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FTM transgender patients are more likely to have inadequate Pap tests

A new study finds that female-to-male (FTM) transgender patients had over 10 times higher odds of having an inadequate Papanicolaou (Pap) test compared to female patients.

16 Jan 2014

Monitoring individuals with chronic HBV is cost-effective strategy for China

A novel study determined that monitoring inactive chronic hepatitis B (HBV) carriers is a cost-effective strategy for China. However, results published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that increasing treatment, monitoring and adherence to therapy are necessary to achieve significant health benefits at the population level.

16 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 16, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that a federal judge on Wednesday rejected a legal challenge related to the health law's insurance subsidies.

16 Jan 2014

Health law's prevention funds diverted to other programs in $1T spending bill

New details emerge about the cut to the health law's Prevention and Public Health Fund in the $1 trillion spending bill, but a jobless benefits extension in Congress stalls. In the meantime, a mental health plan pushed by President Obama will get spending bill funds.

16 Jan 2014

People who decrease sitting time and increase physical activity have lower risk of chronic disease

People who decrease sitting time and increase physical activity have a lower risk of chronic disease, according to Kansas State University research.

16 Jan 2014

Study examines charges for uncomplicated deliveries

Women giving birth in California can face a huge cost difference in their hospital bills, according to a new UC San Francisco study.

16 Jan 2014

Study links later school start times to improved sleep and mood in teens

Julie Boergers, Ph.D., a psychologist and sleep expert from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center, recently led a study linking later school start times to improved sleep and mood in teens.

16 Jan 2014

Higher socioeconomic status associated with more satisfying sex life

An analysis based on the first Spanish National Sexual Health Survey, carried out in 2009, confirms that socioeconomic factors affect sexual satisfaction. People with a lower economic status claim to be less sexually satisfied, particularly women.

16 Jan 2014

Study: Children who eat more fast food are not likely to become obese

For several years, many have been quick to attribute rising fast-food consumption as the major factor causing rapid increases in childhood obesity. Now researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill report that fast-food consumption is simply a byproduct of a much bigger problem: poor all-day-long dietary habits that originate in children's homes.

16 Jan 2014

FDA accepts Iroko Pharmaceuticals' ZORVOLEX sNDA for review

Iroko Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a global specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing the science of analgesia, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review the Supplemental New Drug Application for ZORVOLEX (diclofenac), a lower dose nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, for the proposed indication of treatment of osteoarthritis pain in adults. ZORVOLEX was approved by FDA in October 2013 for the treatment of mild to moderate acute pain in adults.

15 Jan 2014

Call for long follow-up after CIN3 treatment

Researchers from Sweden say that women who have been treated for cervical precancer should receive lifelong follow-up, after finding that their risk for dying from vaginal or cervical cancer markedly increases after the age of 60 years.

15 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 15, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that people who get their health insurance through high-risk insurance pools will have an extra two months before this program ends.

15 Jan 2014

Lawmakers introduce $1T spending bill with health law prevention fund cuts

The $1 trillion spending bill that lawmakers introduced Monday cuts $1 billion from the health law's Prevention and Public Health Fund and holds down funding for other health law programs to 2013 levels, but leaves it otherwise untouched.

15 Jan 2014

Research reveals new therapy for preventing production of sphingolipids by lymphoma cells

Christopher Parsons, MD, Director of the HIV Malignancies Program at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, is the senior author of a paper that is the first to report that specialized fat (lipid) molecules, called sphingolipids, play a key role in the survival of aggressive lymphomas caused by viruses.

15 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 13, 2014

Today's headlines include news about how the health law's enrollment process is working and about the federal government's decision not to renew the contract for the company that was overseeing the repairs for healthcare.gov.

13 Jan 2014

Smoking and cancer: an interview with Dr. Lewis Foxhall, VP of Health Policy, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

The report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General, identified tobacco as the predominant cause of lung cancer in men. This was the first widely disseminated report based on scientific studies showing the clear link between smoking tobacco and serious health conditions including cancer, chronic lung diseases and heart disease.

13 Jan 2014

Persistent insomnia symptom risk high

Insomnia symptoms are often persistent, report researchers who found that targeting sleep-interfering behaviors may be one method of prevention.

13 Jan 2014

Sending text messages to low-income pregnant women result in uptick in influenza vaccination

A study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health evaluated the impact of text messaging reminders for influenza vaccine in a low-income obstetric population. The findings showed that sending text messages to this population of women resulted in an uptick in influenza vaccination, especially for those who received the messages early in their third trimester.

10 Jan 2014

State highlights: Calif. Governor's budget to include $670M in new Medi-Cal spending; Mass. launches new electronic health records updates

When he unveils his new budget plan Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown will propose billions of dollars in new spending on schools, health care, social services and environmental programs as California reaps the benefits of an economic turnaround. … The proposed budget includes $670 million more for Medi-Cal, the state's public health care program, which is expanding as part of President Obama's federal overhaul. The program is expected to serve a quarter of California's residents next year.

10 Jan 2014