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Translating the health law into reality one regulation at a time

Part of implementing the health law includes replacing jargon in health insurance policies with plain English. Meanwhile, the release of a federal mental health parity rule is held up to coordinate it with the overhaul.

16 Mar 2012

PCP signaling restricts neural growth during regeneration, homeostasis and development

The genetic pathway that regulates the way cells align themselves relative to each other has been found to act as a "stop sign" that signals organisms when to halt cell growth, according to new research published by biologists at the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences.

16 Mar 2012

Unconscious racial attitudes affect positive interactions leading to the detriment of patient health

Primary care physicians who hold unconscious racial biases tend to dominate conversations with African-American patients during routine visits, paying less attention to patients' social and emotional needs and making these patients feel less involved in decision making related to their health, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

16 Mar 2012

Older women with mild retinopathy more likely to have cognitive decline and related vascular changes

Women 65 or older who have even mild retinopathy, a disease of blood vessels in the retina, are more likely to have cognitive decline and related vascular changes in the brain, according to a multi-institutional study led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

16 Mar 2012

Promoting women's rights, addressing inequalities essential to AIDS fight

"The Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues (S/GWI) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are committed to advancing the rights and health of women and girls around the world," U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby and Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer write.

16 Mar 2012

Serious climate change-related health problems will affect the world's population

Worldwide increases in the incidences of asthma, allergies, infectious and cardiovascular diseases will result from a variety of impacts of global climate change, including rising temperatures, worsening ozone levels in urban areas, the spread of desertification, and expansions of the ranges of communicable diseases as the planet heats up, the professional organization representing respiratory and airway physicians stated in a new position paper released today.

16 Mar 2012

Epigenetic designer baby may prove to be a non-starter

Epigenetics is the new hip science. Time Magazine's front cover and article, 'Why your DNA isn't your Destiny' from January 2010 explains why. Its more explicit subtitle provided the hook - 'The new science of epigenetics reveals how the choices you make can change your genes - and those of your kids'. Who wouldn't be interested in this?

16 Mar 2012

Joint initiative to support GBV programs with PEPFAR funding

Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby on Monday "announced a joint initiative to provide $4.65 million in small grants to grassroots organizations to address gender-based violence (GBV) issues" through HIV/AIDS programs, according to a State Department press release.

16 Mar 2012

More than 250 Montefiore physicians named Top Doctors by Castle Connolly

More than 250 doctors from Montefiore Medical Center have been named in the Top Doctors: New York Metro Area 2012 guide, by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. The doctors selected were among thousands who had been nominated by their peers and judged on various criteria including medical education, training, hospital appointments and disciplinary histories.

16 Mar 2012

In Congress, a budget battle is brewing

House GOP lawmakers are pushing cuts in the 2013 budget plan that go much deeper than the outline agreed upon last summer as part of a Republican-Democratic deal to raise the debt ceiling.

16 Mar 2012

Leading expert expresses concern about lack of research about home drinking

A leading expert on alcohol abuse has expressed concern about the lack of research about home drinking. Dr John Foster from the University of Greenwich is the first UK researcher to review all the research available about the drinking of alcohol by adults at home.

16 Mar 2012

Are HIPAA rules impeding medical research?

Health records have been sealed since 1996, when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law to protect the privacy of personal health records. That protection applies not only to the charts of the living or recently deceased, but also to records dating to the 1700s and 1800s.

16 Mar 2012

Post-chemotherapy cognitive changes impact lives of Asian breast cancer patients

A recent study by National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers revealed that Asian breast cancer patients who had received or were undergoing chemotherapy treatment showed symptoms of "chemobrain", in which they encounter memory loss, difficulty in decision making and speech problems.

16 Mar 2012

Guidelines for cervical cancer screening revised

The guidelines say that women between 30 and 65 can wait five years between screenings if they get both a Pap test and an HPV test.

16 Mar 2012

Novel sensor selectively screens single molecules passing through nanopores

A novel type of sensor, based on nanometer-scale pores in a semiconductor membrane, is a step closer to practical use in applications such as analyzing the protein contents of a single cell. Researchers pioneering single-molecule nanopore sensor technology at the Technische Universit-t M-nchen (TUM) have shown its potential through a succession of experiments over the past few years.

16 Mar 2012

Medicaid cost-shifting measures move forward in Fla., Wisc.

A controversial measure that would shift $300 million in disputed Medicaid bills to counties has been received by Gov. Rick Scott's office ... If Scott does neither by the March 29 deadline, it becomes law automatically. Counties are lobbying the governor to veto HB 5301, arguing that it will put an undue burden on local governments for Medicaid bills they don't believe they owe.

16 Mar 2012

CCN1 protein orchestrates cellular antiviral response in the extracellular matrix

Brain-tumor cells that are infected with a cancer-killing virus release a protein "alarm bell" that warns other tumor cells of the impending infection and enables them to mount a defense against the virus, according to a study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

16 Mar 2012

Wis., N.H. advance bills limiting abortion coverage, availability

Wisconsin's measure affects insurance coverage while New Hampshire's would require women to wait 24 hours for an abortion.

16 Mar 2012

Eight European research institutes partner to provide training on systemic neuroscience

Eight European research institutes, including Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), and three commercial partners have joined forces in an EU project to provide young academics with an outstanding research environment in the field of systemic neuroscience.

16 Mar 2012

Questions continue about Obama birth control coverage compromise

U.S. Roman Catholic bishops called the Obama administration's pledge to soften an employer birth control mandate "dubious," saying Wednesday they would continue fighting for a broader religious exemption to the rule. ... After meeting in Washington, the top committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said they would "continue to accept any invitation to dialogue with the executive branch to protect the religious freedom that is rightly ours."

16 Mar 2012