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Three common scales are not accurate predictors of severe dehydration in children

A physician team from Rhode Island Hospital led a study to evaluate the accuracy of the commonly used dehydration scales as they apply to children in a low-income country. Based on their experience in Rwanda, the researchers determined that none of the three scales were accurate predictors of severe dehydration in children with diarrhea and/or vomiting.

9 Nov 2011

Judge blocks FDA rule on new cigarette pack warning images

Federal Judge Richard Leon says the regulation ordering cigarette makers to put graphic images on the packages may "unconstitutionally compel speech."

9 Nov 2011

Benefits of hormone replacement therapy in protecting women from Alzheimer's inconclusive

A rigorous evaluation of the scientific literature reveals that the jury is still out when it comes to hormone replacement therapy and a woman's risk for Alzheimer's disease. Alzforum (http://www.alzforum.org) asked prominent scientists to analyze the results of published studies examining the effects of estrogen or estrogen-plus-progesterone therapy on women.

9 Nov 2011

UCSB researchers study how genotypes can express themselves differently as a function of culture

Two psychologists at UC Santa Barbara have provided a new twist on the old adage that people are products of both nature and nurture, in introducing a framework for understanding how these influences interact.

9 Nov 2011

Study examines psychological factors related to diabetes management

Genetics play a critical role in developing diabetes. So do eating properly, exercising and not smoking. According to a new study by an Ithaca College psychology professor and her two colleagues, people with diabetes who see themselves as responsible for their disease onset blame themselves for making poor lifestyle choices and are significantly less likely to monitor their glucose levels, properly inject themselves and make lifestyle choices that would benefit their condition.

9 Nov 2011

Appeals court rules health law's individual mandate constitutional

News outlets are covering the appeals court decision in the Susan Seven-Sky vs. Holder challenge to the health law. The judges split two-to-one, with Reagan and Carter appointees in the majority and a George W. Bush appointee dissenting.

9 Nov 2011

Role of Vitamin D in preventing heart disease in children both HIV-positive and HIV-negative

While Vitamin D is essential for proper bone health, a number of research studies have linked it to guarding against cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. It is unique among vitamins in that it is made by the body in response to sunlight but is naturally present in very few foods. Recent studies have confirmed that vitamin D deficiency is common, even in sunny states such as Florida.

9 Nov 2011

Indian researchers receive grant to develop 'E-Nose' for quick TB diagnosis

"Researchers are developing an electronic nose that would sniff out tuberculosis (TB) like a Breathalyzer detects alcohol, putting an end to current time-consuming tests and possibly saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year," the Globe and Mail reports (D'Aliesio, 11/7).

9 Nov 2011

Seriously ill adults skip needed care due to costs and medical debt

Chronically and seriously ill adults who received care from a medical home-an accessible primary care practice that helps coordinate care-were less likely to report medical errors, test duplication, and other care coordination failures, according to a new Commonwealth Fund international survey of patients' experiences in the U.S. and 10 other high-income countries.

9 Nov 2011

Brain hypoxia associated with poor short-term outcome after severe TBI

Low oxygen supply (hypoxia) to vulnerable brain tissue is a major contributor to the risk of death or major disability after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), reports a study in the November 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.

9 Nov 2011

Psychology graduate students face gap in training opportunities

The New York Times reports on a lack of internships available to students graduating in clinical psychology.

9 Nov 2011

Johns Hopkins researchers unravel how breast cancer metastasizes

The spread of breast cancer is responsible for more than 90 percent of breast cancer deaths. Now, the process by which it spreads—or metastasizes—has been unraveled by researchers at Johns Hopkins. Reporting in two papers, the researchers have discovered the switch that enables breast cancer cells to travel to and be received in the lungs.

9 Nov 2011

New York Times reports on Cuba's role in Haiti's fight against cholera

One year after cholera was detected in Haiti, the New York Times reports on how, "[a]s the epidemic continues, the Cuban medical mission that played an important role in detecting it presses on in Haiti, winning accolades from donors and diplomats for staying on the front lines and undertaking a broader effort to remake this country's shattered health care system."

9 Nov 2011

Capsules: Study finds potential, challenges for bundled payments

New this morning on Kaiser Health News' blog: reporter Christian Torres writes about a new Health Affairs study on bundling health payments.

9 Nov 2011

Tufts University professor earns March of Dimes Foundation award for tissue development

A new approach to studying tissue development has earned Catherine K. Kuo, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in Tufts University's School of Engineering, the Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Award from the March of Dimes Foundation.

9 Nov 2011

Ligand third quarter total revenues decrease to $5.7 million

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and provided a business update.

9 Nov 2011

Innovation needed to improve water delivery systems

With more than one billion people lacking access to clean and safe water, and waterborne diseases causing 7,000 child deaths every day worldwide, "it's more important than ever that we be willing to look at old problems and find innovative ways to solve them. The issues of water access, quantity and quality need to be addressed at the same time," Kevin McGovern and Quincy Jones, chair and honorary chair, respectively, of The Water Initiative (TWI), write in a Huffington Post opinion piece.

9 Nov 2011

Two U-M physicians caution about implications of cardiac imaging study

Two University of Michigan Health System physicians are raising notes of caution about the implications of a new study that found cardiologists were more likely to refer patients for stress imaging when their practice owned imaging machines - resulting in potential overuse because of financial incentives.

9 Nov 2011

BioMimetic Therapeutics reports third quarter total revenues of $0.4M

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the development and commercialization of innovative bioactive products to promote the healing of musculoskeletal injuries and diseases, today reported its financial results as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011.

9 Nov 2011

Despite gap, super committee Republicans warm to new revenue, but not taxes

Super committee Republicans are warming to the idea of finding new Medicare premium revenues to help bridge the still-wide gap between themselves and Democrats over deficit reduction proposals, but they aren't budging on their opposition to tax increases.

9 Nov 2011