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PlusNews examines challenges to Burundi's PMTCT program

"A shortage of health facilities and health workers, frequent drug shortages and a weak government policy mean HIV-positive pregnant women in Burundi often give birth without taking any precautions to prevent transmission of the virus to their children," PlusNews reports.

16 Aug 2011

Study confirms that vitamin D deficiency increases aggressiveness of colon cancer

A study conducted by VHIO researchers confirms that a lack of vitamin D increases the aggressiveness of colon cancer.

16 Aug 2011

Study unveils remarkable ecological advantages of well-balanced diet

If you want to protect the environment, you should first of all think about eating less meat. A study done at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) unveils the remarkable ecological advantages of a well-balanced diet. Switching to organic food is less effective than eating more veg.

16 Aug 2011

East African profiles new GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley

The East African profiles Seth Berkley, the new CEO of the GAVI Alliance and founder and former CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

16 Aug 2011

Gene therapy cocktail can treat inherited diseases with 'misfolded' proteins

In a kind of molecular gymnastics, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have devised a gene therapy cocktail that has the potential to treat some inherited diseases associated with "misfolded" proteins.

16 Aug 2011

A call for safer birth practices in Timor-Leste

Cassandra Clifford, founder and executive director of Bridge to Freedom Foundation, calls for safer birth practices in Timor-Leste in this Aid Netherlands blog post.

16 Aug 2011

Pfizer, QIAGEN partner to develop diagnostic-therapeutic combination for NSCLC

QIAGEN today announced it has entered into a partnership with Pfizer Inc. for the development of a companion molecular diagnostic test for use with an investigational Pfizer compound in global clinical development for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 16 Aug 2011

Bachmann victory, Pawlenty dropout could alter GOP health care tone

Pawlenty "launched his campaign with high hopes, some of the top campaign talent in the Republican Party and perhaps the best organization in Iowa, which will start the nominating process early next year at its caucuses.

16 Aug 2011

Study explores how some cognitive strategies and abilities boost self-efficacy

Sticking with an exercise routine means being able to overcome the obstacles that invariably arise. A key to success is having the confidence that you can do it, researchers report. A new study explores how some cognitive strategies and abilities increase this "situation-specific self-confidence," a quality the researchers call "self-efficacy."

16 Aug 2011

Patient information-sharing network under development by VA, Defense

The Washington Post reports on how this emerging electronic health record system is impacting the marketplace. In other Health IT news, the Twin Cities' market appears to be full of "early adopters" of online care services, according to the Pioneer Press.

16 Aug 2011

Researchers identify oncoprotein that allows MCV virus to trigger Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) have identified the oncoprotein that allows a common and usually harmless virus to transform healthy cells into a rare but deadly skin cancer called Merkel Cell Carcinoma.

16 Aug 2011

Advanced MRI techniques can identify early OA

Researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center's Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Radiology found that advanced MRI techniques can be used to detect subtle changes in joint cartilage microstructure - and provide physicians a diagnostic tool for finding key markers of early osteoarthritis.

16 Aug 2011

Study suggests link between pre-pregnancy obesity and asthma symptoms in teen children

Mums who are overweight or obese when they become pregnant may be programming their children to have asthma-like respiratory symptoms during adolescence, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

16 Aug 2011

Customized computer models may identify patients at risk of Lynch syndrome

People who are at risk for a certain form of colon and other types of cancer may soon have a better chance at surviving or even avoiding the diseases, thanks to a new study done by the Intermountain Clinical Genetics Institute at LDS Hospital.

16 Aug 2011

As international affairs budget faces cuts, development community must fight for aid

In the wake of the agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling, and "with 20 percent cuts already on the table, the international affairs budget is in for a tough fight throughout the fall," Richard Parker, director of communications for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, writes in a post on Devex's "Obama's Foreign Aid Reform" blog.

16 Aug 2011

Scientists identify potential new target for childhood eye tumor

A research team led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified a potential new target for treatment of the childhood eye tumor retinoblastoma.

16 Aug 2011

Tel Aviv University scientists work to determine how H1N1 becomes pandemic

The last century has seen two major pandemics caused by the H1N1 virus - the Spanish Flu in 1918 and 2009's Swine Flu scare, which had thousands travelling with surgical masks and clamoring for vaccination. But scientists did not know what distinguished the Swine Flu from ordinary influenza in pigs or seasonal outbreaks in humans, giving it the power to travel extensively and infect large populations.

16 Aug 2011

Prolonged TV viewing linked with reduced life expectancy

Watching TV for an average of six hours a day could shorten the viewer's life expectancy by almost five years, indicates research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

16 Aug 2011

Pericardial fat may promote atherosclerosis

Researchers have found more evidence supporting the role of fat around the heart in promoting atherosclerosis, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology.

16 Aug 2011

Latest health law decision adds momentum as challenges move toward Supreme Court

In one of the main legal challenges against the health care reform passed last year, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta declared the law's "individual mandate" unconstitutional, calling it an "unprecedented exercise of congressional power."

16 Aug 2011