Public Health News and Research

RSS

Northern California Cancer Center becomes Cancer Prevention Institute of California

As the only organization in the country dedicated solely to cancer prevention research, the Northern California Cancer Center has changed its name to the Cancer Prevention Institute of California. The new name immediately communicates the organization's critical mission to prevent cancer and reflects its service to the entire state of California.

18 Feb 2010

Ibuprofen may reduce risk of Parkinson's disease, says study

New research shows people who regularly take ibuprofen may reduce their risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010.

18 Feb 2010

Media examine fight against counterfeit drugs

The Wall Street Journal reports on the recent shutdown of a counterfeit drug ring in Syria, while highlighting a broader problem with counterfeit medicines in the Middle East. Authorities intercepted "millions of dollars worth of breast cancer, leukemia and other medicines … At least 65 people were detained; it couldn't be learned if they were charged. A trial date hasn't yet been set," according to the newspaper, which notes that the drug ring distributor's activities had also penetrated into some public health systems, "particularly in Iraq."

18 Feb 2010

Former Senate parliamentarian questions reconciliation, Senators want public option back

A former Senate parliamentarian said Tuesday that using reconciliation to pass health care reform will be difficult because the procedure wasn't meant to make policy, Politico's Live Pulse blog reports. The former parliamentarian, Robert Dove, who now teaches at George Washington University, said there are many things that cannot be put into the reconciliation bill. "Dove would know. In 1974, in the midst of his 36-year Senate career, he helped design the Congressional Budget Act, which first created the rules for reconciliation.

17 Feb 2010

Low-income nations lack advanced e-health tools that can help them achieve better health outcomes

In an essay in the February 2010 issue of Health Affairs, a special issue of the journal devoted to global e-health, William Tierney, M.D., of Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, and colleagues, who like Dr. Tierney have significant experience in the development of workable health information technology systems in low-income countries, identify critical steps toward allowing developing countries to cross the "digital divide" to realize the full potential of e-health to improve the quality and efficiency of their health care systems.

17 Feb 2010

New book by 12 world-leading scientists calls for renewed approach to drug policy

Drug policy - or really, the way our society controls and provides interventions for both legal and illegal psychoactive substances - is one of those things that seems inherently controversial.

17 Feb 2010

Study demonstrates usefulness of salivary diagnostics in finding pancreatic cancer

The good news is that there may soon be a new weapon in the battle against the so-called "worst" cancer - cancer of the pancreas. A multidisciplinary group of investigators from the UCLA School of Dentistry, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the UCLA School of Public Health and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has demonstrated the usefulness of salivary diagnostics in the effort to find and fight the disease.

17 Feb 2010

Iowa State University researchers awarded 30 ARRA grants worth $16.38M

Iowa State University researchers have so far won 30 grants worth a total $16.38 million from federal agencies awarding money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

17 Feb 2010

New report focuses on how to reduce and control hypertension

High blood pressure is the second leading cause of death in the United States, triggering more than one-third of heart attacks and almost half of heart failures each year even though it is relatively easy to prevent and inexpensive to treat.

17 Feb 2010

Study: Earlier detection of lung cancer can reduce number of late stage lung cancer deaths

The first ever actuarial analysis of lung cancer mortality, published today in Population Health Management Journal, provides strong evidence that earlier detection could reduce the number of late stage lung cancer deaths by over 70,000 people each year in the US.

17 Feb 2010

Postmenopausal women undergoing combination hormone therapy at increased risk of heart disease: WHI confirms

New analyses from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) confirm that combination hormone therapy increases the risk of heart disease in healthy postmenopausal women. Researchers report a trend toward an increased risk of heart disease during the first two years of hormone therapy among women who began therapy within 10 years of menopause, and a more marked elevation of risk among women who began hormone therapy more than 10 years after menopause. Analyses indicate that overall a woman's risk of heart disease more than doubles within the first two years of taking combination HT.

17 Feb 2010

Budget cuts hit health care services in Minnesota, Oklahoma and California

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposal to cut a net of $347 million from programs for sick, aged, disabled and jobless people is akin to the advice an ailing George Washington got from his doctors 210 years ago, one critic said Monday: Bleed him, in hope of a cure. Pawlenty would eliminate the General Assistance program in which about 20,000 disabled and very-low-income people receive an average of $175 a month.

16 Feb 2010

NACHC: ARRA investment is making a difference in community health centers

People and communities are healthier thanks to the investment in America’s Health Centers from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or the “economic stimulus.” The law, enacted one year ago this week, provided funds that helped health centers expand care to the growing numbers of jobless and uninsured people who were quickly filling up their waiting rooms.

16 Feb 2010

Study explores relationship between adverse events, early antecedents and CO2 reactivity in panic disorder

A study performed by a group of Italian investigators and published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics has explored the relationship between adverse events, early antecedents and carbon dioxide reactivity (CO2 reactivity) in panic disorder.

16 Feb 2010

Studies show association between high levels of vitamin D and decreased risk of heart disease

Middle aged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D could reduce their chances of developing heart disease or diabetes by 43%, according to researchers at the University of Warwick.

16 Feb 2010

TB's mechanism to evade body's immune system identified

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified a mechanism used by the tuberculosis bacterium to evade the body's immune system and have identified a compound that blocks the bacterium's ability to survive in the host, which could lead to new drugs to treat tuberculosis.

16 Feb 2010

Minority patients more likely to have surgeries at centres handling low numbers of similar procedures

Minority patients in New York City appear less likely than white patients to have surgeries performed by surgeons or at facilities that have handled large numbers of similar procedures in the past, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

16 Feb 2010

Over 96% of SIDS cases due to known risk factors

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) continues to be the third leading cause of infant death, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), despite a decline in SIDS that is associated with a rise in safe-sleep practices for newborns and infants. A new study by Barbara M. Ostfeld, PhD and Thomas Hegyi, MD, professors in the Department of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has identified that more than 96 percent of infants who died of SIDS were exposed to known risk factors, among them sleeping on their side or stomach, or exposure to tobacco smoke, and that 78 percent of SIDS cases contained multiple risk factors.

16 Feb 2010

Pipe and cigar smoking linked to decreased lung function

Pipe and cigar smoke may be more harmful than once thought. While some believe pipes and cigars are healthier than cigarettes, a major known cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study directly links pipe and cigar smoking to decreased lung function.

16 Feb 2010

Tinnitus not a highly inherited condition, says study

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, does not appear to be a highly inherited condition (i.e., does not pass frequently from parents to offspring), according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

16 Feb 2010

Public Health News and Research

Northern California Cancer Center becomes Cancer Prevention Institute of California

Ibuprofen may reduce risk of Parkinson's disease, says study

Media examine fight against counterfeit drugs

Former Senate parliamentarian questions reconciliation, Senators want public option back

Low-income nations lack advanced e-health tools that can help them achieve better health outcomes

New book by 12 world-leading scientists calls for renewed approach to drug policy

Study demonstrates usefulness of salivary diagnostics in finding pancreatic cancer

Iowa State University researchers awarded 30 ARRA grants worth $16.38M

New report focuses on how to reduce and control hypertension

Study: Earlier detection of lung cancer can reduce number of late stage lung cancer deaths

Postmenopausal women undergoing combination hormone therapy at increased risk of heart disease: WHI confirms

Budget cuts hit health care services in Minnesota, Oklahoma and California

NACHC: ARRA investment is making a difference in community health centers

Study explores relationship between adverse events, early antecedents and CO2 reactivity in panic disorder

Studies show association between high levels of vitamin D and decreased risk of heart disease

TB's mechanism to evade body's immune system identified

Minority patients more likely to have surgeries at centres handling low numbers of similar procedures

Over 96% of SIDS cases due to known risk factors

Pipe and cigar smoking linked to decreased lung function

Tinnitus not a highly inherited condition, says study

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Latest News