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Prenatal screening, genetic counseling essential for preventing alpha-thalassemia: Researchers

Researchers from Mahidol University have developed a rapid, high-throughput screening method for prevention and control of thalassemia. The related report by Munkongdee et al, "Rapid diagnosis of α-thalassemia by melting curve analysis," appears in the May 2010 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

12 May 2010

Parents of autistic children say health reform should help them

The Dallas Morning News: Parents and families of autistic children and adults are hoping that the federal health law will help them. "The new federal regulations will prohibit spending caps, prevent insurers from excluding pre-existing conditions and behavioral health care, and extend dependent care to age 26.

12 May 2010

Adult patients with sickle cell disease may develop cognitive problems: Study

Sickle cell disease may affect brain function in adults who have few or mild complications of the inherited blood disease, according to results of the first study to examine cognitive functioning in adults with sickle cell disease.

12 May 2010

Obama administration issues rules for young adults on parents' insurance plans

The Obama administration Monday issued rules to allow children as old as age 26 to remain on their parents' health insurance plans, but such changes will likely increase the cost of insurance for families next year.

12 May 2010

Many pregnant women in the U.S. have insufficient vitamin D levels: Study

Seven out of every ten pregnant women in the United States are not getting enough Vitamin D according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. While prenatal vitamins do raise Vitamin D levels during pregnancy, the study shows that higher doses may be needed for many women.

12 May 2010

Health on the hill: Health insurance coverage for young adults moves forward

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with the Kaiser Family Foundation's Jackie Judd about newly released proposed regulation "to implement a provision in the health care law that would allow adult children to stay on their parents' health insurance policy until age 26" (5/10).

12 May 2010

DNA Medicine Institute awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grant to develop finger scanner for malaria

The DNA Medicine Institute announced today that it has received a US$100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Eugene Y. Chan, M.D. titled "Optomagnetic Finger Scanner for Malaria."

11 May 2010

First Edition: May 11, 2010

Today's coverage includes more details regarding how the new health law moves forward with efforts to provide health insurance coverage to young adults.

11 May 2010

Baby names parents most regret

According to a study by http://www.bounty.com, one in five parents REGRET the names they have chosen for their children and 19 per cent of folk are fed up with the sheer number of other children sharing the same moniker.

11 May 2010

Napp introduces new alcohol-free hand sanitizer

Soft & Shield Hand Sanitizer and Moisturizer is a new alcohol-free hand sanitizer that contains ingredients that soften, smooth and moisturize the skin. As an added benefit, the Soft & Shield Hand Sanitizer and Moisturizer forms an invisible protective barrier that covers the outer layer of the skin to protect for up to four hours against harmful germs and bacteria.

11 May 2010

Pathway Genomics personal genetic testing kits to be sold at Walgreens

Pathway Genomics, a U.S.-based genetic testing company, today announced that Pathway's personal genetic testing kits will be available at Walgreens. Starting in mid-May the Pathway Genomics Insight™ Saliva Collection Kit will be sold at many of Walgreens' nearly 7,500 stores nationwide (with the exception of New York, due to a New York state law). The Insight™ Saliva Collection Kit will retail in the $20 to $30 price range.

11 May 2010

Gene variations may increase risk of developing schizophrenia: Study

By analyzing the genomes of patients with schizophrenia, genetics researchers have discovered numerous copy number variations—deletions or duplications of DNA sequences—that increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. Significantly, many of these variations occur in genes that affect signaling among brain cells.

11 May 2010

New multicenter trial achieves 71% survival in AML children

More individualized therapy and better supportive care helped push the survival for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to 71 percent three years after diagnosis, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators and reported in the medical journal The Lancet Oncology. The survival rate of 71 percent is 20 percent better than previously reported U.S. rates and is similar to the success achieved in a 2009 Japanese study, said Jeffrey Rubnitz, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Oncology department.

11 May 2010

Coverage of young adults will raise premiums; Workers can deduct cost of adding children to insurance

The provision of the new health law that allows families to keep young adults on their policies up to age 26 "will nudge premiums nearly 1 percent higher for employer plans, the government said in an estimate released Monday," The Associated Press/New York Times reports. HHS "released estimates of the costs and benefits of the requirement as part of a regulation directing employers and insurers how to carry it out.

11 May 2010

U.S., Haitian partners meet to discuss elections as Haitian parliamentary terms expire

In an article examining elections in Haiti and their impact on the country's recovery from the January 12 earthquake, the Miami Herald writes that Canada, the U.S., the Organization of American States, the U.N. and other partners have "dispatched top lieutenants [to Port-au-Prince] for a Monday meeting" with President Rene Preval to discuss elections.

11 May 2010

Global efforts to combat HIV and AIDS confront changes as funding priorities shift

The New York Times detailed the current funding challenges facing the global effort to combat HIV and AIDS, using the country of Uganda as an example. "Uganda is the first and most obvious example of how the war on global AIDS is falling apart." Although this nation has made significant advances in what "some doctors call a 'golden window' for treatment," clinics are now routinely turning people away.

11 May 2010

Improving newborn care in first month of life essential for reducing child mortality

Improving newborn care in the first month of life is essential for reducing child deaths in developing countries, according to a global update on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released today in the World Health Statistics 2010.

11 May 2010

St. Jude’s Volunteen Program offers hands-on learning experience for teenagers

They have glue on their fingers and smiles on their faces; crayons spread before them and kids crowded around them. It's all part of a day's work for the Volunteens of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

11 May 2010

Health Reform news: Grandfather clause could mean some lose benefits

Kaiser Health News: Millions of people could end up losing some benefits of the new health law because of the interpretation of "grandfathered."

11 May 2010

Folic acid supplement may improve blood flow in young amenorrheic runners

A study led by sports medicine researcher Anne Hoch, D.O. at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has found that oral folic acid may provide a safe and inexpensive treatment to improve vascular function in young female runners who are amenorrheic (not menstruating).

11 May 2010