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Japan makes largest-ever contribution to Global Fund

Japan on Monday provided a $340 million contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, "the highest amount that Japan has ever made in 10 years of vigorous support for the Global Fund," according to a fund press release.

16 Mar 2012

Less than 2% of low-income moms meet their own goals for breastfeeding duration

Less than 2 percent of low-income mothers met breastfeeding recommendations in a recent study - a drastic decline compared with a more affluent population - and a lack of support and available resources appears to play a key role.

16 Mar 2012

IPS explores challenges to providing family planning services in Cote d'Ivoire

Inter Press Service explores how patriarchal tradition, cultural values, low government health spending, and a lack of access to supplies and education pose challenges to women who wish to obtain family planning services in Cote d'Ivoire.

16 Mar 2012

NEJM publishes results from Teva's laquinimod Phase III study on RRMS

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech today announced the publication of results from the laquinimod Phase III ALLEGRO study in the March 15 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

16 Mar 2012

What's in store at the Supreme Court

News outlets report on the issues in play when the high court hears the health law oral arguments later this month, how particular justices might form their opinions and lay out the new, all-or-nothing position adopted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

16 Mar 2012

New textbook about child and adolescent behavioral health, primary care

Within the health care system, children and adolescents with mental health and psychiatric conditions often go undiagnosed.

16 Mar 2012

S.C. won't have to refund health insurance exchange grant, other exchange news

South Carolina won't have to refund the federal government a $1 million grant it received even though the state decided to not create a health insurance exchange. Mississippi and California, in the meantime, are moving along on creating such marketplaces, despite differing views on the health law.

16 Mar 2012

Childhood passive smoke exposure doubles risk of COPD in adulthood

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that children who are exposed to passive smoke have almost double the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adulthood compared with non-exposed children.

16 Mar 2012

New payment methods squeezing doctors

As the government and insurers push to switch from traditional fee-for-service payments, doctors scramble to find ways to keep practices afloat.

16 Mar 2012

Adverse drug reactions could be avoided among adult hospital and emergency patients

Close to half of adverse reactions to medicines among adult hospital and emergency patients could be avoided, shows a study from the Nordic School of Public Health NHV.

16 Mar 2012

ARV given to HIV-positive children boosts preventive power of key malaria drug, study shows

An antiretroviral (ARV) drug given to HIV-positive children "can boost the preventive power of a key malaria drug," according to a study conducted in Uganda and presented last week at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, ScienceNow reports.

16 Mar 2012

Introducing art into nursing care improves stroke survivors' QOL

Stroke survivors who like art have a significantly higher quality of life than those who do not, according to new research. Patients who appreciated music, painting and theatre recovered better from their stroke than patients who did not.

16 Mar 2012

Delayed response to food crisis, pipeline constraints leave thousands without food aid in Chad

"Late Chadian government recognition of a food crisis, a slow build-up from aid agencies, and severe pipeline constraints due to closed Libyan and Nigerian borders mean food aid has not yet arrived in Chad, despite many thousands of people having already run out of food," IRIN reports.

16 Mar 2012

Experts highlight latest advances in use of biomarkers in various diseases

Over the last few decades there has been an explosion in the discovery of biomarkers for diagnosis, disease monitoring, and prognostic evaluation. In the April issue of Translational Research, entitled "Biomarkers: New Tools of Modern Medicine," an international group of medical experts explores the promise and challenges of biomarker discovery and highlights the latest advances in the use of biomarkers in various diseases.

16 Mar 2012

Individuals' views on health law form hopes, predictions about the Supreme Court's decision

New polls from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Bloomberg explore what the public expects of the high court's proceedings.

16 Mar 2012

Positive correlation between working memory and mind wandering

Odds are, you're not going to make it all the way through this article without thinking about something else. In fact, studies have found that our minds are wandering half the time, drifting off to thoughts unrelated to what we're doing - did I remember to turn off the light? What should I have for dinner? A new study investigating the mental processes underlying a wandering mind reports a role for working memory, a sort of a mental workspace that allows you to juggle multiple thoughts simultaneously.

16 Mar 2012

Romney's opponents attack him on Massachusetts health law and Planned Parenthood statement

The Massachusetts health law, which GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney signed while governor and which includes an individual mandate, continues to haunt him in the primaries. Meanwhile, Democrats use his recent pledge to 'get rid of' Planned Parenthood to diminish his appeal with female voters.

16 Mar 2012

AACN to recognize unique contributions of certified nurses on March 19

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) joins with hospitals and other healthcare groups across the country Monday, March 19, to recognize the unique contributions of certified nurses as part of Certified Nurses Day.

16 Mar 2012

Progress in AIDS fight must be an impetus for increasing investment, sustaining advancements in Africa

In this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe examines the role of the fight against AIDS in sustaining economic and social development in Africa. "Africa is breaking records," he writes, noting the economic growth, increased access to information, a rise in democracy, a decline in poverty, increased school enrollment -- especially for girls -- and a decline in AIDS-related deaths on the continent.

16 Mar 2012

CYFRA reliable marker for response to chemotherapy for NSCLC

Researchers found that CYFRA and change in levels of CYFRA were found to be reliable markers for response to chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a study of 88 patients. Research presented in the April 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows that this marker can be used to determine whether or not a patient should continue a particular chemotherapy regimen.

16 Mar 2012