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LAF report estimates the total economic burden of new cancer cases at $305 billion in 2009

A landmark report released today by the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) estimates the total economic burden of new cancer cases at $305 billion in 2009. The findings are included in the report, "Breakaway: The Global Burden of Cancer - Challenges and Opportunities," released today in Dublin at the premiere LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit.

25 Aug 2009

NIAID to establish a human immune profiling research consortium in 2010; invites grant applications

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, is accepting grant applications for a new initiative to establish a consortium of human immune profiling research centers.

25 Aug 2009

PLoS journal throws light on neglected tropical diseases toll in sub-Saharan Africa

An analysis published August 25 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases sheds new light on the toll that neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) take on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with an estimated 500 million people suffering from these debilitating and sometimes deadly diseases.

25 Aug 2009

Study suggests that artificially sweetened beverages may help to control weight

A new study published in the International Journal of Obesity reports that consumption of sugar-free beverages sweetened with low-calorie sweeteners increases dietary restraint, a key aspect of successful weight maintenance.

25 Aug 2009

Scientists cultivate multiple types of retina cells from human stem cells

A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health has successfully grown multiple types of retina cells from two types of stem cells — suggesting a future in which damaged retinas could be repaired by cells grown from the patient's own skin.

25 Aug 2009

USDA donates funds for teaching food safety awareness to AIDS patients

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to educate AIDS patients on food safety.

25 Aug 2009

Concussions could result in permanent brain impairment

Concussions, whether from an accident, sporting event, or combat, can lead to permanent loss of higher level mental processes. Scientists have debated for centuries whether concussions involve structural damage to brain tissue or whether physiological changes that merely impair the way brain cells function, explain this loss.

24 Aug 2009

WHO appeals for donated, low-cost H1N1 vaccines

The WHO's flu chief Keiji Fukuda on Saturday called upon wealthy nations and vaccine manufacturers to donate H1N1 (swine) flu vaccines to developing countries, the Associated Press reports.

24 Aug 2009

CDEX's ID2 Meth Scanner to help combat the growing problem of methamphetamine use

CDEX Inc. announces completion of development-phase testing of a new generation Meth Scanner™ that embodies cell-phone technology and multi-filter applications. The new generation Scanner will have a cell-phone-interactive readout that increases functionality to provide more options for the law enforcement community in its battle against methamphetamine use. In addition, the technological advancements of multi-filter integration will provide greater sensitivity and a platform for multi-drug applications for the Scanner.

24 Aug 2009

Economic professors at Baylor suggest that insurance reform must expand coverage to the uninsured 37 million Americans

Two professors at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business lay out a universal health care plan in their new book Health Care for Us All: Getting More for Our Investment, published by Cambridge University Press, that does not create a government entitlement program or threaten in any way the insurance coverage or health care of Americans who currently have coverage.

24 Aug 2009

CSL Biotherapies initiates clinical trials of Influenza A/H1N1 2009 vaccine in the US

CSL Biotherapies has announced the initiation of the company’s first U.S. clinical trials of its candidate Influenza A/H1N1 2009 vaccine. Study investigators will administer vaccinations to the first U.S. study volunteers today, August 24. The studies will determine the safety of CSL’s candidate vaccine and its ability to elicit an immune response (also referred to as immunogenicity) in adults and children.

24 Aug 2009

National campaign to educate people with developmental disabilities about protection from germs

The Tech-Aid Institute, http://www.techaidinstitute.com, is launching a national campaign to educate people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities about how to protect themselves from germs that include the 2009 flu pandemic that is commonly known as the Swine (H1N1) Flu.

24 Aug 2009

Recent releases: limiting corruption; mental health; U.S. global health policies; non-physician administered ARV; African health ministers

A Lancet Infectious Diseases Reflection and Reaction piece says while PEPFAR's "investment of over US$228 million into Mozambique in 2008 alone" resulted in "an exponential increase in the number of people on" ARVs and boosted prevention programs, "[t]here is more money available for HIV/AIDS than can reasonably be spent, especially given Mozambique's poor infrastructure and large geographical area. Unfortunately, one side-effect has been an associated increase in corruption." To maximize aid money and limit corruption, "careful and creative resource management will be needed," the author concludes (Johnson, 9/09).

24 Aug 2009

New study identifies smoking as a risk factor for active TB

Smoking is a risk factor for active tuberculosis (TB) disease, according to a new study on TB incidence in Taiwan.

24 Aug 2009

What role for government in promoting wellness?

"Of the eight goals for health care reform laid out in President Obama's 2010 budget, just one has more to do with patients than with providers or insurers: 'Investing in prevention and wellness,'" the National Journal reports.

24 Aug 2009

Research study conducted to analyze long-term patterns in weight-related activities

Despite mounting public health concerns about obesity and persistent social pressures dictating that slim is beautiful, young women in their '20s consistently exercise less than young men.

24 Aug 2009

The California Chronic Care Coalition launches new website to share information on chronic conditions

The California Chronic Care Coalition (CCCC) continues to advance its work toward meaningful and responsible health care reform with the launching of its consumer website: www.chroniccareca.org. Designed to help build a healthier California, the website is aimed at the more than 16 million Californians with chronic conditions such as Asthma, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s Heart disease, Epilepsy and Multiple Sclerosis.

24 Aug 2009

Chicago health conference to focus on health care reforms and expandng access to care for the uninsured and jobless during recession

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will be among top federal officials to address a national conference of Community, Migrant and Homeless Health Center representatives from across the country.

24 Aug 2009

Lancet examines dengue fever in Mexico

Lancet World Report examines the factors contributing to a steady uptick in the number of dengue fever cases in Mexico over the past decade. Compared to the year 2000, when "there were 1,781 reported cases … Last year, the number totalled 33,000, according to Mexico's Public Health Department. And confirmed cases this year have already surpassed 2008 figures by 15%," according to the journal.

24 Aug 2009

Adamas Pharmaceuticals forges agreement with U.S. Naval Health Research Center for evaluating triple combination antiviral drug

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Naval Health Research Center for preclinical studies evaluating Adamas' triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy for influenza A, including novel influenza A/H1N1. TCAD therapy includes Adamas' investigational proprietary fixed-dose oral combination drug, to be administered adjunctively with a neuraminidase inhibitor, including Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate, Roche).

22 Aug 2009

Public Health News and Research

LAF report estimates the total economic burden of new cancer cases at $305 billion in 2009

NIAID to establish a human immune profiling research consortium in 2010; invites grant applications

PLoS journal throws light on neglected tropical diseases toll in sub-Saharan Africa

Study suggests that artificially sweetened beverages may help to control weight

Scientists cultivate multiple types of retina cells from human stem cells

USDA donates funds for teaching food safety awareness to AIDS patients

Concussions could result in permanent brain impairment

WHO appeals for donated, low-cost H1N1 vaccines

CDEX's ID2 Meth Scanner to help combat the growing problem of methamphetamine use

Economic professors at Baylor suggest that insurance reform must expand coverage to the uninsured 37 million Americans

CSL Biotherapies initiates clinical trials of Influenza A/H1N1 2009 vaccine in the US

National campaign to educate people with developmental disabilities about protection from germs

Recent releases: limiting corruption; mental health; U.S. global health policies; non-physician administered ARV; African health ministers

New study identifies smoking as a risk factor for active TB

What role for government in promoting wellness?

Research study conducted to analyze long-term patterns in weight-related activities

The California Chronic Care Coalition launches new website to share information on chronic conditions

Chicago health conference to focus on health care reforms and expandng access to care for the uninsured and jobless during recession

Lancet examines dengue fever in Mexico

Adamas Pharmaceuticals forges agreement with U.S. Naval Health Research Center for evaluating triple combination antiviral drug

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

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