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Nation's health care tab continues to grow

The nation's health care tab is on track to hit $4.6 trillion in 2020, accounting for about $1 of every $5 in the economy, government number crunchers estimate in a report out Thursday. How much is that? Including government and private money, health care spending in 2020 will average $13,710 for every man, woman and child, says Medicare's Office of the Actuary.

29 Jul 2011

Time Temp Trac system can aid in successful conservation of stored blood

Human blood is a precious resource. Because stored blood has a very limited shelf life, keeping every available unit of it suitable for medical use is a crucial function at hospitals and other health care facilities - especially during supply shortages such as those currently being experienced in the Triad, other parts of North Carolina and numerous sections of the country.

29 Jul 2011

Health law challenge inches toward Supreme Court

The Supreme Court was asked on Wednesday to hear a challenge to the health care overhaul law, raising the possibility that the justices could rule on the matter by next summer, just months before the presidential election.

29 Jul 2011

Houston-based Mattress Firm commits to support pancreatic cancer research

Mattress Firm, a leading specialty mattress retailer with more than 720 stores nationwide, is committed to supporting the fight against pancreatic cancer by raising funds for clinical trials through the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) globalCure initiative.

29 Jul 2011

U.N. officials reiterate clean drinking water and sanitation are human rights issues

One year after the U.N. General Assembly "adopted a resolution declaring that safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right," top U.N. officials on Wednesday "stressed the need to realize the human right to water and sanitation, stating that it is critical not only to a life of dignity but also to achieving progress in the areas such as poverty reduction, boosting child health and combating diseases," the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Jul 2011

Bone fluoride levels are not associated with osteosarcoma: Study

A new study in the Journal of Dental Research finds bone fluoride levels are not associated with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer more prevalent in males.

29 Jul 2011

Conference to discuss latest advances in brain tumours by non-surgical means, space science

The latest advances in the treatment of brain tumours by non-surgical means, space science and non-fossil fuel energy generation, are among the topics being discussed by over 500 international scientists at Queen's University this week.

29 Jul 2011

Expert offers air quality control tips

A mold count of more than 50,000 has triggered an alert for dangerous air quality throughout the Midwest . The Midwest experienced a record-breaking winter for snow, and is again setting new records for heat and rain.

29 Jul 2011

Book examines impact of new racial science

In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called BiDil as a therapy for heart failure specifically for African-American patients, claiming in a press release that this was a step toward personalized medicine.

29 Jul 2011

Senate Foreign Relations Committee introduces foreign relations authorization act for FY12-13

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry released a bill on Wednesday that would authorize FY12 and FY13 funding for the State Department and foreign operations, as well as key programs and initiatives, Foreign Policy's blog "The Cable" reports.

29 Jul 2011

UMMS announces two-year contract to provide newborn screening services in Maine

The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) today announced a new two-year contract to continue to provide newborn screening services to the state of Maine.

29 Jul 2011

Antioxidants may help treat infertility problems in both women and men

A growing body of evidence suggests that antioxidants may have significant value in addressing infertility issues in both women and men, including erectile dysfunction, and researchers say that large, specific clinical studies are merited to determine how much they could help.

29 Jul 2011

Combination drug regimen safe and effective for renal transplant patients

For the thousands of patients who receive kidney transplants in the United States each year, preventing organ rejection without compromising other aspects of health requires a delicate balance of medications.

29 Jul 2011

High fructose corn syrup consumption may promote heart disease

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that adults who consumed high fructose corn syrup for two weeks as 25 percent of their daily calorie requirement had increased blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, which have been shown to be indicators of increased risk for heart disease.

29 Jul 2011

U.S. foreign policy should promote healthy women

"When women are healthy and empowered, they can spark a ripple effect in their families, communities and nations that can lead to lower rates of poverty and stronger economic growth and productivity," Tamara Kreinin, executive director of women and population at the United Nations Foundation, writes in a "RH Reality Check" blog post.

29 Jul 2011

Ivabradine effective in reducing risk of cardiac fibrosis, diastolic heart failure

The findings of a Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) study published in the scientific journal Cardiology suggest that ivabradine, a heart rate reduction medication, is also effective in reducing the risk of diastolic heart failure and cardiac fibrosis.

29 Jul 2011

Researchers receive federal grant to improve diabetes management in minority patients

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy and College of Medicine have received a $3 million federal grant to improve diabetes management in minority patients.

29 Jul 2011

New early warning system could avert bridge disasters

Millions of U.S. drivers cross faulty or obsolete bridges every day, highway statistics show, but it's too costly to fix all these spans or adequately monitor their safety, says a University of Maryland researcher who's developed a new, affordable early warning system.

29 Jul 2011

Education can help alleviate 'brain drain' of African health workers

In a post on the New York Time's "On the Ground" blog, Rwanda Works Director Josh Ruxin writes about two Rwandan cousins who are "fighting the international brain-drain trend that is dangerously affecting medicine in the developing world, and have committed themselves to building local medical capacity in their native country" by establishing a university and medical school, called the Kigali Medical.

29 Jul 2011

NIH selects Viamet's novel antifungal compound for inclusion in the TRND program

Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that one of its novel antifungal compounds has been selected for inclusion in the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program.

29 Jul 2011