Public Health News and Research

RSS

Alternaria fungus produces more spores with increase in CO2 levels and makes life miserable for allergy, asthma sufferers

A new study of the relationship between carbon dioxide levels and plant growth suggests for the first time that not only do plants grow bigger and produce more pollen when exposed to higher levels of the greenhouse gas, CO2, but the common, allergen-producing fungus Alternaria alternate produces three times more spores when feeding on those enriched plants. The spores disperse on the wind, making allergies and asthma symptoms worse.

19 May 2010

Study demonstrates need for understanding societal, economic impact of growing medicalization

Menopause. Normal pregnancy. Infertility. ADHD. Erectile dysfunction. Over the last several decades, these conditions have come to be defined and treated as medical problems. They've been "medicalized." In the first study of its kind in the current issue of Social Science and Medicine, Brandeis researchers used national data to estimate the costs of these and a handful of other common conditions on escalating U.S. healthcare spending.

19 May 2010

Unhealthy coping behaviors lead to higher rates of physical health problems, earlier mortality

When people are under chronic stress, they tend to smoke, drink, use drugs and overeat to help cope with stress. These behaviors trigger a biological cascade that helps prevent depression, but they also contribute to a host of physical problems that eventually contribute to early death.

19 May 2010

Two common operations for SUI help women achieve similar levels of dryness: Study

Two common operations for stress urinary incontinence help women achieve similar levels of dryness, according to a team of urologists and urogynecologists who compared the treatments in a large U.S. trial supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study is being released online May 17, 2010, by the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with a presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Results will appear in the June 3 print edition.

19 May 2010

WHO Director-General pushes for sustained commitment to MDGs at World Health Assembly

During her opening address to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan called for increased global efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports. Chan also set-up several global health challenges to be addressed during the five-day meeting, according to the news service.

19 May 2010

Low blood phosphorus levels associated with high death rates in African AIDS patients: Research

Low blood phosphorus levels are associated with high death rates in the initial weeks of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in AIDS patients in sub-Saharan Africa, according to new research conducted by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers at the UAB-affiliated Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia.

19 May 2010

BMJ News examines how drug resistance, access undermine malaria fight in Uganda, Cambodia

BMJ News looks at how lack of access to drugs and resistance are undermining the fight against malaria.

19 May 2010

Antibiotics have significant resistance effects on individual patients in primary care

Antibiotics prescribed in primary care make a considerable contribution to the problem of antimicrobial resistance, both in individual patients and the population as a whole, according to research from the University of Bristol published in this week’s BMJ.

18 May 2010

Taking the final step from the bench to the hospital or clinic bedside

A new Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Center for Aging Research (IUCAR) study provides effective strategies to help hospital systems, physicians and other care providers to overcome end zone hurdles and actually take evidence-based research to the patient’s hospital or clinic bedside.

18 May 2010

Report released on pharmaceutical mail-back pilot program funded by EPA

Through a grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the University of Maine’s Center on Aging has completed the first statewide mail-back pilot program for managing pharmaceutical waste from consumers.

18 May 2010

Taking the final step from the bench to the hospital or clinic bedside

18 May 2010

Immunetics receives $2.8M contract as part of NHLBI's REDS-II project

Immunetics, Inc. has been selected to receive a $2.8 million contract as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study-II project, a long term epidemiologic study of blood safety involving HIV and other infectious and non-infectious complications of blood transfusion.

18 May 2010

Women exposed to nickel show no elevated risk of delivering newborns with birth defects

"Women exposed to nickel show no elevated risk of delivering newborns with certain birth defects or small size at birth", says Arild Vaktskjold at the Nordic School of Public Health. "Furthermore, the women did not show an increased risk for spontaneous abortion".

18 May 2010

Statue commemorating 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox unveiled

A statue commemorating the 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox is being unveiled today in front of the World Health Organization headquarters by the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Margaret Chan.

18 May 2010

ICF International awarded multi-year contract to support community action in reducing chronic disease

ICF International, a leading provider of consulting services and technology solutions to government and commercial clients, has been awarded a new $11.6 million multi-year contract by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to develop a resource center for broad-scale community action to reduce chronic disease.

18 May 2010

Asolva adds infection surveillance tool package to Medici system

Asolva, a leading provider of healthcare data analytics and reporting systems, has added a package of infection surveillance tools to Medici, its clinical information management system. The package will assist pharmacists, physicians and other infection preventionists in tracking and maximizing their antimicrobial stewardship programs.

18 May 2010

GHESKIO honored with 2010 Gates Award for Global Health

GHESKIO, an institution in Haiti founded nearly three decades ago to fight a mysterious killer disease later identified as AIDS, has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Gates Award for Global Health for its years of ground-breaking clinical service, research, and training to treat effectively and prevent the spread of the HIV/AIDS and other related illnesses, the Global Health Council announced today.

18 May 2010

Scidev.Net reports on developing country health care providers, scientists access to research

SciDev.Net reports on two recent studies published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal which look at how frequently health care providers and researchers in developing countries access research-based evidence.

18 May 2010

Five-day World Health Assembly meeting kicks off in Geneva

The annual meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA) convened on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/Monsters and Critics.com reports. According to the news service, influenza vaccines, the fight against tuberculosis, intellectual property and reducing counterfeit drugs will be discussed (4/17).

18 May 2010

Tests of kidney function, damage predict risk of death from cardiovascular diseases: Study

Common tests of kidney function and damage predict the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and all causes, according to a paper from the Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium, established last year by Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes.

18 May 2010

Public Health News and Research

Alternaria fungus produces more spores with increase in CO2 levels and makes life miserable for allergy, asthma sufferers

Study demonstrates need for understanding societal, economic impact of growing medicalization

Unhealthy coping behaviors lead to higher rates of physical health problems, earlier mortality

Two common operations for SUI help women achieve similar levels of dryness: Study

WHO Director-General pushes for sustained commitment to MDGs at World Health Assembly

Low blood phosphorus levels associated with high death rates in African AIDS patients: Research

BMJ News examines how drug resistance, access undermine malaria fight in Uganda, Cambodia

Antibiotics have significant resistance effects on individual patients in primary care

Taking the final step from the bench to the hospital or clinic bedside

Report released on pharmaceutical mail-back pilot program funded by EPA

Taking the final step from the bench to the hospital or clinic bedside

Immunetics receives $2.8M contract as part of NHLBI's REDS-II project

Women exposed to nickel show no elevated risk of delivering newborns with birth defects

Statue commemorating 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox unveiled

ICF International awarded multi-year contract to support community action in reducing chronic disease

Asolva adds infection surveillance tool package to Medici system

GHESKIO honored with 2010 Gates Award for Global Health

Scidev.Net reports on developing country health care providers, scientists access to research

Five-day World Health Assembly meeting kicks off in Geneva

Tests of kidney function, damage predict risk of death from cardiovascular diseases: Study

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