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Medigap policies could come under 'super committee's' budget knife

On July 1, a Washington health advocacy group issued a dire warning about a small but significant Medicare provision on the table in the debt talks.

16 Aug 2011

Scientists identify potential target that could combat allergies of early childhood

A pandemic of ailments called the "allergic march" -- the gradual acquisition of overlapping allergic diseases that commonly begins in early childhood -- has frustrated both parents and physicians. For the last three decades, an explosion of eczema, food allergies, hay fever, and asthma have afflicted children in the United States, the European Union, and many other countries.

16 Aug 2011

Scientists define relationship between two prostate tumor suppressor genes

Of the 250,000 American men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, very few of them-about 1 percent-will develop lethal, metastatic disease. Finding a way to distinguish between this small cohort and the majority of patients who will develop an indolent, non-lethal form of prostate cancer is a key goal in prostate cancer research.

16 Aug 2011

Inflammation linked with RA increases patients risk of heart disease

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers are at an increased risk of dying due to cardiovascular disease. A new five year study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy showed that the risk of cardiovascular disease for people with RA is due to disease-related inflammation as well as the risk factors which affect the general population.

16 Aug 2011

Modified Cdk5 enzyme triggers damage to nerve cell connections in human Alzheimer's brains

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by abnormal proteins that stick together in little globs, disrupting cognitive function. These sticky proteins are mostly made up of beta-amyloid peptide. A better understanding of these proteins, how they form, and how they affect brain function will no doubt improve the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

16 Aug 2011

Nearly 6,000 dead in Haitian cholera outbreak, health ministry says

"The number of cholera fatalities in Haiti has risen to just short of 6,000, the health ministry said Sunday," Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports.

16 Aug 2011

China Medical first fiscal quarter net revenues increase 27.4% to US$36.7 million

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic company, announced its unaudited financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2011 today.

16 Aug 2011

Scientists demonstrate how Modified Citrus Pectin enhances immune function

Groundbreaking research demonstrates the ability of a specific form of Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) to greatly enhance immune function.

16 Aug 2011

New system could improve prostate cancer IMRT treatment plans

Prostate cancer, the most common form of cancer in U.S. men, is also one of the most treatable: 90 percent of patients who undergo intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in the early stages are disease free after five years, according to the journal Seminars in Radiation Oncology.

16 Aug 2011

IPAB draws sustained opposition from GOP, health industry lobbyists

The Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is one of the health law's central tools for cutting Medicare costs, continues to be a topic that draws significant opposition.

16 Aug 2011

New insights into causes of rheumatoid arthritis

Scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Toronto, University Health Network and McGill University have obtained significant new insights into the causes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune disorders including type 1 diabetes, lupus and Graves disease.

16 Aug 2011

Health overhaul draws political support, fire in various campaigns

It was a hot topic when Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. It's also been a hot topic in town hall meetings and congressional campaigns.

16 Aug 2011

EOSS could help physicians predict risk of death in obese patients

New research hopes to simplify and clarify the risk someone runs from being obese.

16 Aug 2011

South Africa expands AIDS program to allow earlier ARV treatment

The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) on Saturday endorsed a new National Health Council policy to expand the country's AIDS program "to allow people living with HIV to start antiretroviral [ARV] treatment earlier" by raising the CD4 count necessary to access treatment from 200 to 350, Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Aug 2011

Geisinger researchers develop new PTSD prediction tool

A new post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prediction tool, developed by Geisinger Health System researchers, is simple to administer and appears to outperform other screening methods, according to new findings published electronically in the August issue of the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.

16 Aug 2011

U.S. aid to Liberia important for health and development improvements

"Even now, eight years after our civil war ended, Liberia faces a huge uphill battle," Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf writes in a Washington Post opinion piece, adding that "with support from the United States, we have been able to make progress. … It is critical that this aid continues in next year's budget."

16 Aug 2011

Study: Menthol cigarettes linked with decreased quitting in the U.S.

Could a mint-flavored additive to cigarettes have a negative impact on smoking cessation efforts? New research from investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) and UMDNJ-School of Public Health shines a light on this topic.

16 Aug 2011

U.N. should make reduction in salt intake a global health priority, researchers say

Researchers from the Universities of Warwick and Liverpool in a report published on Thursday in the British Medical Journal called for the U.N. to "make reducing salt intake a global health priority," stating that "a 15 percent cut in consumption could save 8.5 million lives around the world over the next decade," BBC News reports.

16 Aug 2011

Green tea shows promise against two types of tumors, HHS

A compound found in green tea shows great promise for the development of drugs to treat two types of tumors and a deadly congenital disease. The discovery is the result of research led by Principal Investigator, Dr. Thomas Smith at The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and his colleagues at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

16 Aug 2011

PlusNews examines challenges to Burundi's PMTCT program

"A shortage of health facilities and health workers, frequent drug shortages and a weak government policy mean HIV-positive pregnant women in Burundi often give birth without taking any precautions to prevent transmission of the virus to their children," PlusNews reports.

16 Aug 2011