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UniStem Day 2013 to take place on Mar. 15

This year, six Spanish universities participate in UniStem Day 2013, an event that takes place next Friday, 15th March. It is the first time that the event is carried out simultaneously in several European countries.

12 Mar 2013

Combining weight loss therapy and CPAP can help reduce blood pressure in OSA patients

Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) tend to co-exist and are associated with high blood pressure. The effects of weight loss and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), the standard therapy for OSA, on blood pressure have been previously studied individually, but the incremental benefit of combination therapy (weight loss and CPAP therapy) over either therapy alone in obese patients with OSA has been unknown.

12 Mar 2013

Virtual house calls provide clinical benefits for patients with Parkinson's

A small study of 20 people with Parkinson's disease suggests that "virtual house calls" using Web-based video conferencing provide clinical benefits comparable to in-person physician office visits, while saving patients and their caregivers time and travel.

12 Mar 2013

Gottlieb Allergy Count to officially begin on Mar. 18

The Gottlieb Allergy Count, reported by Joseph Leija, MD, will officially begin Monday, March 18, weeks earlier than the usual April 1 start date. For the past week, Dr.Leija has been monitoring the air daily in preparation.

12 Mar 2013

Measuring avoidance could predict children's development of anxiety

Children who avoid situations they find scary are likely to have anxiety a Mayo Clinic study of more than 800 children ages 7 to 18 found. The study published this month in Behavior Therapy presents a new method of measuring avoidance behavior in young children.

12 Mar 2013

FlexToBa program can enhance health of older adults

Fitness DVDs are a multimillion-dollar business, and those targeting adults over the age of 55 are a major part of the market. With names like "Boomers on the Move," "Stronger Seniors" and "Ageless Yoga," the programs promise much, but few have ever been rigorously tested.

12 Mar 2013

World renowned expert in obesity research to visit Umeå University on Mar. 14

A world renowned expert in obesity research will be visiting Umeå University on Thursday 14 March, including holding a lecture in Aula Nordica. His main message to everyone is to "get up from your office chair."

12 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: 5 lies about entitlements; Obama's plans for Medicare still not clear; Generic drug makers need to be accountable

So here's a list with a bit more gravitas: The five biggest lies you're being told about entitlement programs. Never mind that the very word "entitlement" is a lie. Social Security and Medicare got that name because workers became "entitled" to those benefits by paying into the system. In recent years, however, the term has become distorted to signify benefits people are entitled to without earning them. Leaving that whopper aside, here are the top five.

12 Mar 2013

AACN issues Tele-ICU nursing practice guidelines

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) issues the first authoritative document to define practice guidelines specifically for the emerging subspecialty of tele-ICU nursing practice.

11 Mar 2013

Experts discuss elimination and prevention of all types of violence against women, girls

Scientists of the United States of America, Ireland, and Chile met this week in New York to discuss recent scientific evidence regarding abortion as a form of growing violence against women and girls.

11 Mar 2013

PEPFAR should consider performance-based financing

"The recent IOM evaluation of PEPFAR made clear that a key challenge for the program moving forward will be to get country governments to effectively assume primary responsibility of AIDS programs in their countries, both in terms of finances and 'leadership,'" Victoria Fan and Jenny Ottenhoff of the Center for Global Development write in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog.

11 Mar 2013

First Edition: March 11, 2013

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about insurance options for people with pre-existing conditions.

11 Mar 2013

Only 1 in 5 central Pennsylvania women receive preventive counseling about partner abuse

Only about one in five central Pennsylvania women who have experienced intimate partner violence is asked or counseled by a health care provider about abuse, according to Penn State medicine and public health science researchers. Overall, approximately only one in nine women has received preventive counseling about violence and safety.

11 Mar 2013

WHO announces 8th death from novel coronavirus

"A 69-year-old man in Saudi Arabia died after being infected with a new SARS-related virus, becoming the 14th confirmed case and the eighth death, the World Health Organization said" on Wednesday, Bloomberg reports.

11 Mar 2013

State highlights: Ga. health bills advance on 'Crossover Day'

A selection of health policy stories from Georgia, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky and California.

11 Mar 2013

Calif. Insurance Commissioner calls Blue Shield rate hike 'unreasonable'

The state's top insurance regulator criticized proposed rate hikes of as much as 20 percent for 268,000 individual policyholders, but he and other state officials don't have the authority to reject the increases.

11 Mar 2013

Health programs should address gender violence

Noting the potential "devastating and lasting" health impacts of physical and sexual violence on women and girls, Scott Radloff, director of USAID's Office of Population and Reproductive Health, writes in USAID's "IMPACTblog," "The health sector can play a vital role in preventing gender-based violence by helping to identify abuse early, providing victims with the necessary treatment, and referring women to appropriate and informed care."

11 Mar 2013

Identification of high-risk patients enables selective use of strategies to improve patient outcomes

A clinical decision support tool helped physicians identify patients at high risk of bleeding complications prior to undergoing a coronary intervention procedure and helped guide the use of bleeding avoidance strategies, leading to less complications and a shorter hospital stay, according to a study being presented March 10 at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions.

11 Mar 2013

Health-related MDGs should 'remain at the heart' of post-2015 goals

Mark Suzman, managing director for International Policy, Programs & Advocacy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and how "there is a heightened sense of urgency to ensure we do everything possible to meet this ambitious deadline of 2015 -- and to make sure that a new set of goals are set that keep up the critical momentum."

11 Mar 2013

Research: Stringent criteria for surveillance of prostate cancer needed for African Americans

New research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey suggests that more stringent criteria may be needed for African American men with prostate cancer when considering active surveillance of the disease.

11 Mar 2013