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Music therapy enhances quality of life for patients with fibromyalgia

University of Granada researchers have proven that music therapy combined with other relax techniques based on guided imagery reduces significantly pain, depression and anxiety, and improves sleep among patients suffering from fibromyalgia.

26 May 2011

Tips for building strong and healthy bones

Most of us think of our bone structure as a solid, static mass that is hard and unchanging. The fact is our skeletal structure is replaced approximately every ten years.

26 May 2011

New book on 'Overcoming Anxiety, Worry, and Fear'

Severe anxiety can leave its sufferers paralyzed with debilitating worry, uncontrollable fear and clinical depression. Although anxiety is the most common mental health problem in the U.S., many affected by anxiety don't know how to treat their problem or even how to seek help.

26 May 2011

Disputes over ACO rule, IPAB, MLR, health law continue

Some hot topics -- the IPAB, the medical-loss ratio rule and the health law's impact on employer-sponsored health care -- also claim headlines today. Meanwhile, MinnPost analyzes executive orders - including a controversial one on health care - by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, now a GOP presidential candidate.

26 May 2011

GSK partners with NGOs to support health care workers in LDCs

Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports that GlaxoSmithKline announced Tuesday it has partnered with three non-governmental organizations to address the shortage of primary health care providers in least developed countries.

26 May 2011

Many young adults couldn't afford needed health care: New Commonwealth Fund report

Young adults ages 19-29 are struggling to get the health care they need more than almost any other age group, demonstrating the need for Affordable Care Act provisions, some already in place, that will expand health insurance and make it more affordable, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.

26 May 2011

PBS' NewHour examines health insurance for 'urban poor' in Pakistan

PBS' NewsHour special correspondent Saima Mohsin on Monday reported from Pakistan on "an innovative health insurance plan for the urban poor." In Pakistan, 99 percent of the country's low-income population does not have health insurance, and this plan, called Naya Jeevan, "hopes to change that.

26 May 2011

Ryan budget, with Medicare and Medicaid overhaul, rejected by Senate

With five Republicans joining Democrats in opposition, the Senate easily rejected a House-passed budget plan Wednesday calling for deep cuts in domestic appropriations and major restructuring of Medicare, the government-backed healthcare program for the elderly.

26 May 2011

Vatican newspaper article addresses condom use among married couples

Three days before the start of a Vatican conference focusing on "the centrality of care" in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, on Tuesday printed a piece by Spanish theologian Juan Jose Perez-Soba arguing that married couples with one HIV-positive partner "should abstain from sex, because intercourse performed with a condom is, 'from the moral point of view, not a fully conjugal act,'" RNS/Beliefnet News reports.

26 May 2011

Dems win upset in NY special election; Medicare viewed as game-changing issue

Democrats claimed a victory Tuesday, winning a congressional seat in one of New York's most conservative districts. The win is considered by many as a blow to the GOP plan to overhaul Medicare. It's also likely to add to Republican intra-party strains surrounding the issue.

26 May 2011

IPS examines access to medicine in Malawi

"Health experts say an inadequate number of nurses and pharmacists is among the leading factors denying people access to medicines in Malawi," Inter Press Service writes in an article examining medication shortages in rural Malawi.

26 May 2011

Studies find antibiotics overused for children with asthma, urinary tract infections

Two new studies led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have found some antibiotics may be overused for children with asthma and urinary tract infections.

26 May 2011

More wealthy families in India choosing to abort female fetuses, study shows

India's 2011 census data show that "wealthier, better-educated families," who have a first-born daughter "are choosing more and more often to abort subsequent pregnancies if the child is female," despite fetal sex determination and sex-selective abortion being illegal in the country, according to a study published on Tuesday in the Lancet, National Journal reports.

26 May 2011

Health Media Syndicate releases LiVe 2.0 for teens to stay healthy

Health Media Syndicate announced the release of LiVe 2.0, the newest addition to the nation's largest teen fitness public service campaign that is being deployed by healthcare organizations.

26 May 2011

State Legislatures struggling with efforts to fund health programs

A second measure designed to streamline state government advanced late Tuesday as the Senate voted to merge several agencies for the disabled and a rehab program for injured workers into a new social services bureau.

26 May 2011

Budget talks: Medicare costs on table as Biden aims for $1 trillion in cuts

Politics continue to surround talks regarding the budget and congressional efforts to reach an agreement on raising the debt limit. Vice President Joe Biden, who is leading an effort to strike a compromise, has acknowledged that Medicare must be part of the debate. He also maintains that new revenue sources have to be in the mix.

26 May 2011

U-M develops new tool that helps physicians better evaluate patient's depression outcomes

Primary care doctors have long been on the front lines of depression treatment. Depression is listed as a diagnosis for 1 in 10 office visits and primary care doctors prescribe more than half of all antidepressants.

26 May 2011

Researchers propose 'advance directives' for driving

Researchers studying driving habits and accident rates among the elderly found a majority surveyed supported mandatory retesting of drivers based on age while saying they would hand over the keys if a doctor or loved one said they were no longer fit to drive.

26 May 2011

New Hypertension Management Program study results revealed at ASH scientific meeting

High blood pressure - the silent killer - is taking a hit from a new, ground-breaking treatment program from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

26 May 2011

Texas considers performance-based payments; Calif. docs oppose mammography bill

As crafted, SB 8 gives the Health and Human Services Commission permission to test various performance-based payment programs to increase efficiency and find ways to link payments to improved patient outcomes. Despite a few clarifying amendments, lawmakers' efforts to tack on controversial measures like abortion and end-of-life reporting, Medical Board reform and scope-of-practice expansions were knocked down.

26 May 2011