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Rep. Wolf says entitlement programs could affect U.S. bond rating

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) on Friday in a letter to President Obama said that the U.S. could lose its triple-A bond rating if Congress does not act quickly to overhaul U.S. entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and reduce federal debt, the AP/Detroit News reports.

26 May 2009

Few retail health clinics located in low-income areas, study finds

Most retail health clinics are located in more affluent areas of the U.S., rather than in low-income, medically underserved neighborhoods, according to a study published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the AP/Washington Times reports.

26 May 2009

'Homework assignment' could mean success, failure for health reform legislation

How well health care industry groups follow through on their "homework assignment" from President Obama to submit specific plans by early June on how they intend to reduce health care spending growth by $2 trillion over the next decade could determine whether current attempts to develop health care overhaul legislation are successful, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Contra Costa Times, 5/25).

26 May 2009

Abraxane prolongs survival in metastatic breast cancer

Research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has found that a less toxic, solvent-free chemotherapy drug more effectively prevents the progression of metastatic breast cancer and has fewer side effects than a commonly used solvent-based drug.

26 May 2009

Doctors explore myths, half-truths, and outright lies about health

Fact or fiction? Chewing gum stays in your stomach for seven years. Cold weather makes you sick. You should never wake a sleepwalker. A dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's.

26 May 2009

Poor attention in kindergarten predicts lower high school test scores

As thousands of students nationwide prepare to leave high school, a UC Davis study appearing online today in the June issue of the medical journal Pediatrics shows a clear link between attention problems early in school - as early as kindergarten - and lower high school test scores.

26 May 2009

Unvaccinated children 23 times more likely to get infected with whooping cough

Children of parents who refuse vaccines are 23 times more likely to get whooping cough compared to fully immunized children, according to a new study led by a vaccine research team at Kaiser Permanente Colorado's Institute for Health Research.

26 May 2009

Zebrafish provide insights into development and progression of melanoma

In a new study published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, scientists use the zebrafish to gain insight into the influence of known cancer genes on the development and progression of melanoma, an aggressive form of human skin cancer with limited treatment options.

26 May 2009

Hospital refuses admission to young adults with thalassemia and sickle cell disease

Young adults with thalassemia and sickle cell diease have been trying for up to 10 years to gain admission to the only adult hospital program in central and southwestern Toronto specialized to treat their blood disorders. Since 1999, the Toronto General Hospital (TGH) has restricted the inherited blood disorders program to 99 patients requiring blood transfusions. As a result, about 150 young adults with complex disorders receive blood transfusions at the Hospital for Sick Children but no adult services.

25 May 2009

Penn study shows ‘in-store’ clinics more apt to be based in higher-income neighborhoods

Since 2000, nearly 1,000 "retail clinics" -- offering routine care like sports physicals and immunizations and treatment for minor illnesses like strep throat -- have opened their doors inside pharmacies and grocery stores across the United States. Retail chain operators proposed that the new clinics would improve access to medical care among uninsured or underserved populations.

25 May 2009

Nervous system may be culprit in Pompe disease

Brain may win out over brawn as the primary cause of breathing problems in children with a severe form of muscular dystrophy known as Pompe disease.

25 May 2009

Inositol protects against the development of neural tube defects

Women of childbearing age can reduce the risk of having a child born with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida by eating enough folate or folic acid. However, folate prevents only about 70 percent of these defects.

25 May 2009

Scientists cure mice of muscle disease that causes a Floppy Baby Syndrome

In a world first, West Australian scientists have cured mice of a devastating muscle disease that causes a Floppy Baby Syndrome - a breakthrough that could ultimately help thousands of families across the globe.

25 May 2009

Researchers unlock mystery of potentially fatal reaction to smallpox vaccine

Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have pinpointed the cellular defect that increases the likelihood, among eczema sufferers, of developing eczema vaccinatum, a severe and potentially fatal reaction to the smallpox vaccine.

25 May 2009

Extreme caffeinated soft drink diet leaves woman with serious health issues

Reports in the media of a New Zealand woman's extreme Red Bull diet where her weight plummeted from 105kg to 60kg by drinking 10 to 14 cans of the 'energy' drink each day say she has been left with serious health issues.

24 May 2009

Australian Government shies away from election promise to takeover control of hospitals

Kevin Rudd's Government appears to be backing out of another of its election promises - the financial takeover of public hospitals if they fail to come up to scratch.

24 May 2009

New device for coagulating and killing unwanted tissue during surgery

Acculis Limited, the UK based specialist microwave ablation company based in Denmead, England, has announced the clearance of its latest device for coagulating and killing unwanted tissue during surgery.

24 May 2009

New understanding on how superbugs manipulate the immune system

It appears that some superbugs have evolved to develop the ability to manipulate the immune system to everyone's advantage.

24 May 2009

Pregnant women should steer clear of advice to "eat for two"

Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, reviewed data for more than 1,300 women and found that those who consumed extra calories, as well as fried foods and dairy products, were more likely to gain more than is recommended during pregnancy - that's 35 pounds or more for a woman with a normal body mass index, or BMI.

22 May 2009

Zyflamend, herb-based therapeutic shows promise for high risk of prostate cancer

Results of a phase I clinical trial of a novel herb-based therapeutic called Zyflamend have demonstrated that the therapy is associated with minimal toxicity and no serious adverse events in men at high-risk for developing prostate cancer.

22 May 2009