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N.Y. officials seek to ban purchase of sugary drinks with food stamps

"New Yorkers on food stamps would not be allowed to spend them on sugar-sweetened drinks under an obesity-fighting proposal being floated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson. Bloomberg and Paterson planned to announce Thursday that they are seeking permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the nation's food stamp program, to add sugary drinks to the list of prohibited goods for city residents receiving assistance. If approved, it would be the first time an item would be banned from the federal program based solely on nutritional value" (Kugler Frazier, 10/7).

8 Oct 2010

Children who have asthma are less likely to smoke during teen years

Giuseppe Verlato, an epidemiologist at the University of Verona, asked participants to recall whether they smoked between the ages of 11 and 20 and if they had suffered from asthma as young children.

8 Oct 2010

Mass. attorney general recommends approval of Caritas sale; Calif. will require students to get whooping cough vaccine

Attorney General Martha Coakley yesterday recommended approval of the proposed sale of Caritas Christi Health Care to a New York private equity firm, a deal that would bring for-profit health care on a large scale to a state long dominated by nonprofit hospitals.

8 Oct 2010

Study finds no association between gene variant and risk of coronary disease

A genetic marker touted as a predictor of coronary artery disease is no such thing, according to a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

7 Oct 2010

U.S. continues to lag behind other nations in life expectancy

The United States continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance-obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities, and homicide-are not to blame, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published today as a Health Affairs Web First.

7 Oct 2010

Research findings likely to have significant implications for treatment of pre-eclampsia, hypertension

Scientists have discovered a mechanism which raises blood pressure in pre-eclampsia, a potentially deadly condition which occurs during pregnancy.

7 Oct 2010

American Cancer Society awards 94 national research, training grants to 70 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 national research and training grants totaling $46,633,000 to 70 institutions nationwide in the first of two grants cycles for 2011.

7 Oct 2010

Waist size can predict diabetes risk

A higher rate of diabetes seen among adult Americans when compared to peers in England is explained primarily by a larger waist size rather than conventional risk factors such as obesity, according to a new study by researchers from the RAND Corporation, University College London and the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London.

7 Oct 2010

Congress scientific program to highlight new developments in Parkinson's disease

The 7th International Congress on Mental Dysfunction & Other Non-Motor Features in Parkinson's Disease (MDPD 2010), to be held in Barcelona, December 9 - 12, 2010, aims to provide specialists with the latest developments in the understanding of cognitive and psychiatric aspects of the disease.

7 Oct 2010

WHO Eastern Mediterranean meeting opens in Cairo

The 57th WHO Eastern Mediterranean regional meeting opened Sunday in Cairo, Egypt, the Emirates News Agency reports.

6 Oct 2010

Optical technology shows potential for prescreening patients at high risk for lung cancer

Researchers from Northwestern University and NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) have developed a method to detect early signs of lung cancer by examining cheek cells in humans using pioneering biophotonics technology.

6 Oct 2010

CCHIT certifies Allscripts Professional EHR Version 9.2

Allscripts announced today that Allscripts Professional™ EHR, Version 9.2 is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as a Complete EHR on Sept. 30, 2010 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB), in accordance with the applicable eligible provider certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

5 Oct 2010

Tips on pregnancy care from NHS Choices

Having a baby is one of the most exciting things that can happen, but parents-to-be might be feeling nervous as well. If it's a first baby, it's hard to know what to expect and you'll want to know what's normal for pregnancy and what's not.

5 Oct 2010

EU called upon to tackle problem of chronic non-communicable diseases

Members of the European Parliament are calling on the Presidency of the EU and Member States to tackle urgently the problem of chronic non-communicable diseases that are responsible for 86% of all deaths in the WHO European Region. Their call is supported by an alliance of European health professionals, including ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation - and ESMO - the European Society for Medical Oncology.

5 Oct 2010

Intervention program prevents smoking relapse, increases breastfeeding duration

New mothers who smoke are less likely to breastfeed. But those who quit smoking during or just prior to becoming pregnant were significantly more likely to remain smoke free and continue breastfeeding if they received support and encouragement during the first eight weeks following child birth, according to a study presented Monday, Oct. 4, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco.

5 Oct 2010

Merck to appeal against jury verdict in retrial of federal FOSAMAX case

Merck & Co., Inc. today said it will appeal a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that reduced the jury verdict from $8 million to $1.5 million but denied Merck's request for judgment in its favor or a new trial in the case of Boles v. Merck, a retrial of a federal FOSAMAX case.

5 Oct 2010

New equation to calculate energy requirement for underweight COPD patients

Malnutrition often goes hand in hand with COPD and is difficult to treat. In a recent study researchers at the University of Gothenburg, have come up with a new equation to calculate the energy requirement for underweight COPD patients. It is hoped that this will lead to better treatment results and, ultimately, better quality of life for these patients.

4 Oct 2010

Nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority

After a major review of scientific information, six leading tobacco research and policy experts have concluded that a nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority because of its potential to profoundly reduce the death and disease from tobacco use. Their findings were published today in the journal Tobacco Control.

4 Oct 2010

Fred Hutchinson Center offers research-based tip sheets on breast cancer

Throughout October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and its clinical care partner, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, are offering a series of weekly research-based tip sheets regarding a variety of topics related to breast cancer, including breast cancer prevention, screening and early detection, treatment, and survivorship.

4 Oct 2010

Environmental smoke exposure increases breast cancer risk among Mexican women

Mexican women who do not smoke but are exposed to smoking, known as environmental smoke exposure, are at three times higher risk for breast cancer than non-smoking women not exposed to passive smoking, according to findings presented at the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, being held Sept. 30-Oct.3, 2010.

4 Oct 2010