Public Health News and Research

RSS

Efficacy of zinc in common cold - Review of clinical trials

A new study has added to the existing literature that debates the role of zinc in combating the common cold. It suggests that the supplement might modestly reduce cold duration and severity or maybe even prevent it. The report was published as a Cochrane Review.

15 Feb 2011

New review of anthrax case discussed by review committee vice chair, Stanford bioterrorism expert

In 2001, a mystery perpetrator mailed a series of anthrax-laced letters to several locations, killing five people. In 2008, shortly after emerging as the prime suspect in an exhaustive investigation by the FBI, an Army microbiologist, Bruce Ivins, PhD, committed suicide. This morning, a National Academy of Sciences committee, charged in September 2008 with reviewing the scientific approaches used by the FBI in that investigation, released its report.

15 Feb 2011

FDA requests $4.3 billion to protect and promote health of Americans as part of FY 2012 budget

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting a budget of $4.3 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President's fiscal year 2012 budget — a 33 percent increase over the FDA enacted budget for FY 2010. The FY 2012 request covers the period of Oct. 1, 2011, through Sept. 30, 2012.

15 Feb 2011

February is again peak time for influenza across the nation

If you thought the regular seasonal flu has been late making its annual appearance, you might be surprised to learn that based on recent history, it's right on time.

15 Feb 2011

TFAH applauds overall increase in disease prevention funding, expresses concern over CDC cuts

The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) applauds the President's budget for an overall increase in disease prevention funding, reflecting the new funds provided by the Prevention Fund from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but expresses extreme concerns over the cuts to funding for core programs at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and for emergency preparedness.

15 Feb 2011

Researcher discovers mechanism how p53 human genome gets inactivated in cancerous cells

One of the most important genes in the human genome is called p53 and its function is to suppress tumours, according to Roger Leng, a researcher in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. Leng has discovered the mechanism by which p53 is inactivated in cancerous cells, allowing tumours to grow.

15 Feb 2011

Pneumococcal vaccine officially rolled out in Kenya

"Kenya on Monday became the first African country to introduce a routine vaccine against pneumococcal disease, which claims the lives of more than half a million children under five each year," Deutsche Presse Agentur/The Hindu reports. The GAVI Alliance, which is supporting the vaccine's roll out, "is aiming to introduce the vaccine to 19 developing countries - including Nicaragua, Guyana, Yemen and Sierra Leone - within a year and hopes to reach more than 40 nations by 2015, depending on funding."

15 Feb 2011

Ecstasy users show no signs of cognitive impairment: New study

The drug known as ecstasy has been used by 12 million people in the United States alone and millions more worldwide. Past research has suggested that ecstasy users perform worse than nonusers on some tests of mental ability. But there are concerns that the methods used to conduct that research were flawed, and the experiments overstated the cognitive differences between ecstasy users and nonusers.

15 Feb 2011

NIH awards renewal grant to BMC's CARE unit to expand education of physicians-in-training

The Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit in the Section of General Internal Medicine at BMC was recently awarded a $1,886,087 renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand its education of physicians-in-training to become sophisticated implementers of substance use screening, assessment and treatment research.

14 Feb 2011

Fiber in diet protects from more than just heart disease and diabetes: Study

In one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers have identified a link between high-fiber diets and lower risks of death not only from heart disease, but from infectious and respiratory illnesses as well. This government commissioned study also ties fiber with a lower risk of cancer deaths in men, but not women, possibly because men are more likely to die from cancers related to diet, like cancers of the esophagus. And it finds the overall benefit to be strongest for diets high in fiber from grains.

14 Feb 2011

FHC supports San Francisco's female condom campaign

The Female Health Company is supporting the launch of San Francisco's social marketing campaign to raise awareness and use of the FC2 Female Condom® among people living at risk of HIV infection. The FC2 Female Condom remains the only FDA-approved method of female-initiated HIV prevention available.

14 Feb 2011

Public-sector research has had an immediate effect on improving public health: Study

AUTM President Ashley Stevens, D. Phil. (Oxon), CLP is the lead author of The Role of Public Sector Research in the Discovery of Drugs and Vaccines, a paper published in the Feb. 10 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

14 Feb 2011

Free, confidential home-kit testing for sexually transmitted infections effective with young people

Infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins say new research clearly shows that screening teens and young adults for sexually transmitted infections may best be achieved by making free, confidential home-kit testing available over the Internet. From a public health standpoint, the project is a clear winner, the experts say.

14 Feb 2011

Rising number of livestock diseases threatens public health, food security in developing countries, report says

"A growing number of livestock, such as cows and pigs, are fuelling new animal epidemics worldwide and posing more severe problems in developing countries as it threatens their food security, according to a report [.pdf] released on Friday" during an international conference in New Delhi, India, on Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition & Health, Reuters reports (Lyn, 2/11).

14 Feb 2011

ER visits involving drug related suicide attempts reveal considerable fluctuations among adolescent males

A new study examining monthly and seasonal trends in the number of emergency department visits involving drug related suicide attempts reveals considerable fluctuations among adolescent males. The rate for the general population varies little.

14 Feb 2011

New Republican spending cuts include well-known health programs

House Republican leaders pushed out a new round of proposed spending cuts Friday night as they sought to meet demands by conservatives in the party to trim $100 billion from the current spending levels. Health programs were among the targets.

14 Feb 2011

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid; Polio eradication

"Over the past few weeks, I've had a chance to interview some amazing people," ranging from Bill Gates to scientists and teachers, who are all concerned about impending budget cuts, the New York Times' David Brooks writes in a column. Brooks explains that the "coming budget cuts have nothing to do with merit. They have to do with the inexorable logic of mathematics."

14 Feb 2011

New clinical trial to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes

A new clinical trial at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is among the first to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study is to understand whether surgery can control diabetes, as well or even better than the best medical treatment available today. This is the first study of its kind open to patients who are overweight or mildly obese.

14 Feb 2011

New poll: 64% of Rep. Bass' constituents oppose bill to dismantle EPA's ability to reduce pollutions

Sixty-four percent of Rep. Charlie Bass' constituents in the New Hampshire 2nd Congressional District oppose a controversial bill to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to reduce carbon dioxide and other pollutants, a new poll reveals. As a key member of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Bass will have to vote on the bill in the near future.

14 Feb 2011

Gene-transfer system may control mosquito-borne diseases without pesticides

Scientists have modeled a system that may be used to control mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit, without the use of pesticides. In the proposed system, mosquitoes are engineered to carry two genes. The first gene causes males to transmit a toxin to females through their semen. The second gene, when expressed in females, makes them immune to this toxin.

14 Feb 2011

Public Health News and Research

Efficacy of zinc in common cold - Review of clinical trials

New review of anthrax case discussed by review committee vice chair, Stanford bioterrorism expert

FDA requests $4.3 billion to protect and promote health of Americans as part of FY 2012 budget

February is again peak time for influenza across the nation

TFAH applauds overall increase in disease prevention funding, expresses concern over CDC cuts

Researcher discovers mechanism how p53 human genome gets inactivated in cancerous cells

Pneumococcal vaccine officially rolled out in Kenya

Ecstasy users show no signs of cognitive impairment: New study

NIH awards renewal grant to BMC's CARE unit to expand education of physicians-in-training

Fiber in diet protects from more than just heart disease and diabetes: Study

FHC supports San Francisco's female condom campaign

Public-sector research has had an immediate effect on improving public health: Study

Free, confidential home-kit testing for sexually transmitted infections effective with young people

Rising number of livestock diseases threatens public health, food security in developing countries, report says

ER visits involving drug related suicide attempts reveal considerable fluctuations among adolescent males

New Republican spending cuts include well-known health programs

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid; Polio eradication

New clinical trial to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes

New poll: 64% of Rep. Bass' constituents oppose bill to dismantle EPA's ability to reduce pollutions

Gene-transfer system may control mosquito-borne diseases without pesticides

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

Latest News