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UNICEF issues statement clarifying reports of polio cases in Madagascar

UNICEF released a statement on Tuesday correcting an October 21 report by its office in Madagascar "expressing concern over a resurgence of polio in Madagascar after a routine health survey identified vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) in several healthy children." According to the statement, "there was no re-emergence of polio in Madagascar," and "the last wild poliovirus case in Madagascar was detected in 1997."

27 Oct 2011

Study: pGJA-P/VAX vaccine shows promise against dental caries

In a report on a preclinical investigation titled "Flagellin Enhances Saliva IgA Response and Protection of Anti-caries DNA Vaccine," lead author Wei Shi, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team of researchers demonstrate that anti-caries DNA vaccines, including pGJA-P/VAX, are promising for preventing dental caries. However, challenges remain because of the low immunogenicity of DNA vaccines.

27 Oct 2011

Surgeons freeze organoid units and regenerate TESI for short bowel syndrome

Surgeons at Children's Hospital Los Angeles have conducted a study that could put regenerative tissue treatment for short bowel syndrome one step closer to the bedside. The researchers were able to successfully isolate and store organoid units and later generate tissue-engineered small intestine (TESI) in a mouse model. The groundbreaking results were presented at the 2011 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

27 Oct 2011

Center for Reproductive Rights releases 2011 map of World's Abortion Laws

The Center for Reproductive Rights has released its online World's Abortion Laws map for 2011. The center has produced the map since 1998 "to visually compare the legal status of induced abortion in different countries -- and to advocate for greater progress in ensuring access to safe and legal abortion services for all women worldwide."

27 Oct 2011

Largest study on diabetes and foot ulcers

What's crucial for a diabetic's foot sore to heal is that the ulcer is superficial, blood circulation is normal, and the person has had diabetes for short time. This is shown in the world's largest diabetes study regarding foot ulcers, which has been carried out by the researcher Magdalena Annersten Gerhater at Malmö University in Sweden.

27 Oct 2011

Henry Ford becomes first U.S. hospital to offer skin transplant surgery for vitiligo

Henry Ford Hospital is the first in the country to offer skin transplant surgery as part of its treatment portfolio for patients with the skin disease vitiligo.

27 Oct 2011

Study examines Global Fund's resource allocation decisions for HIV programs

A study published Wednesday in the Journal of the International AIDS Society assessed how the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's "investments in HIV programs were targeted to key populations in relation to disease burden and national income," concluding, "There has been a sustained scale up of the Global Fund's support to HIV programs.

27 Oct 2011

Elan's third quarter total revenue increases 17% to $328.5 million

Elan Corporation, plc today reported its third quarter and first nine months 2011 financial results.

27 Oct 2011

FDA responds to Delcath's request for pre-NDA meeting

Delcath Systems, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has responded to the Company's request made in September for a pre-New Drug Application (NDA) meeting and has scheduled a date in mid-January 2012.

27 Oct 2011

As High Court considers health law challenges, key legal issues take shape

Reuters details a number of the key questions that have surfaced in legal briefs related to the Supreme Court consideration of challenges to the health law. Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in its brief, took a nuanced approach regarding the individual mandate.

27 Oct 2011

Insulin resistance paradox

Obesity and insulin resistance are almost inevitably associated with increases in lipid accumulation in the liver, a serious disease that can deteriorate to hepatitis and liver failure. A real paradox in understanding insulin resistance is figuring out why insulin-resistant livers make more fat. Insulin resistance occurs when the body does a poor job of lowering blood sugars.

27 Oct 2011

New genomic approach can trace food-borne bacteria with unprecedented accuracy

With salmonella-tainted ground turkey sickening more than 100 people and listeria-contaminated cantaloupes killing 15 this year, the ability to detect outbreaks of food-borne illness and determine their sources has become a top public health priority.

27 Oct 2011

Al Jazeera examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan

Al Jazeera examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan, which "remains one of the worst places to be a mother," 10 years after the beginning of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and "despite billions of dollars in aid and considerable progress." In an accompanying video, the news service reports, "One in five children born in Afghanistan dies by the age of five, and the statistics for mothers aren't good either."

27 Oct 2011

Super broccoli on the shelves to protect from heart disease

British scientists unveiled a new breed of broccoli that experts say packs heavy on nutritional values. The new broccoli was specially grown to contain two to three times the normal amount of glucoraphanin, a nutrient believed to help ward off heart disease. Glucoraphanin breaks fat down in the body, preventing it from clogging the arteries.

27 Oct 2011

Drug-resistant infections may not contribute to higher surgical ICU death rates

The rates of antibiotic-resistant infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) have increased over the last decade. But new research from the University of Virginia suggests that surgical ICU death rates may, in fact, be declining and that drug-resistant infections are not likely to be a significant factor in overall mortality rates.

27 Oct 2011

Scientists studying complete genetic profiles of centenarians to find the secret of longevity

Scientists have announced Wednesday that they would examine some of the oldest citizens with one of the newest scientific tools: whole-genome sequencing, the deciphering of a person’s complete collection of DNA. They speculate that DNA from very old healthy people could offer clues to how they lived so long. And that could one day lead to medicines to help people stay disease-free longer.

27 Oct 2011

WSU researcher to learn more about links between stress and drug use

A Wayne State University researcher is using a three-year, $1.55 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health to learn more about the links between stress and drug use by applying behavioral economics.

27 Oct 2011

Survey investigates provider-beneficiary ratio in Medicaid managed care plans

Medicaid managed-care plans reported an average ratio of one primary-care provider for every 584 beneficiaries, according to a recent survey. The newly released results of a February survey from the member plans of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans reported that among the 25 responding health plans the ratio ranged from one primary-care provider for every 53 plan enrollees to 1 provider for each 2,000 patients.

27 Oct 2011

Chest X ray for lung cancer fails to improve survival compared to no screening: Study

This study followed 154,901 participants, about half of whom were women. About 10 percent were current smokers, and the rest were nearly evenly divided between former smokers and people who never smoked. Subjects were either offered a chest X-ray or no screening at all.

27 Oct 2011

CT scans can help detect COPD among men smokers

Among men who were current or former heavy smokers, undergoing lung cancer screening with computed tomography (CT) scanning identified a substantial proportion who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), suggesting that this method may be helpful as an additional tool in detecting COPD, according to a study in the October 26 issue of JAMA.

27 Oct 2011