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USAID recognizes 5th annual Global Handwashing Day

USAID recognizes the fifth annual Global Handwashing Day on Monday, noting on its webpage that "studies show that washing hands with soap is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diseases," with the ability to "cut deaths from diarrhea by almost half and from acute respiratory infections by a quarter."

16 Oct 2012

Researchers discover why people exposed to war more likely to develop chronic diseases

Wayne State University School of Medicine researchers may have discovered why people exposed to war are at increased risk to develop chronic problems like heart disease years later. And the culprit that links the two is surprising.

16 Oct 2012

Hospital payments will soon be tied in part to patient satisfaction

The Wall Street Journal reports that, in the year ahead, nearly $1 billion in payments to hospitals will be based in part on patient satisfaction.

16 Oct 2012

Direct link between fuel exposure and damage to genetic material

An experiment carried out on rodents exposed to fuel similar to that of the Prestige tanker oil spill - which took place nearly a decade ago - shows that inhalation of the fuel causes damage to genetic material. According to the study, led by the University of A Coru-a, the results could be used in relation to people who carry out the industrial cleaning of coasts.

16 Oct 2012

Computerized checklist helps physicians to prevent dangerous venous thromboembolisms or PE

A computerized checklist system designed to help physicians identify and use the best methods of preventing potentially deadly blood clots in hospitalized trauma patients dramatically reduced the number of these dangerous venous thromboembolisms (VTEs), new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

16 Oct 2012

Researchers use cell phone data to track malaria spread in Kenya

"Harvard researchers found they could track the spread of malaria in Kenya using phone calls and text messages from 15 million mobile phones," ABC News' "Medical Unit" reports.

16 Oct 2012

Research!America lists 'Top 10 Reasons To Invest In Global Health R&D'

The non-profit advocacy group Research!America on Monday released a list titled "Top 10 Reasons To Invest In Global Health R&D," which "provides compelling reasons why the investments are critical, from the humanitarian benefits to being a powerful driver of U.S. economic activity," according to an e-mail alert.

16 Oct 2012

Cigarette smoke adversely affects the developing human airway

Research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2012 annual meeting revealed cigarette smoke adversely affects the developing human airway, especially in prematurity. Fetuses and premature babies exposed to cigarette smoke are at greater risk for developing childhood respiratory diseases, such as asthma.

16 Oct 2012

New initiative aims to bolster human resources at medical schools in Rwanda

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby is "expected to announce a new initiative between the U.S. government, the Rwandan Ministry of Health and 14 American medical schools at a press conference Monday in Kigali, Rwanda," the New York Times reports.

16 Oct 2012

Drug-eluting balloon procedure can effectively treat peripheral artery disease

Use of balloon angioplasty and placement of stents to widen clogged arteries have become standard medical procedure. Further advancing this treatment, drug-eluting devices are now delivering medication directly to the site where it can be most effective. While this technique has met with success in coronary arteries, its use in peripheral arteries is still under study.

16 Oct 2012

Romney's positions on abortion, Planned Parenthood funding draw political fire

Both the Obama and Romney campaigns are issuing new campaign ads related to women's health issues and attempting to stake out policy positions.

16 Oct 2012

Men with childhood ADHD have multiple disadvantages throughout their lifetime

A new study conducted by researchers at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center found men diagnosed as children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had significantly worse educational, occupational, economic and social outcomes in a 33-year follow-up study compared to men who were not diagnosed.

16 Oct 2012

Political, community support critical to improving maternal mortality in Afghanistan

"Ten years ago, I took my first role as a midwife in a refugee camp in Iran. ... The situation for women and children was terrible -- the maternal mortality rate was among the worst in the world," Sabera Turkmani, president of Afghan Midwives Association, writes in this Al Jazeera opinion piece.

16 Oct 2012

Hepatitis C rapid and point of care tests highly accurate and reliable

Timely screening and diagnosis is critical to the success of new treatments and ultimately to the survival of hepatitis C patients. A new study led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) is the first to show that hepatitis C rapid and point of care tests with a quick turnaround time are highly accurate and reliable as conventional first-line laboratory tests.

16 Oct 2012

U.S., Japan, South Korea pledge additional funds to Global Agriculture and Food Security Program

On the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Tokyo on Thursday, Japan and South Korea each pledged an additional $30 million over three years for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), established in 2010 to help improve food security in low-income countries, Reuters reports.

16 Oct 2012

Accumulation of small genetic variations could increase risk of ASD

An increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) could result from an accumulation of many small, common genetic variations rather than large-effect, rare changes in the genetic code, according to a multicenter team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

16 Oct 2012

Higher health care premiums could wipe out social security increases; Medicare enrollment begins

Social Security recipients shouldn't expect a big increase in monthly benefits come January. Preliminary figures show the annual benefit boost will be between 1% and 2%, which would be among the lowest since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975.

16 Oct 2012

School-wide interventions reduce children's aggressive behaviors

An analysis of a school behavior strategy-known as School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS)-found that these types of programs significantly reduced children's aggressive behaviors and office discipline referrals, as well as improved problems with concentration and emotional regulation.

16 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Cancer doctors reject 'phenomenally expensive' new drug; Protecting patients' rights

At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, we recently made a decision that should have been a no-brainer: we are not going to give a phenomenally expensive new cancer drug to our patients.

16 Oct 2012

NIAID-funded study to evaluate PPSV23 and PCV13 in Phase Iib pneumococcal trial

Researchers plan to see if a higher dose of a pneumococcal vaccine will create a stronger immune response in older adults who received an earlier generation vaccine against pneumonia and other pneumococcal diseases.

16 Oct 2012