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Pregnant White women more likely to smoke cigarettes

A new report shows that 21.8 percent of pregnant White women aged 15 to 44 currently (within the past 30 days) smoked cigarettes.

11 May 2012

When to retire? Health costs enter into the decision

With the value of many 401(k)'s and homes taking a beating during the recession and with energy and health care prices climbing, many who dreamed that retirement was just around the corner have reluctantly kicked their retirement plans down the road.

11 May 2012

PET imaging for sudden cardiac arrest can identify candidates for ICDs

New research from the University at Buffalo suggests that cardiologists may have a new way to identify patients who are at the highest risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and the most likely to benefit from receiving an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).

11 May 2012

Ariz., Iowa Republicans tweak abortion, contraception bills

GOP legislators have backed down from some of the anti-abortion and anti-contraception coverage measures they wanted.

11 May 2012

AACN launches enhanced versions of ECG interpretation, EPCCO

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has launched enhanced versions of its popular ECG interpretation and pediatric critical care E-Learning courses, conveniently delivering the latest clinical information, tools and resources to nurses and other healthcare professionals.

11 May 2012

Policy responses needed to address global water security

In his Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) blog "The Internationalist," Stewart Patrick, senior fellow and director of the CFR Program on International Institutions and Global Governance, writes about the first U.S. Intelligence Community Assessment of Global Water Security, which "predicts that by 2030 humanity's 'annual global water requirements' will exceed 'current sustainable water supplies' by 40 percent."

11 May 2012

Top-line results from Takeda vedolizumab phase 3 trial on Crohn's disease

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced top-line results from the international, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind GEMINI II pivotal phase 3 trial. The trial evaluated vedolizumab in 1,115 patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease who have failed at least one conventional therapy, including TNFα antagonists.

11 May 2012

This Mother's Day, ensure babies everywhere are born free of HIV

Ahead of Mother's Day on May 13, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe writes in this post in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog, "Together we can go from 390,000 children becoming infected with HIV each year to zero," and he highlights "three simple things we can all do to ensure babies everywhere can be born free from HIV."

11 May 2012

Citywide ban on public smoking can impact maternal and fetal health

A citywide ban on public smoking in Colorado led to significant decreases in maternal smoking and preterm births, providing the first evidence in the U.S. that such interventions can impact maternal and fetal health, according to an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

11 May 2012

Drug manufacturers draw attention for politics and pain killers

Politico examines the relationship between industry-group PhRMA and congressional Republicans in the post-health-reform-debate landscape.

11 May 2012

African-Americans with scleroderma have more antibodies linked to severe complications

A new analysis finds that compared to Caucasians, African-Americans with systemic scleroderma have more antibodies in the blood that are linked to severe complications and an increased likelihood of death. They say this finding, published today in Arthritis & Rheumatism, suggests physicians can use these disease markers to screen and treat scleroderma patients proactively.

11 May 2012

MSF says additional resources needed to improve ART access in Burma

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the largest provider of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Burma, also known as Myanmar, are calling for the gap between the need for and access to ART in the country to be closed, the Guardian reports.

11 May 2012

Excess brain activity contributes to amnestic mild cognitive impairment

A study led by a Johns Hopkins neuroscientist and published in the May 10 issue of the journal Neuron suggests a potential new therapeutic approach for improving memory and interrupting disease progression in patients with a form of cognitive impairment that often leads to full-blown Alzheimer's disease.

11 May 2012

HHS announces big pay boost for some Medicaid docs

HHS says the increase, required by the health law, would raise primary care doctors' payments for treating Medicare patients, on average, 34 percent.

11 May 2012

NCSU scientists use light-activated molecules to turn gene expression on and off

Imagine being able to control genetic expression by flipping a light switch. Researchers at North Carolina State University are using light-activated molecules to turn gene expression on and off. Their method enables greater precision when studying gene function, and could lead to targeted therapies for diseases like cancer.

11 May 2012

Foreign aid for health services not significantly displaced, analysis says

In an article published in the May 8 edition of PLoS Medicine, Rajaie Batniji, an affiliate of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and Eran Bendavid of FSI's Stanford Health Policy, found that a 2010 Lancet study by researchers at the University of Washington that "concluded that about half the money given to international governments for providing health care services isn't used as intended" is "flawed" and "should not be used to guide decisions about how much money to give and who should get it," according to a Stanford University news story.

11 May 2012

CAPE arrests growth of prostate cancer tumors

Could it be that a remedy from thousands of years ago holds the secret to stopping prostate cancer? A newly published study furthers the exploration of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and its potential anticarcinogen and antioxidant properties. The demonstrated ability of CAPE to stop prostate cancer tumors from growing may soon have it earning a spot among other natural remedies for prostate cancer treatment.

11 May 2012

Republican govs like free-market insurance exchanges but skewer 'Obamacare'

Many governors find themselves in an awkward spot since opposing the health care law is GOP orthodoxy. In the meantime, Iowa lawmakers approved a bill requiring licensure of advisers who help people navigate health insurance options.

11 May 2012

Final results from Alnylam’s ALN-TTR01 Phase I trial on TTR-mediated amyloidosis

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today final results from its completed Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTR01, an RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis.

11 May 2012

House passes cuts to health care, other programs to protect Pentagon funding

The Republican-led House has agreed to replace deep budget cuts scheduled to hit the Pentagon in January with a series of reductions in funding for food stamps, Medicaid and regulation of the financial sector. The House approved the package that would save $242.8 billion over 10 years on a party-line 218 to 199 vote. No Democrats supported the package; sixteen Republicans opposed it.

11 May 2012