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Even small-stage oral SCC metastases impact prognosis

The presence of even small tumor-cell deposits in the lymph nodes of patients with early oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma reflects a potential for the primary tumor to metastasize, report researchers in Head and Neck.

21 Jun 2012

Bowel disturbance common until the end

Patients treated by palliative care services experience bowel disturbances until the end of life, with severe problems increasing as death approaches, report Australian researchers.

21 Jun 2012

New issue of 'Global Fund News Flash' available

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Tuesday released Issue 4 of its newsletter, the "Global Fund News Flash." The issue features a commentary by Mireille Guigaz, a Global Fund Board member representing France, on the Global Fund's work in Madagascar, and a piece examining "a Board decision last November that 55 percent of all funding for grant renewals should go to low-income countries," among other stories.

21 Jun 2012

Winners and losers in the health care messaging war

The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism says that opponents of the health law prevailed at least in part because their positions were sharper and easier to understand.

21 Jun 2012

CRN releases 'The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements'

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the dietary supplement industry's leading trade association, today released its comprehensive report, The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements.

21 Jun 2012

State roundup: Exchange details; N.Y. same-sex lawsuit

States starting to turn the corner on their Great Recession budget woes are taking the cautious approach, socking away millions of dollars in rainy day funds rather than restoring spending for education, health care and social services. At least 21 states, including Arizona, Michigan and Ohio, are putting parts of their surpluses into reserves.

21 Jun 2012

Study to test NAC and aspirin for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder

A commonly available pharmaceutical drug with anti-inflammatory properties and a nutritional supplement thought to have antioxidant effects are now being tested at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) as add-on therapies for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

21 Jun 2012

Renewed commitment to agenda for child survival needed

"Last week in Washington, D.C., a coalition of global leaders and international organizations launched the Child Survival Call to Action in an effort to drive down the risk of preventable child deaths to roughly equivalent levels in all countries by 2035," Victoria Fan, a research fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), writes in this post in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog.

21 Jun 2012

Midurethral slings can prevent pre-operative urinary incontinence in women with vaginal prolapse

A multicenter study involving a UT Southwestern Medical Center urogynecologist will eliminate some of the guesswork physicians face about whether to use a sling during vaginal prolapse repair to prevent urinary incontinence.

21 Jun 2012

Poll: Majority want new effort if court overturns health law

A new Associated Press-GfK poll found that Americans want Congress and the president to work on new legislation to overhaul the health care system if the high court rules that the 2010 health law is unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the lead attorney for the states challenging the law said it's difficult to predict what the court will do.

21 Jun 2012

Levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel reduces 'off' time in people with advanced PD

A new delivery method for levodopa/carbidopa, a common dual-drug Parkinson's disease (PD) regimen, significantly improved the duration of the drugs' effectiveness in people with advanced PD, according to research by Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

21 Jun 2012

Report: Sexual orientation still affecting access to health care

The Human Rights Campaign issued its annual evaluation of how hospitals and other health care facilities score on care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients.

21 Jun 2012

Gracilis muscle flap an effective treatment for facial paralysis in patients with NF2

A surgical technique using a muscle flap from the thigh restores facial motion—and the ability to smile—in patients with facial nerve paralysis resulting from neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), reports a study in this month's special "Operative Neurosurgery" supplement to Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

21 Jun 2012

Congress considers Medicare, FDA proposals

The Senate Finance Committee is once again talking deficit reduction and Medicare as both houses are "poised" to pass an FDA bill.

21 Jun 2012

Genetics play a significant role in determining side effects of opiates

Genetics play a significant role in determining which patients will suffer the most from the disturbing side effects of opiates, commonly prescribed painkillers for severe to moderate pain, according to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study, which pinpoints nausea, slowed breathing and potential for addiction as heritable traits.

21 Jun 2012

Health providers already raking in millions in HIT incentive funds

News outlets are detailing the incentive payments health care providers in Arizona and Kansas have received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for instituting standardized electronic health records.

21 Jun 2012

FOXO3a transcription factor actually promotes growth of anaplastic thyroid cancer

A molecule widely believed to fight many forms of cancer actually helps deadly thyroid tumors grow, and cancer therapies now being tested in humans might boost the activity of this newly revealed bad guy, researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida say.

21 Jun 2012

Birth control mandate remains divisive health coverage issue

The head of the Catholic Hospital Association explains her group's split with the Obama administration on the question of contraception coverage. Meanwhile, another Catholic organization is launching a nationwide ad campaign against this policy.

21 Jun 2012

New understanding of how motor neurons die in spinal muscular atrophy patients

Cedars-Sinai's Regenerative Medicine Institute has pioneered research on how motor-neuron cell-death occurs in patients with spinal muscular atrophy, offering an important clue in identifying potential medicines to treat this leading genetic cause of death in infants and toddlers.

21 Jun 2012

Washington Post provides highlights from Food Security summit

The Washington Post provides highlights from the Washington Post Live "Future of Food: Food Security in the 21st Century" summit that was held on June 14 and "attracted many of the best minds devoted to solving the problem of feeding the world's ever-growing population."

21 Jun 2012