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Dampening immune response may encourage lung transplant rejection

Organ transplant patients routinely receive drugs that stop their immune systems from attacking newly implanted hearts, livers, kidneys or lungs, which the body sees as foreign.

27 Feb 2014

Survival rates for bladder cancer in UK are falling, confirms new study

Of the top 10 cancers in the UK, bladder cancer is only one where survival rates have been shown to be getting worse. New figures published this month in the Journal of Clinical Urology confirm in a study of cases of bladder cancer in England over a 19 year period (from 1990 until 2009) that survival rates here in the UK are falling and are worse than in than in other European countries with similar incidence rates.

27 Feb 2014

Administration may be scaling back estimates of young adult enrollment

CNN reports that the White House tamps down expectations that the exchanges will meet CBO's original projection that 40 percent of enrollees would be between the ages of 18 and 34. Also, Politico Pro looks at the large number of states that are not carrying out health law provision that allows young adults who were enrolled in Medicaid before aging out of foster care to receive coverage through age 26.

27 Feb 2014

Organ recovery centers could improve efficiency, reduce costs associated with deceased organ donation

Free-standing organ recovery centers could markedly improve efficiency and reduce costs associated with deceased organ donation, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

27 Feb 2014

Medicare official defends proposed changes to prescription drug program

In written testimony, Jonathan Blum, deputy administrator of the Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services, says the changes are needed to head off cost increases, but an industry-sponsored study argues some of the changes could cost taxpayers more.

27 Feb 2014

Studies indicate that harvested rainwater frequently harbors pathogens

South Africa has been financing domestic rainwater harvesting tanks in informal low-income settlements and rural areas in five of that nation's nine provinces. But pathogens inhabit such harvested rainwater, potentially posing a public health hazard, especially for children and immunocompromised individuals, according to a team from the University of Stellenbosch.

27 Feb 2014

Health exchanges create cybersecurity challenges, hacker opportunities

The Associated Press reports that a number of state health exchanges that were supposed to link to the federal computer system were initially rated as "high risk."

27 Feb 2014

Mailing test results to patient’s home increase colon cancer screening rates by 40%

Colon cancer screening rates increased by nearly 40 percent when free stool tests were mailed to patients' homes, according to results of a pilot study published today in the journal BMC Cancer.

27 Feb 2014

Adults with mental illness more likely to be victims of violence, says study

New research shows that almost one-third of adults with mental illness are likely to be victims of violence within a six-month period, and that adults with mental illness who commit violence are most likely to do so in residential settings.

27 Feb 2014

Obamacare enrollment reaches 4 million

About 700,000 people have selected a health plan so far in February, but officials couldn't say how many of those people have paid their first month's premium. For enrollment to reach the revised goal of 6 million, more than double the number of people will have to sign up in March.

27 Feb 2014

"Sprouted" garlic has more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than fresher, younger bulbs

"Sprouted" garlic - old garlic bulbs with bright green shoots emerging from the cloves - is considered to be past its prime and usually ends up in the garbage can. But scientists are reporting in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that this type of garlic has even more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than its fresher counterparts.

27 Feb 2014

Ark. House delays vote on Medicaid expansion; Maine lawmakers offer compromise

In Arkansas, the House held off on a fifth vote for funding the state's "private option." The Maine compromise would expand Medicaid while also reforming the program.

27 Feb 2014

UAB launches pilot program to detect earlier stages of glaucoma

Glaucoma is a silent disease. It does not hurt, symptoms are slow to develop, and most people do not notice any loss of vision until it is too late. A project by ophthalmologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will examine whether a partnership with community-based optometrists will improve detection and treatment of glaucoma, especially for high-risk populations.

27 Feb 2014

In some states, Medicaid expansion intersects with immigration issues

News outlets examine how federal and state provisions on health care coverage set out an uneven landscape for low-income Americans, legal immigrants and those who came to the country illegally as children and who were given legal status for two-year periods.

27 Feb 2014

Obesity rate for young children falls 43 percent

The study by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention reported the decline among 2- to 5-year-old children -- the first significant drop ever reported. Rates for the broader population remain unchanged, however.

27 Feb 2014

UNC receives $40M for clinical trials unit devoted to HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and research

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a seven-year, more than $40 million award from the National Institutes of Health for a clinical trials unit that will implement the scientific agendas of five NIH networks devoted to HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and cure research.

27 Feb 2014

Breast cancer survivors should get regular exercise to enjoy high quality of life

Older women who have overcome breast cancer are likely to struggle with heart disease, osteoporosis and hypertension further on in their lives. Whether these conditions occur or not is influenced by the treatment that patients received to fight cancer, their overall weight and their age.

27 Feb 2014