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Research findings call for clinical testing of relevant drugs to prevent NASH

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common affliction, affecting almost 30 percent of Americans, with a significant number suffering from its most severe form, called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. In recent years, NASH has become the leading cause of liver transplantation.

19 Aug 2014

Communications about the benefits of vaccination influence parents' intentions to immunize children

How do parents decide whether to vaccinate their child? In a study designed to formally look at the content of parent-targeted communications about the benefits of vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella, Indiana University School of Medicine investigators report that the framing of these messages influences parents' intentions to immunize their children.

19 Aug 2014

Chronic musculoskeletal pain influenced by genetics

Children of parents with chronic musculoskeletal pain are at increased risk of also suffering from such pain as adults, a large family-linkage study shows.

18 Aug 2014

Patients who rely on pacemakers and defibrillators run risk of serious health complications

Patients who rely on pacemakers and defibrillators to maintain a normal heart rhythm run the risk of serious health complications if they don't fully understand how the devices work and what to do when they experience an irregular heartbeat.

18 Aug 2014

Women seek hormonal treatments for menopausal symptoms from anti-aging clinicians

Feeling that conventional doctors did not take their suffering seriously, women instead sought out hormonal treatments for menopausal symptoms from anti-aging clinicians, according to a Case Western Reserve University study that investigated the appeal of anti-aging medicine.

18 Aug 2014

FDA-approved drug eliminates immune cells that destroys hair follicles in people with alopecia areata

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified the immune cells responsible for destroying hair follicles in people with alopecia areata, a common autoimmune disease that causes hair loss, and have tested an FDA-approved drug that eliminated these immune cells and restored hair growth in a small number of patients.

18 Aug 2014

CDC report blames researcher's haste for bird flu virus mishandling

An investigation into the mistaken shipment of deadly bird flu virus from a government laboratory earlier this year found that a scientist took shortcuts to speed up the work and accidentally contaminated the samples, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

18 Aug 2014

Study reports rising prevalence of chronic opioid use by SSDI recipients

More than 40 percent of Social Security Disability Insurance recipients take opioid pain relievers, while the prevalence of chronic opioid use is over 20 percent and rising, reports a study in the September issue of Medical Care.

16 Aug 2014

State highlights: TB outbreak in Alabama prisons; court order could force Wash. hospitals to release many psychiatric patients

Alabama's prison system, badly overcrowded and facing a lawsuit over medical treatment of inmates, is facing its worst outbreak of tuberculosis in five years, a health official said Thursday. Pam Barrett, director of tuberculosis control for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said medical officials have diagnosed nine active cases of the infectious respiratory disease in state prisons so far this year (8/14).

16 Aug 2014

Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the Department of Health and Human Services has taken steps to prevent its contractors from conducting certain duplicative postpayment claims reviews-;reviews of the same claims that are not permitted by the agency-;but CMS neither has reliable data nor provides sufficient oversight and guidance to measure and fully prevent duplication.

16 Aug 2014

WHO taps UTMB to lead emerging infectious disease vaccine efforts

The world experts on vaccine development at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have received an international designation acknowledging their unique niche in a sphere where research, government regulation and big pharma often collide.

16 Aug 2014

Assessing stroke survivors for medication self-administration ability may predict memory disorder

Kessler stroke researchers and colleagues have identified an association between over-optimistic estimation of one's own ability to take medications accurately, and memory loss among stroke survivors.

16 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Enrollment 'plummeting'?; Arkansas' 'boondoggle'; move Medicare to Obamacare exchanges

In the latest leg of their endless journey to find bad news about the Affordable Care Act, conservative analysts and websites have seized on some ambiguous figures to declare that enrollment is "plummeting," "shrinking," "sinking rapidly"--choose your headline. The most charitable interpretation of this claim is that it's based on extreme cherry-picking. The most accurate interpretation is that it's wrong (Michael Hiltzik, 8/13).

15 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 15, 2014

Today's headlines include a variety of updates regarding health policy and the health care marketplace.

15 Aug 2014

Researchers now have a clear picture of bacterial immune system

Bacteria's ability to destroy viruses has long puzzled scientists, but researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health say they now have a clear picture of the bacterial immune system and say its unique shape is likely why bacteria can so quickly recognize and destroy their assailants.

15 Aug 2014

Cases of Ebola virus in West Africa continue to rise

Since the Ebola virus outbreak was first reported in March there have been nearly 2,000 cases and over 1,000 deaths in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. This makes it the most serious Ebola epidemic to date.

15 Aug 2014

Young inner-city children appear to suffer from food allergies

Already known for their higher-than-usual risk of asthma and environmental allergies, young inner-city children appear to suffer disproportionately from food allergies as well, according to results of a study led by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

15 Aug 2014

Ebola virus disease poses new challenges for healthcare professionals

The outbreak of Ebola virus disease that has claimed more than 1,000 lives in West Africa this year poses a serious, ongoing threat to that region: the spread to capital cities and Nigeria-Africa's most populous nation-presents new challenges for healthcare professionals.

15 Aug 2014

Food allergies more common in young inner-city children

15 Aug 2014

Family intervention may attenuate early psychosis

An intervention based around family psychoeducation reduces symptoms and improves functioning in patients at clinical high risk of psychosis or experiencing early first-episode psychosis, say researchers.

14 Aug 2014

Public Health News and Research

Research findings call for clinical testing of relevant drugs to prevent NASH

Communications about the benefits of vaccination influence parents' intentions to immunize children

Chronic musculoskeletal pain influenced by genetics

Patients who rely on pacemakers and defibrillators run risk of serious health complications

Women seek hormonal treatments for menopausal symptoms from anti-aging clinicians

FDA-approved drug eliminates immune cells that destroys hair follicles in people with alopecia areata

CDC report blames researcher's haste for bird flu virus mishandling

Study reports rising prevalence of chronic opioid use by SSDI recipients

State highlights: TB outbreak in Alabama prisons; court order could force Wash. hospitals to release many psychiatric patients

Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

WHO taps UTMB to lead emerging infectious disease vaccine efforts

Assessing stroke survivors for medication self-administration ability may predict memory disorder

Viewpoints: Enrollment 'plummeting'?; Arkansas' 'boondoggle'; move Medicare to Obamacare exchanges

First Edition: August 15, 2014

Researchers now have a clear picture of bacterial immune system

Cases of Ebola virus in West Africa continue to rise

Young inner-city children appear to suffer from food allergies

Ebola virus disease poses new challenges for healthcare professionals

Food allergies more common in young inner-city children

Family intervention may attenuate early psychosis

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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