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Researchers discover mechanism of low-dose LDN on cell proliferative-related disorders

Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered the mechanism by which a low dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN), an agent used clinically to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, exerts a profound inhibitory effect on cell proliferation.

3 Sep 2011

Child's homework motivation would improve if parents have more positive attitude

Parents who want to improve their child's motivation to complete homework this school year need to change their own attitude and behavior, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.

3 Sep 2011

Study sheds new light on the ways in which languages ensure efficient communication of information

A recent study of the speech information rate of seven languages concludes that there is considerable variation in the speed at which languages are spoken, but much less variation in how efficiently languages communicate the same information.

3 Sep 2011

Researchers discover why tumors evolve

Like snakes, tumour cells shed their skin. Cancer is not a static disease but during its development the disease accumulates changes to evade natural defences adapting to new environmental circumstances, protecting against chemotherapy and radiotherapy and invading neighbouring organs, eventually causing metastasis.

3 Sep 2011

Family planning should be 'cornerstone' of U.S. policy in Afghanistan

"Without attention to population, countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan stand a good chance of staying mired in poverty, conflict, and corrupt, repressive government. That is why sustained investment in family planning by the United States and other countries would do more to stabilize the political climate there than any other foreign-policy initiative," Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba, former Defense Department consultant and the Mellon Environmental Fellow in the department of international studies at Rhodes College, writes in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece.

3 Sep 2011

Researchers inject cultured red blood cells created from HSCs into human donor

For the first time, researchers have successfully injected cultured red blood cells (cRBCs) created from human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into a human donor, according to study results published today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology.

3 Sep 2011

New rules require insurers to justify rate increases over 10%

Federal rules mandate that companies explain the hikes and submit them to regulators. Also, HHS announced that association health plans must meet the same rate scrutiny as other types of insurance.

3 Sep 2011

Immigrant dialysis patients in Atlanta again face treatment crisis

After the collapse of negotiations between Atlanta's public hospital and the world's largest dialysis provider, a dozen immigrants suffering from renal failure were refused treatment at an Atlanta clinic on Thursday and advised to wait until their conditions deteriorated enough to justify life-saving care in an emergency room. Unless the deadlock is broken, 22 patients, most of them illegal immigrants, face a debilitating cycle.

3 Sep 2011

Feds hold off on decision about yanking Medicare funding to Parkland

The CMS has extended the possible date of Parkland Health and Hospital System's termination from the Medicare program to Sept. 30 from Sept. 2 in order to give state surveyors more time to complete their reports. The 672-bed Parkland received word Aug. 9 that it was under threat of losing its status as a Medicare provider, and after submitting its plan of action (PDF) on how it would correct the problems by an Aug. 20 deadline.

3 Sep 2011

Natural environment linked to reduced obesity

New research from North Carolina finds that people who live in counties with better weather and more natural features like hills and lakes are more active and thinner than their counterparts, even when researchers take other factors into consideration.

3 Sep 2011

VA chief outlines computer system to cut disability backlog

The Department of Veterans Affairs is installing a computer system that should help reduce a huge backlog of disability claims from wounded soldiers, but it's impossible to say when the problem will be cleared up, the agency's chief said Thursday in Des Moines.

3 Sep 2011

Resveratrol helps prevent metabolic syndrome in offspring

Researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta have discovered that resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant found in common foods, prevents a syndrome in some offspring that could lead to later health issues such as diabetes.

3 Sep 2011

Study reveals why bad eating habits persist even when the food does not taste good

Do you always get popcorn at the movies? Or snack while you're on the couch watching television? A new paper by USC researchers reveals why bad eating habits persist even when the food we're eating doesn't taste good. The study also reveals the surprisingly simple ways we can counter our habits to gain control over what we eat.

3 Sep 2011

The pressing need to save the lives of women and newborns in India

In this post on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, the second in a multi-week series, Joy Lawn, director of Evidence and Policy for the Saving Newborn Lives program of Save the Children, and Kate Kerber, the Africa regional specialist with Saving Newborn Lives at Save the Children U.S., "explore the pressing need -- and what our partners are doing to address the need -- to save the lives of women and newborns in India,".

3 Sep 2011

Options for 'super committee' could include IPAB, Tricare, nothing at all

Rep. Phil Roe said Thursday that the deficit-cutting super committee should repeal one of the healthcare reform law's chief cost-control measures. Roe is a leading opponent of the Independent Payments Advisory Board (IPAB), a 15-member board with the power to cut Medicare payments almost unilaterally. .

3 Sep 2011

ATS issues guidelines on use of FENO in different clinical settings

The American Thoracic Society has issued the first-ever guidelines on the use of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) that address when to use FENO and how to interpret FENO levels in different clinical settings.

3 Sep 2011

Refugee self-settlement may provide 'lasting' solutions to humanitarian crises

In this New York Times' "Opinionator" blog post, journalist and author Tina Rosenberg examines the contrasts between refugee situations in rural camps -- such as Dadaab in Kenya, where tens of thousands have sought relief from drought and famine in Somalia -- and more urban areas, such as cities in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, where approximately 1.6 million Iraqi refugees are living.

3 Sep 2011

UCF, UF receive $5.5 million NIH grant for hemophilia research

At a time when research funding is hard to come by, a University of Central Florida and University of Florida partnership has landed almost $5.5 million in National Institutes of Health highly competitive grants for hemophilia research.

3 Sep 2011

Businesses working hard to disgest health law changes

Health care reform has put some businesses that provide health insurance-related services into marketing and education overdrive. Health care benefits brokers, law firms and insurance carriers are among the chief entities digesting legislative rules to help employers track health insurance-related changes that impact costs.

3 Sep 2011

Scientists identify several links between genetic variants and specific metabolic changes

Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Munich and LMU Munich, in cooperation with Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and King's College London (KCL), have identified several associations between genetic variants and specific metabolic changes.

3 Sep 2011