) reveal how antipsychotic drugs interfere with normal metabolism by activating a protein called SMAD3, an important part of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) pathway.

2 Feb 2012

Collapse of Global Fund would stall global health efforts

"The Global Fund's drive to ensure sustainability and efficiency means that it may not be able to meet its commitments to combat disease, says Laurie Garrett," a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, in Nature's "World View" column.

2 Feb 2012

National Science Advisory Board explains decision to censor bird flu research

"Details of a genetically altered strain of the deadly avian flu virus are 'a grave concern' to public safety and should be kept under wraps," the 23-member National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity declared Tuesday "in a letter released by the journals Science and Nature," CNN reports.

2 Feb 2012

Sugar should be controlled to protect public health: UCSF

Sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health, according to a team of UCSF researchers, who maintain in a new report that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

2 Feb 2012

State roundup: Mass. lawmakers fight Medicare charges

A Monterey County hospital district, which came under fire last year for giving its chief executive one of the largest public pensions in California history, announced this week that several other top officials are receiving generous retirement packages.

2 Feb 2012

Study: Safety net ERs not at disadvantage in 'pay-for-performance' programs

Safety net hospital emergency departments are not at a disadvantage in terms of meeting the terms of proposed length-of-stay measures for patients both admitted and discharged, according to a new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Debt estimates and Medicare plans; Sen. McConnell on fate of health law

Debt projections released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office illustrate three fiscal paths: dangerous, dumb and smart. ... President Obama has called for a balanced solution but has neither proposed serious tax reform nor adequately outlined the ways in which he would get entitlement spending, particularly Medicare, under control. The position of most Republicans, on the presidential campaign trail and in Congress, is wildly less responsible.

2 Feb 2012

House to vote today to wipe CLASS Act off the books

Though the Obama administration has made clear that it is not proceeding with efforts to implement this long-term care insurance program, the White House and most Democrats are still opposed to its repeal.

2 Feb 2012

Intra-arterial technique of stem cell transplantation may enhance functional recovery from TBI

Experiments in brain-injured rats show that stem cells injected via the carotid artery travel directly to the brain, where they greatly enhance functional recovery, reports a study in the February issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

2 Feb 2012

Medicaid: Wis. program facing $141 million shortfall

Supporters of a proposed Connecticut health plan for poor adults say it should be implemented soon to help support state efforts to expand coverage under the federal health law in 2014. Also, a report in Wisconsin finds that the Medicaid program will run short of funds over the next year and a half.

2 Feb 2012

Gene activity may help explain how vigorous exercise improves survival from prostate cancer

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have identified nearly 200 genes in the healthy prostate tissue of men with low-grade prostate cancer that may help explain how physical activity improves survival from the disease.

2 Feb 2012

Poor quality vaccination campaigns, lack of government commitment helping polio spread in Chad

"Poor-quality emergency immunization campaigns and low routine polio immunization coverage are helping the polio virus to spread in Chad, with 132 cases reported in 2011 -- five times the number in 2010," IRIN reports.

2 Feb 2012

New non-invasive electronic device can monitor heart rate and respiration, movement

Researchers have developed a type of wearable, non-invasive electronic device that can monitor vital signs such as heart rate and respiration at the same time it records a person's activity level, opening new opportunities for biomedical research, diagnostics and patient care.

2 Feb 2012

Pros and cons of routine school BMI screening

The value of routine body mass index (BMI) screening in schools has been a topic of ongoing controversy. An expert Roundtable Discussion in the current issue of Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., debates the pros and cons of routine BMI screening in the school setting, discusses the most recent data, and explores when and for what purpose BMI screening results should be shared with parents and the potential benefits.

2 Feb 2012

Video series explores science behind the fastest game on ice

NBC News' educational arm, NBC Learn, and the NBC Sports Group recently teamed up with the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Science Foundation (NSF) to release "Science of NHL Hockey"--an informative 10-part video series exploring the science behind the fastest game on ice.

2 Feb 2012

NYU School of Medicine creates new department that focuses on population health

NYU School of Medicine announced the creation of a new Department of Population Health focused on research to improve human health at the population level. Marc Gourevitch, MD, MPH, professor of population health and medicine at NYU School of Medicine was appointed inaugural chair.

2 Feb 2012

Abnormal tau protein propagates along linked brain circuits

For decades, researchers have debated whether Alzheimer's disease starts independently in vulnerable brain regions at different times, or if it begins in one region and then spreads to neuroanatomically connected areas. A new study by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers strongly supports the latter, demonstrating that abnormal tau protein, a key feature of the neurofibrillary tangles seen in the brains of those with Alzheimer's, propagates along linked brain circuits, "jumping" from neuron to neuron.

2 Feb 2012

Memory impairment may increase risk of deadly stroke

Severe, rapid memory loss may be linked to - and could predict - a future deadly stroke, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012.

2 Feb 2012

OUP to publish Japan's pre-eminent title in radiation science

Oxford University Press (OUP) is pleased to announce that it will be publishing Japan's pre-eminent title in radiation science from next year.

2 Feb 2012

Frontal NIRS can help physicians monitor hospitalized stroke patients

A research team led by investigators at Mayo Clinic in Florida has found that a small device worn on a patient's brow can be useful in monitoring stroke patients in the hospital. The device measures blood oxygen, similar to a pulse oximeter, which is clipped onto a finger.

2 Feb 2012