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First Edition: September 2, 2011

On Kaiser Health News' blog, staff writer Julie Appleby writes: "Insurers who offer 'association health plans,' which are often sold through trade groups or other organizations of affiliated members, will face the same scrutiny of premium rate hikes as other types of insurance, federal officials said Thursday."

2 Sep 2011

Tips for parents to identify children with vision problems

Nearly 80 percent of what a child learns during their first 12 years is obtained through their vision. Though vision problems may seem easy to identify, they actually can be difficult for parents to discern. Still, parents need to be attentive since vision disorders are the fourth-most-common disability in children in the U.S.

2 Sep 2011

Chromatin might have another life as direct signaling molecule

Chromatin - the intertwined histone proteins and DNA that make up chromosomes - constantly receives messages that pour in from a cell's intricate signaling networks: Turn that gene on. Stifle that one. But chromatin also talks back, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report today in the journal Cell, issuing orders affecting a protein that has nothing to do with chromatin's central role in gene transcription - the first step in protein formation.

2 Sep 2011

PSTD expert available to discuss psychological effects on Ground Zero survivors, first responders

As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center terrorist assault approaches, Anand Pandya, MD, a psychiatrist who worked with families and first responders in New York City immediately after the attack, is available to discuss the psychological effects on Ground Zero survivors, first responders and Americans in general.

2 Sep 2011

New genetic screening program for families at high risk of colorectal cancer

UT Southwestern Medical Center has developed a new lifesaving genetic screening program for families at high risk of contracting colorectal cancer, a deadly yet highly preventable form of cancer.

2 Sep 2011

SAMHSA awards $12.2M in grants to train behavioral health care providers

Five minority fellowship program grants are being awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for a total of up to $12.2 million. These three-year grants will be used to train a new wave of behavioral health care providers. The program focuses on increasing the number of culturally competent behavioral health professionals available in underserved racially and ethnically diverse communities.

2 Sep 2011

Pemetrexed treatment produces better outcomes in ALK-translocated NSCLC patients

Patients with ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) responded significantly better to pemetrexed than patients whose cancer did not show ALK translocation, according to research published in the September issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

2 Sep 2011

UVA researchers develop 3-D model to visualize early growth of human breast tissue

University of Virginia researchers have developed a revolutionary three-dimensional model that allows them to visualize how breast tissue grows in its earliest stages, giving them the closest look ever at the very beginnings of breast cancer.

2 Sep 2011

Returning service members at risk of depression, relationship distress

Returning service members are at a greater risk of both depressive symptoms and relationship distress, and research shows the two often go together, says University of Illinois researcher Leanne Knobloch. That's not a good thing, since someone suffering from depressive symptoms "really needs the support of their romantic partner."

2 Sep 2011

Increasing trust in neighbors associated with better self-reported health

Here's an easy way to improve your health: trust your neighbors. A new study from the University of Missouri shows that increasing trust in neighbors is associated with better self-reported health.

2 Sep 2011

Practice on virtual reality system may enhance surgical skills

A task simulator with 3D and tactile feedback can provide neurosurgeons in training with valuable practice in developing essential surgical skills, suggests a study in the September issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

2 Sep 2011

African-Americans even outside 'stroke belt' face higher risk of death

African-Americans and country folk outside the so-called "stroke belt" are at higher risk for stroke death than other populations, a large new study finds.

2 Sep 2011

Cardin is 'optimistic' that 'super committee' will fix SGR

Sen. Ben Cardin said Wednesday he is optimistic that the super committee will fix the Sustainable Growth Rate formula. "We have to start with a realistic budget baseline," the Maryland Democrat told about 500 National Institutes of Health employees at a town hall meeting on the agency's main campus in Bethesda, Md. Repealing the SGR is estimated to cost about $350 billion over the next decade, but wouldn't have to be offset to meet the super committee's goal of $1.2 trillion if the Bowles-Simpson baseline is used, Cardin said.

2 Sep 2011

Hospitals with higher surgical volumes less likely to cause unintentional serious injuries

Are you scheduled for heart bypass surgery or weight loss surgery? You might want to find out just how frequently different hospitals in your area are performing those procedures before deciding where to go. A new study finds that hospitals with higher surgical volumes for certain procedures are less likely to cause unintentional serious injuries to hospitalized patients when compared to those hospitals that perform the procedures less often.

2 Sep 2011

SuperGen is now Astex Pharmaceuticals

SuperGen, Inc., a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel cancer therapies, announced it anticipates that it will begin operating under the name Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on September 12, 2011.

2 Sep 2011

September issue of JACR summarizes methods for radiation dose optimization in chest CT scans

An article in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology summarizes methods for radiation dose optimization in chest computed tomography (CT) scans.

2 Sep 2011

New IDSA/PIDS guidelines can thwart pneumonia in children

Immunizations, including a yearly flu vaccine, are the best way to protect children from life-threatening pneumonia, according to new guidelines from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

2 Sep 2011

Short-term glucocorticoid treatment may prevent osteoarthritis after joint injury

Joint injury can result in irreversible damage of cartilage which, despite treatment and surgery, often eventually leads to osteoarthritis (OA) in later life. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy demonstrates that short term treatment of damaged cartilage with glucocorticoids can reduce long term degenerative changes and may provide hope for prevention of OA after injury.

2 Sep 2011

Neutrophils linked to growth and spread of cancer

Scripps Research Professor James Quigley, Staff Scientist Elena Deryugina, and colleagues had previously demonstrated that white blood cells known as neutrophils—bone marrow-derived cells that function as "first responders" at sites of acute inflammation—promote the growth of new blood vessels in normal, healthy tissue.

2 Sep 2011

Rapid sideline visual test effectively detects concussions in collegiate athletes

A sideline visual test effectively detected concussions in collegiate athletes, according to a team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

2 Sep 2011