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Global response to NCDs has gained momentum over past year

"Cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases and diabetes -- four of the biggest killers among the group together known as non-communicable diseases (NCDs) -- have emerged as one of the greatest social and economic development challenges of this century," George Alleyne, director emeritus of PAHO, and Nils Daulaire, director of the Office of Global Affairs at the Department of Health & Human Services and the U.S. representative on the WHO's Executive Board, write in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

14 Sep 2012

Global child mortality rates fall 41% since 1990, U.N. reports

"Child mortality worldwide has fallen 41 percent since 1990, the result of myriad improvements in nutrition, access to vaccines and antibiotics, cleaner deliveries, better care of infants immediately after birth, and the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets," according to "the findings of a report released Wednesday by three United Nations agencies and the World Bank," the Washington Post reports.

14 Sep 2012

UHC awards Rising Star honors to hospitals at 2012 annual conference

UHC has awarded its Rising Star honors to Duke University Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, and Cleveland Clinic during the UHC Annual Conference 2012 in Orlando, Fla.

14 Sep 2012

New report on paediatric intensive care units

Standards of care in children's intensive care units come under scrutiny in a new audit report published today by the University of Leeds and the University of Leicester.

14 Sep 2012

UHC recognizes 10 academic medical center members with Quality Leadership Award

UHC has recognized 10 of its principal academic medical center (AMC) members with the 2012 UHC Quality Leadership Award. The award is given to AMCs that demonstrated excellence in delivering high-quality care as measured by the UHC Quality and Accountability Study, which UHC has conducted annually since 2005.

14 Sep 2012

Smoking history 'no bar to successful lung donation'

Although lung transplantation from donors with a positive smoking history is associated with worse outcomes than with lungs from non-smoking donors, survival is still better than remaining on the waiting list, say UK researchers.

13 Sep 2012

Treating elderly patients with elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone levels may be unnecessary

There is no evidence to link mildly elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels to an increase in mortality among the elderly, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

13 Sep 2012

IPS examines controversy over WHO-approved drug to prevent hemorrhage after labor

Inter Press Service examines the reaction to calls for the WHO "to reverse its listing in April 2011 of misoprostol among essential medicines that 'satisfy the health care needs of the majority of the population' and are 'available at all times in adequate amounts and in appropriate dosage forms, at a price the community can afford'" as a result of a study published in the August issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

13 Sep 2012

Roundup: Mich. Gov. proposes making BCBS a tax-paying insurer; Merger creates one of largest hospitals in Conn.; W. Va. chiropractor board scrutinized

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan would no longer be exempt from about $100 million a year in state and local taxes but would be subject to more streamlined and speedier rate reviews and approvals under legislation proposed today by Gov. Rick Snyder. The nonprofit health insurer would also pay $1.5 billion over 18 years into a separate nonprofit aimed at tackling issues such as obesity and infant mortality to improve the health of all Michigan residents, Snyder said at a news conference.

13 Sep 2012

Novel serum assay measures calcification risk

Researchers have devised a nephelometer-based assay that measures the risk for calcification in serum samples.

12 Sep 2012

Early CATCH improves thrombocytopenia outcomes

One in five patients using heparin to protect against venous thromboembolism develops thrombocytopenia, reveal results from the CATCH Registry.

12 Sep 2012

More evidence supporting cardiac danger of painkillers after MI

Heart attack survivors who use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have an increased risk for long-term mortality or a second heart attack, research suggests.

12 Sep 2012

Alarm raised over preoperative hyponatremia

Preoperative hyponatremia is common and, even when mild, carries a risk for perioperative complications and mortality, shows a large cohort study.

12 Sep 2012

Exercise and health: An interview with Professor Karim Khan

I’ll quote from the ‘7 investments’ document (see below) as I don’t believe we need to reinvent the wheel to argue for the benefits of exercise. I am very keen to move to the issue of ‘how can we help people exercise’. But for the record:

12 Sep 2012

New model reveals how immune system functions under conditions of neutropenia

Cancer chemotherapy can be a life-saver, but it is fraught with severe side effects, among them an increased risk of infection. Until now, the major criterion for assessing this risk has been the blood cell count: if the number of white blood cells falls below a critical threshold, the risk of infection is thought to be high.

12 Sep 2012

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may not prevent major cardiovascular adverse outcomes

In a study that included nearly 70,000 patients, supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause death, cardiac death, sudden death, heart attack, or stroke, according to an analysis of previous studies published in the September 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Sep 2012

End-stage renal patients 'suffer stroke-related impairments'

Stroke symptoms are relatively common among patients with end-stage renal disease and are associated with cognitive impairments and reduced ability to perform daily activities, the results of a US study indicate.

11 Sep 2012

Evidence shows endovascular repair may be of more use than operative

Endovascular repair may be more viable for some patients with peripheral arterial trauma than operative repair, experts say.

11 Sep 2012

HIF-1 activity directly responsible for spread of breast cancer to lymph vessels

The invasion of cancer cells into the lymph vessels that connect the breast to surrounding lymph nodes is the first step leading to the metastasis, or spread, of cancer throughout the body. Metastasis is the primary cause of breast cancer deaths. Surprisingly little is known about the control of this process and how it might be interrupted to prolong the lives of women with breast cancer.

11 Sep 2012

Oxyphenbutazone can kill drug resistant TB

An off-patent anti-inflammatory drug that costs around two cents for a daily dose in developing countries has been found by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College to kill both replicating and non-replicating drug resistant tuberculosis in the laboratory -- a feat few currently approved TB drugs can do, and resistance to those is spreading.

11 Sep 2012