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India's success against polio is promising step in defeating disease worldwide

"That India is free of wild polio today is a testament to the commitment of the Indian government," which "invested more than $1 billion over the last decade and collaborated with community leaders, health workers, businesses, and parents," as well as governments, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral agencies, to fight the disease, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius writes in a Foreign Affairs opinion piece.

31 Mar 2012

Study shows how eating fast food is linked to increased risk of depression

A new study along the same lines as its predecessors shows how eating fast food is linked to a greater risk of suffering from depression. This study has been published in the Public Health Nutrition journal

31 Mar 2012

Staggering economic costs of autism will continue to rise

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced preliminary results of new research that estimates autism costs society a staggering $126 billion per year (U.S.) - a number that has more than tripled since 2006, and annually in the U.K. has reached more than -34 billion (equivalent to $54 billion U.S.).

30 Mar 2012

Autism Speaks calls for the development of national action plan

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today called on the nation's elected and appointed leaders to immediately develop a new, coordinated strategy to take on a national public health emergency - the autism epidemic - in the wake of a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finding that autism is now diagnosed in a staggering 1 in every 88 American children.

30 Mar 2012

Depression more prevalent among stroke and transient ischemic attack survivors

Depression is more prevalent among stroke and transient ischemic attack survivors than in the general population, researchers reported in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.

29 Mar 2012

Affymetrix' GeneChip technology incorporated into Lineagen's FirstStepDx genetic evaluation service

Affymetrix, Inc. and Lineagen, Inc., an innovative molecular diagnostics company focused on complex, genetically linked disorders, today announced the companies have signed an agreement to incorporate Affymetrix' GeneChip technology into Lineagen's next-generation FirstStepDx, a genetic evaluation service for individuals with developmental delay (DD), intellectual disability (ID), and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

29 Mar 2012

Losing weight and increasing physical activity reduces decline in mobility in obese adults with type 2 diabetes

Weight loss and increased physical fitness nearly halved the decline in mobility in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes, according to four-year results of the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) trial funded by the National Institutes of Health.

29 Mar 2012

Specific precautions must be taken for individuals on longer-term oral glucocorticoid therapy

Millions of people around the world are prescribed glucocorticoids for a wide variety of inflammatory conditions, including, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases. Although they are effective and widely used, one of the potentially serious side effects of these medications is glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

28 Mar 2012

N.Y. seeking Medicaid waiver; Calif. adult services lawsuit now 'unsettled'

New York plans to overhaul the nation's most expensive Medicaid health care system to save $18.3 billion over five years, and will ask the federal government for half of those savings.

27 Mar 2012

Top SPRG priorities for future NINDS stroke rehabilitation research

In 2011, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) convened the Stroke Progress Review Group (SPRG) to conduct a final 10-year review of the state of stroke research.

26 Mar 2012

Research roundup: Unequal 'culture of quality' in hospitals; Peer-support for stressed doctors

Comparison Of Hospital Performance In Trauma Vs Emergency And Elective General Surgery –This study compared outcomes of trauma patients and patients having either elective or emergency surgery in the same hospital. Researchers thought that "hospital performance reflected institutional culture, and, thus, would be similar across all services."

23 Mar 2012

State roundup: Union seeks $80M from N.Y. for health aides' insurance

As Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers lurch toward a budget deal, the state's largest health-care union is asking Albany for another bailout of its troubled insurance fund. The union, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, is asking the state for $80 million more in Medicaid dollars so it can keep on providing health insurance to personal-care aides.

23 Mar 2012

Tomosynthesis may be more beneficial in diagnosing knee OA than X-ray imaging

A recent study done by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that tomosynthesis may be more beneficial in diagnosing knee osteoarthritis than X-ray imaging.

22 Mar 2012

Drexel University to establish nation's first autism center

Drexel University has received a gift of $1.5 million from the Charles and Barbara Close Foundation, founded by Drexel alumnus Charles Close ('36), to help establish the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute.

21 Mar 2012

Novartis' Arcapta Neohaler now available in the U.S. for COPD treatment

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation today announced that once-daily Arcapta Neohaler (indacaterol inhalation powder) 75 mcg is now available in the US and in pharmacies nationwide.

20 Mar 2012

Different mechanisms might be involved in relapsing and progressive onset MS

Patients with relapsing onset Multiple Sclerosis (MS) who consumed alcohol, wine, coffee and fish on a regular basis took four to seven years longer to reach the point where they needed a walking aid than people who never consumed them. However the study, published in the April issue of the European Journal of Neurology, did not observe the same patterns in patients with progressive onset MS.

19 Mar 2012

Researchers show how errant form of LYP can disrupt the immune system

Autoimmune diseases, such as Type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, are caused by an immune system gone haywire, where the body's defense system assaults and destroys healthy tissues. A mutant form of a protein called LYP has been implicated in multiple autoimmune diseases, but the precise molecular pathway involved has been unknown.

19 Mar 2012

Congressional Brain Injury Task Force brings representatives to Capitol Hill for BIA Day

On Wednesday, March 21, the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force brings representatives from the brain injury community to Capitol Hill for Brain Injury Awareness (BIA) Day. The day starts with the BIA Fair, where attendees share information on policy issues, research, diagnosis and screening and care and rehabilitation. The afternoon features a briefing on "The Impact of Brain Injury: Any Time, Any One, Any Age."

17 Mar 2012

State roundup: Minnesota tort reform; Calif. prepares - or not - for newly insured; Reducing C-sections in Oregon

A roundup of health policy news from Minnesota, California, Kansas, Connecticut, Oregon, Missouri, Washington D.C. and Colorado.

17 Mar 2012

NEJM publishes results from Teva's laquinimod Phase III study on RRMS

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech today announced the publication of results from the laquinimod Phase III ALLEGRO study in the March 15 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

16 Mar 2012