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Study shows relationship between built environment, SES and changes in BMI

People living in neighbourhoods where they perceived traffic made it unpleasant to walk were more likely to have a higher BMI than those who didn't, according to a new University of Alberta study looking at the relationship between the built environment, socio-economic status, and changes in body mass index over a six year period.

12 May 2010

Limiting fat intake to below 20% can reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence by 24%

When one of the country's foremost physicians—people like Dr. Andrew Weil—need someone to care for their friends and family dealing with cancer, the man they turn to is Keith Block, M.D. "I believe in Keith's program and would head to the Block Center if I were facing a diagnosis of cancer. It is where I have and will continue to send my friends and family," said Dr. Weil.

11 May 2010

Can familiar voices heal traumatic brain injuries?

In January 2009, Ryan, a 21-year-old college student from Huntley, Ill., was in a coma after he had been flung from his snowmobile into a tree during an ice storm. He had a traumatic brain injury; the fibers of his brain had been twisted and stretched from the impact.

11 May 2010

New York Times examines global fight against HIV/AIDS

Several articles in the New York Times examine the global fight against HIV/AIDS. "Uganda is the first country where major clinics routinely turn people away" because they lack funding, the newspaper writes in an article that reports "money for [HIV/AIDS] treatment has stopped growing."

11 May 2010

Genetic link to risk for diabetes and weight gain: New study

A recent study published in the international journal Diabetologia showed that Australians who eat too many high fat snacks tend to put on more weight if they have someone in their family with diabetes.

10 May 2010

Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent safe and effective for treating SFA lesions

Patients treated with the Zilver® PTX™ Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent maintained clinical improvement at two years, according to interim results from the Zilver® PTX™ Global Registry presented today as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 33rd Annual Scientific Sessions.

10 May 2010

Baby swimming helps develop balance and movement in infants, young children

Teaching babies to swim turns out to be more than just fun. Baby swimmers have better balance and are also better at grasping at things than non-swimmers. This difference persists even when children are five years old, when babies who have been taught to swim still outperform their peers, research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) shows.

7 May 2010

Majority of Americans fall short in consuming key phytonutrients

Americans who fall short in meeting their daily fruit and vegetable intakes based on government guidelines are also likely to fall short in common bone-building nutrients like calcium and vitamin D, according to a newly released report by the Nutrilite Health Institute called America's Phytonutrient Report: Bone Health by Color.

7 May 2010

WellPoint rate hikes face further scrutiny, says it will review rates more closely

WellPoint Inc., responding to criticism and close scrutiny from lawmakers and officials, will add "new layers of oversight to pricing practices," The Wall Street Journal reports. WellPoint CEO Angela Braly sent a memo to 40,000 employees saying that the company will "implement third-party reviews of its 2010 rate filings and investigate why its actuaries did not find miscalculations uncovered last week by the California Department of Insurance.

7 May 2010

Neuroscientist Snyder presents annual Ellis S. Grollman Lecture at UMB

If a drug was developed to block a key protein linked to the onset of Huntington's Disease, it could have a clear path to the part of the brain most affected by the disease, while not bothering other parts of the brain and body, said distinguished neuroscientist Solomon H. Snyder, MD, to an audience of about 300 students and faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).

6 May 2010

Survey reveals need for educating U.S. women about stroke symptoms

Although more than 425,000 women suffer from stroke each year, 55,000 more than men, a new survey showed that women may be dramatically underestimating their risk of this medical emergency, the third leading cause of death in the United States. Only 27 percent of women who were surveyed could name more than two of the six primary stroke symptoms. Moreover, seven out of 10 women who were surveyed said they are not aware they are more likely than men to have a stroke, and were not at all or only somewhat knowledgeable about risk factors.

5 May 2010

Medication used to treat heart arrhythmias also reduces myotonic dystrophy: Researchers

A medication most often used to treat heart arrhythmias also reduces a central symptom of myotonic dystrophy, the most common type of muscular dystrophy in adults.

5 May 2010

tPA drug effective in treating stroke symptoms

When Ruth Mitchell arrived at Loyola University Hospital's emergency room, her face was drooping, her left arm was weak, she couldn't walk and she was slurring her words.

4 May 2010

Health law brings a 'host of new taxes' and billions in tax credits

The Washington Post/Fiscal Times: Tax credits and other breaks -- including $50 billion a year in subsidies for low-income people to buy insurance under the new health law -- were "worth more than $1 trillion to recipients last year. That's more than the government spent on Social Security, and nearly enough to balance the federal budget." These and other so-called "tax expenditures" could total $3 trillion by 2020.

3 May 2010

Stealth interventions may help people eat better, exercise more: Study

How do you get college students to eat better? A new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that a "stealth" strategy of raising the students' awareness of environmental and social issues related to food can persuade them to eat more veggies and less ice cream.

3 May 2010

Green exercise decreases risk of mental illness, improves sense of well-being

How much "green exercise" produces the greatest improvement in mood and sense of personal well-being? A new study in the American Chemical Society's semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology has a surprising answer.

3 May 2010

Wellpoint cancels 39-percent rate hikes in California

Anthem Blue Cross, a California-based unit of WellPoint withdrew its request to hike rates by up to 39 percent for some policyholders after state regulators concluded its plan included "all kinds of methodological mistakes," the Los Angeles Times reports.

3 May 2010

Acorda Therapeutics reports AMPYRA gross sales of $3.4 million for first-quarter 2010

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2010.

30 Apr 2010

UIC introduces new "no stress" diagnostic system for heart failure assessment

The University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago is the first academic medical center in the country to introduce a new "no stress" diagnostic system for assessing patients with heart failure and optimizing their treatment.

30 Apr 2010

Hullabaloo over the tobacco tax hike and planned plain cigarette packaging law

The Australian Federal Government this week announced an increase in taxes by 25% on cigarettes to discourage smoking and generate funds for more antismoking measures. In a new development Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott announced that the Coalition will support this move.

29 Apr 2010