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FDA report says pharmacy knew about contamination problems

A federal inspection of a company whose tainted pain medicine has caused one of the worst public health drug disasters since the 1930s found greenish-yellow residue on sterilization equipment, surfaces coated with levels of mold and bacteria that exceeded the company's own environmental limits, and an air-conditioner that was shut off nightly despite the importance of controlling temperature and humidity.

29 Oct 2012

Research team receives grant to study impact of urban air pollution on TB immunity

An international team of researchers, led by Stephan Schwander, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Global Public Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Public Health, has received a $2.96 million grant to conduct a "real-world" study on the impact of urban air pollution on the human immune system's ability to resist Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

29 Oct 2012

Study identifies three organizations successfully using innovative financing for global health

Researchers from Imperial College London, the Harvard Global Equity Initiative, and Harvard School of Public Health "have identified three global organizations that new funding initiatives should emulate in order to meet health priorities in poorer countries, in research published [Thursday] in the journal the Lancet," Imperial College London reports in an article on its webpage.

29 Oct 2012

Research roundup: Patients' unrealistic expectations for chemo; Neighborhood may affect CPR rates; Rate hike reviews working

"To make informed decisions about whether to receive chemotherapy, patients with advanced lung or colorectal cancer need a realistic understanding of its likely benefits," the authors write. Researchers conducted comprehensive reviews of records.

29 Oct 2012

Flu shot might also prevent heart disease

Getting a flu shot may not only protect you from getting sick, it might also prevent heart disease.

29 Oct 2012

Non-Hispanic black women more likely to die from breast cancer

Non-Hispanic black women diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically those with estrogen receptor-positive tumors, are at a significantly increased risk for breast cancer death compared with non-Hispanic white women.

29 Oct 2012

HbA1c equally useful across ethnic groups

Currently recommended clinical cutoff points for diabetes diagnosis using glycated hemoglobin should be interpreted similarly in Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, show findings from a US study.

26 Oct 2012

EU Tobacco Products Directive further delayed

The EU’s revised Tobacco Products Directive – which was set to place substantial new restrictions on tobacco companies’ promotion of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, including banning “e-cigarettes” – is dangerously close to stalling, and “further delay will raise serious questions about whose interest the EU Commission is promoting”, according to the authors of a Comment, published in The Lancet.

26 Oct 2012

Hundreds of health professionals to make their voices heard on a range of public health issues

Hundreds of health professionals will descend upon Sydney next week to make their voice heard on a range of public health issues (October 31 – November 3).

26 Oct 2012

Contaminated drug passed lab test

Products from the Massachusetts pharmacy linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak passed a lab test in May, reports The Wall Street Journal. In addition, the pharmacy dodged a reprimand by Massachusetts regulators in 2004 after protesting it would be "fatal to the business." The company's founders come under scrutiny by media outlets as more people file lawsuits.

26 Oct 2012

New report examines policies and initiatives to reduce gun violence in the U.S

On July 20, a gunman in Aurora, Colorado, used an assault rifle to murder 12 people and wound 58 others. Although this was one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, all mass shootings account for a small percentage of gun violence that occurs in the U.S. every day. In the past 100 days since the Aurora shooting, an estimated 3,035 Americans have died as a result of gun violence.

26 Oct 2012

Allergies and hygiene: an interview with Sally Bloomfield

Allergies occur when the body overreacts to substances in our environment, such as pollen, dust mites and so forth. What happens is that when we are exposed to these potential threats, the immune system should react, deal with it, and then shut down.

26 Oct 2012

Opinion pieces published in recognition of World Polio Day

The following opinion pieces were published on Wednesday in recognition of World Polio Day, observed annually on October 24.

26 Oct 2012

Study finds pollution as dangerous to health in developing world as malaria, TB

"Industrial pollution is putting the health of 125 million people at risk worldwide and is as dangerous in the developing world as malaria or tuberculosis, according to a new report," titled "2012 World's Worst Pollution Problems," Reuters/ABC Science reports.

26 Oct 2012

Highlights from 25th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress

In the course of the 25th ECNP Congress leading experts and five and a half thousand psychiatrists, neurologists, neuroscience researchers and public health professionals from over 90 different countries met from 13 to 17 October 2012 in Vienna, Austria, to celebrate ECNP´s 25-year anniversary and engage in groundbreaking debate.

26 Oct 2012

Roundup: New laws on breast screening irk some doctors; Improved school meals cut obesity; More Coloradans use ER

In a sign of the improving national economy, Medicaid spending growth this year slowed to 2 percent as enrollment in the state-federal health insurance program for the poor also slowed for the third consecutive year, according to a report released Thursday. In 2011, Medicaid spending soared by nearly 10 percent, which helped put the entitlement program in the crosshairs of politicians looking to lower the federal deficit and ease pressure on state budgets.

26 Oct 2012

American Society of Nephrology establishes new foundation

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) has announced the creation of a new foundation—the ASN Foundation for Kidney Research—to propel major research advances in the treatment of kidney patients, and reach a cure for a disease that affects millions across the globe.

From Baxter International Inc. 26 Oct 2012

HbA1c equally useful across ethnic groups

Currently recommended clinical cutoff points for diabetes diagnosis using glycated hemoglobin should be interpreted similarly in Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, show findings from a US study.

25 Oct 2012

Scientists to examine origins of soil-carbon chemical chain reactions

Potential connections between the biodiversity of soil microorganisms and the carbon cycle will be studied by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Northern Arizona University (NAU) under a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

25 Oct 2012

Aspirin therapy can extend life of colorectal cancer patients with PIK3CA mutation

Aspirin therapy can extend the life of colorectal cancer patients whose tumors carry a mutation in a key gene, but has no effect on patients who lack the mutation, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists report in the Oct. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

25 Oct 2012