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As fiscal years start to wind down, states confront Medicaid issues

Although their tax revenue has improved substantially since the worst of the recession, states continue to face severe fiscal challenges as they are called on to spend more because of the economic stress caused largely by continued high unemployment. Many states face increasing caseloads for Medicaid, the combined federal-state health program for the poor and disabled.

16 Apr 2012

Implantable device with alert modes warns users about potential heart attack

More than 30% of the one million heart attack victims in the United States each year die before seeking medical attention. Although widespread education campaigns describe the warning signs of a heart attack, the average time from the onset of symptoms to arrival at the hospital has remained at 3 hours for more than 10 years.

16 Apr 2012

House GOP dusts off old budget ideas to replace some automatic cuts

When they return to Capitol Hill next week, Republicans on key House committees are expected to take up earlier proposals as they look for ways to replace some of the automatic budget cuts scheduled to take effect in January. Members of the House Judiciary Committee will make another go at revamping medical liability laws.

16 Apr 2012

Neurosurgeons from NYU Langone to present at AANS annual meeting

Neurosurgeons from NYU Langone Medical Center will present research and discuss surgical approaches and use of new technologies to treat neurosurgical conditions at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), held April 14-18, 2012 in Miami Beach, FL.

16 Apr 2012

DEP exposure suppresses function of phagocytic immune cells

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Stephan Schwander, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Public Health (UMDNJ-SPH), has determined a possible link between exposure to a common component of urban air pollution and a change in the function of important immune cells that protect against the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

16 Apr 2012

Contraception, Medicare, Medicaid hot-button topics in stump speeches

Political news coverage included a fact check of a Mitt Romney claim and more on the stay-at-home mom controversy.

16 Apr 2012

SMART Heart improves cardiovascular surgical outcomes

Two years ago, 57-year-old Allus Brown underwent a simultaneous heart-kidney transplant and spent months in and out of the hospital after battling dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that enlarges and weakens the heart. Now fully recovered, Brown is still in and out of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute each week. Only nowadays when he visits, he's laughing it up, playing board games, and sharing accounts of his own struggles with heart disease as part of the Bluhm Institute's new and innovative program, SMART Heart, stress management and recreational therapy for heart patients.

16 Apr 2012

N.Y. governor signs order establishing state health insurance exchange

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo bypassed the state legislature where Republicans had blocked a bill and issued an executive order establishing a new health insurance exchange, a major part of the health care law.

16 Apr 2012

Link between phthalates and risk of diabetes among seniors

There is a connection between phthalates found in cosmetics and plastics and the risk of developing diabetes among seniors. Even at a modest increase in circulating phthalate levels, the risk of diabetes is doubled. This conclusion is drawn by researchers at Uppsala University in a study published in the journal Diabetes Care.

16 Apr 2012

NTD experts push forward on plan to eradicate yaws

Yaws, a skin and bone disease caused by a treponematoses bacterium that can cause long-term deformities, "has recently been put on WHO's list of 17 so-called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)" and, along with Guinea worm, is "slated for eradication," the Lancet reports.

16 Apr 2012

Scientists identify which T. gondii strains are linked with severe illness in U.S. infants

Scientists have identified which strains of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, the cause of toxoplasmosis, are most strongly associated with premature births and severe birth defects in the United States.

16 Apr 2012

CMS settles Medicare reimbursement dispute with hospitals

With a price tag of about $3 billion, the agreement ends a decade-long dispute between an estimated 2,200 hospitals and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services over the calculation of pay rate cuts and offsets for rural hospitals.

16 Apr 2012

UM hosts symposium on next generation characterization tools for therapeutic proteins

In a concerted effort to boost regional collaboration on developing new protein drug and diagnostics, the University of Maryland (UM) School of Pharmacy has hosted the first Interdisciplinary Symposium on Next Generation Characterization Tools for Therapeutic Proteins.

16 Apr 2012

Daily Monitor analysis examines history of male circumcision debate

In this Daily Monitor analysis, Joseph Matovu, Rhoda Wanyenze and David Serwadda, all lecturers at Makerere University School of Public Health in Kampala, Uganda, respond to two articles related to male circumcision that were published in the Daily Monitor in March.

16 Apr 2012

Significant skull variation between groups in close proximity

In order to accurately identify skulls as male or female, forensic anthropologists need to have a good understanding of how the characteristics of male and female skulls differ between populations. A new study from North Carolina State University shows that these differences can be significant, even between populations that are geographically close to one another.

16 Apr 2012

Congressional leaders' budget dispute is a preview to fall elections

Democrats and Republicans in Congress can't agree on a budget, but there's no disagreement about using (Rep. Paul) Ryan's to highlight an election-year divide. ... The debate underscores the broader dispute between the two parties about the role and size of government. From town halls to job fairs to meet-and-greets with voters during Congress' two-week recess, Democrats and Republicans focused on the budget in a preview of the seven-month campaign to November.

16 Apr 2012

Study examines cellular and molecular organization of human and mouse brain

Scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have identified similarities and differences among regions of the human brain, among the brains of human individuals, and between humans and mice by analyzing the expression of approximately 1,000 genes in the brain.

16 Apr 2012

Grants flow from Komen to Planned Parenthood

Grants from the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure are flowing to Planned Parenthood, as the women's health organizations seek to rebuild their relationship after the controversy in February over the breast cancer charity's unsuccessful attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.

16 Apr 2012

UAB receives NIDCR grant to create national dental practice-based research network

Oral health has been called the window to one's overall health, and a new national research effort led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry aims to provide people on the frontline of oral health care - community dentists in private practice - the opportunity to be on the forefront of research that addresses day-to-day issues they face with patients. The effort not only could improve the nation's dental health but its overall health as well.

16 Apr 2012

U.S. halts North Korean food aid after country launches long-range missile

"The U.S. will halt planned shipments of thousands of tons in food aid to North Korea after the reclusive Asian nation's launch of a long-range rocket, two Obama administration officials said," Bloomberg News reports.

16 Apr 2012