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State news: Texas pharmacies fear lower Medicaid fees

In Rio Grande City, Rene Martinez's Starr Pharmacy has one line for Medicaid patients and another for non-Medicaid patients. On some days, most of his clients can be found waiting on the Medicaid line, a testament to the importance of that federal-state health insurance program in this poor city along the Texas-Mexico border - and to Mr. Martinez's bottom line.

15 Oct 2011

Scientists uncover vast new gene regulatory network linked with cancer

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and two other institutions have uncovered a vast new gene regulatory network in mammalian cells that could explain genetic variability in cancer and other diseases.

15 Oct 2011

Penn Nursing encourages kids to ward off diabetes with 'Dance for Health'

With more than 18 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes, Terri Lipman, PhD, CRNP, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, encourages kids to ward off the disease with "Dance for Health."

15 Oct 2011

Forum focuses on challenges facing women, girls affected by HIV in Eastern Europe, Central Asia

"Women, girls and HIV were the focus of a panel discussion on the final day of the International Forum on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia," UNAIDS reports.

15 Oct 2011

Watson confirms patent challenge of generic Daytrana

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval to market Methylphenidate Transdermal System, 10 mg/9 hrs, 15 mg/9 hrs, 20 mg/9 hrs, and 30 mg/9 hrs.

15 Oct 2011

Delayed appendectomies may increase likelihood of complications in children

An in-hospital delay of appendicitis treatment beyond two days was linked to an increased likelihood of complications, including perforation and abscess formation; longer hospitalization; increased costs; and more rarely, death, according an abstract presented Saturday, Oct. 15 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

15 Oct 2011

House approves bill to block abortion coverage

The measure, which among other things would ban women from using the health law's tax subsidies to purchase health insurance that includes abortion coverage, is unlikely to be considered in the Democratic-led Senate and has recieved a veto threat from President Barack Obama.

15 Oct 2011

Racial disparities in cranial CT scan use for children with minor head trauma

African-American and Hispanic children are less likely to receive a cranial computed tomography (CT) scan in an emergency department (ED) following minor head trauma than white children, according to an abstract presented Friday, Oct. 14 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

15 Oct 2011

U.N. Secretary-General calls for continued support of women's, children's health in developing countries

"Developing countries are making efforts to improve the health of women and children but more needs to be done, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said" at an awards ceremony in New York, United Press International reports. "'As of today, more than 60 countries have committed to step up efforts to improve women and children's health,' Ban said," the news agency writes.

15 Oct 2011

Brain scans can evaluate new treatments for attention deficit disorder

Scientists have developed a way to evaluate new treatments for some forms of attention deficit disorder. Working in mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that they can use brain scans to quickly test whether drugs increase levels of a brain chemical known as dopamine.

15 Oct 2011

Overweight children more likely to develop asthma

Asthma is considered one of the main causes of school absenteeism and its prevalence has risen in the last decades. Overweight children have been shown to have double the frequency of asthma than that of non-obese children.

15 Oct 2011

Health groups urge Secretary of U.S. Army to sustain funding for military HIV research program

"Speaking out against a potential $16 million cut in the Army's base research and development budget for HIV, leaders of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) sent a letter Thursday to the Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, making the case for sustaining the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP)," according to the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog.

15 Oct 2011

Experts to discuss current challenges in pediatric palliative care

In a two-hour seminar at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in Boston, experts will discuss current challenges in this growing field, including building partnerships between hospitals, pediatricians and hospice services, and how to improve funding to promote better quality of care.

15 Oct 2011

ABI provides clinical update on company activities

Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (ABI) today provided an update on company activities.

15 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: 'Killing' Medicaid; medicine for mentally ill; 'outrageous' veto of mammogram bill in Calif.

Even as it vigorously defends the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the Obama administration may be complicit in eviscerating Medicaid - and setting back the broader goal of ensuring that all Americans have access to quality health care.

15 Oct 2011

HHWC medical doctors provide insight into depression

A staggering 230 million antidepressant prescriptions are filled each year. Yet the face of depression does not always fit the mold: a successful career, loving spouse, wonderful children, seemingly good health and finances. From the outside life appears perfect, so why are Americans depressed?

15 Oct 2011

Scientists reveal how resistance to hormone leptin develops

The effects of obesity - both on our bodies and on the health budget - are well known, and now, scientists are getting closer to understanding how the disease progresses, providing clues for future treatments.

15 Oct 2011

Sex differences in heart disease

Heart disease affects men and women in different ways. In women, symptoms of burgeoning heart disease are often more insidious, but when a heart attack strikes, it is more lethal than it is in men. Roughly 25 percent of men will die within a year of their first heart attack, but among women, 38 percent will die. Women are twice as likely as men to have a second heart attack within 6 years of their first one, and women are twice as likely as men to die after bypass surgery.

15 Oct 2011

Brain stem cell treatment for multiple sclerosis

The prospect of doing human clinical trials with stem cells to treat diseases like multiple sclerosis may be growing closer, say scientists at the University at Buffalo and the University at Rochester, who have developed a more precise way to isolate stem cells that will make myelin.

15 Oct 2011

U.S., South Korea continue to delay food aid to North Korea despite 'proven' ability to monitor food distribution

In this Christian Science Monitor opinion piece, Jim White, vice president of operations at Mercy Corps, and Matt Ellingson, director of program development at Samaritan's Purse, who "co-led a team from five U.S.-based aid organizations that traveled to North Korea to deliver flood relief supplies" last month, ask why the U.S. and South Korea continue to delay food aid to North Koreans affected by the country's food crisis despite the fact that "aid groups have a proven ability to monitor the way food is distributed in North Korea."

15 Oct 2011