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Rocking allows for better sleep – even in insomniac adults!

A new study shows that people tend to sleep faster and even achieve better quality sleep if they are gently swayed. The findings may explain why parents instinctively rock babies to sleep, and why we find it so easy to nod off when slumped in a rocking chair, they add

21 Jun 2011

Fluorescent signature discovery helps identify parathyroid glands during endocrine surgery

The parathyroid glands - four small organs the size of grains of rice located at the back of the throat - glow with a natural fluorescence in the near infrared region of the spectrum.

21 Jun 2011

First Australian clinic to exclusively diagnose and treat fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Australia will soon have its first screening and diagnostic service for children with alcohol-related birth defects. The service is being set up by The Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney amid concerns that thousands of Australian children are suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The disorders are triggered in unborn babies exposed to alcohol consumed by their mothers and are the most common, preventable cause of disabilities and brain damage in children.

21 Jun 2011

New anti-abuse formulation of painkiller Oxycodone

It has come to health officials’ attention nationwide that there is a serious rise of abuse of painkillers, especially opioids. Federal officials recently stepped up plans to monitor frequent prescribers and users.

21 Jun 2011

Nearly 20% medical claims processed inaccurately says the AMA annual report

According to a statement from the American Medical Association (AMA), health insurance companies are inaccurately processing nearly one in five medical claims, slowing payments to doctors and adding bureaucratic headaches to patients.

21 Jun 2011

Crime for the sake of prison health care

In a bizarre case, 59-year-old Richard James Verone was jailed in Gastonia, N.C., on charges of larceny after allegedly robbing an RBC Bank for $1 so he could get health care in prison. He had handed a female teller a note demanding the money and claiming that he had a gun, according to the police report. He proceeded to wait for the police right there.

21 Jun 2011

Study finds improvement in quality of health care for minority stroke patients

After years of research have shown that minorities do not receive the same quality of health care as whites do, a new study suggests there has been some improvement in reducing the gap, at least for stroke patients.

21 Jun 2011

Strengthen monitoring and surveillance of malaria in pregnancy interventions

"The time of neglecting malaria in pregnancy (MIP) should be over," Bill Brieger, senior malaria specialist at JHPIEGO, writes in a Malaria Matters blog post summarizing a session on malaria and maternal health at the recently concluded Global Health Council annual conference.

21 Jun 2011

California-born Asian and Pacific Islander women face higher risks of breast cancer

Young Asian and Pacific Islander women born in California have higher risks of breast cancer than young white women, and some groups, including Filipinas, might have higher risks than African-Americans, according to a new study that challenges the perception that these women are at a much lower risk of breast cancer than white women.

21 Jun 2011

Pakistan facing challenging TB epidemic

Pakistan has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis (TB) in the world, with nearly 70,000 TB-related deaths each year, Al-Jazeera English reports.

21 Jun 2011

FDA's draft guidance document addresses artificial pancreas system for type 1 diabetes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued draft guidance that will help advance the development and approval of an artificial pancreas system to treat type 1 diabetes in the United States.

21 Jun 2011

Government and private sector must work together on HIV vaccine

The success of antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS "has fooled us into believing HIV is under control. It is not. … The fact remains that no sexually acquired infection has ever been controlled in democratic societies except by vaccines," Lawrence Corey, president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and principal investigator of the international HIV Vaccine Trials Network, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

21 Jun 2011

HSS orthopedic surgeon earns recognition for research on metabolic bone disease

Joseph M. Lane, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon nationally recognized for his work in metabolic bone disease, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the hospital's 28th Annual Tribute Dinner on Monday, June 20, for his innovative research on bone disease and the use of bisphosphonates in treating osteoporosis. Brian Williams, anchor of Nightly News on NBC, will serve as toastmaster.

21 Jun 2011

Hybrid model for hospital supply chains

University of Cincinnati analysis of hospital supply chains - how hospitals stock nursing stations with the hundreds of medicines, materials and even office supplies needed - holds promise in helping to make supply and re-supply efforts leaner and more cost effective.

21 Jun 2011

Experts discuss NCDs ahead of U.N. meeting

In a post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog, Krysten Carrera, a Presidential Management Fellow in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, discusses why non-communicable diseases "represent an urgent and growing threat to global public health".

21 Jun 2011

Neuroscientists to discuss future of mental health treatments at NCDEU meeting

More than 1,000 of the world's leading neuroscientists gathered this week at the 51st Annual NCDEU Meeting to discuss the future of mental health treatments.

21 Jun 2011

University of Helsinki psychiatric professor to receive Nordic Public Health Prize 2011

The Nordic Public Health Prize 2011 will be awarded to Professor of Psychiatry Jouko Lönnqvist for his internationally acclaimed research on the causes, spread and prevention of mental illness at population- and individual level.

21 Jun 2011

Little-noticed change could cause higher costs for out-of-network care

Consumers know they will have to pay out of their pockets if they use medical providers outside their insurers' networks. But because of a little-noticed change, they may find themselves with even bigger bills than they expect.

21 Jun 2011

Lorcaserin Phase 3 trial data on type 2 diabetes to be presented at ADA 2011

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eisai Inc. announced today that lorcaserin data from the Phase 3 BLOOM-DM trial will be presented in poster sessions at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) 71st Scientific Sessions in San Diego, California.

21 Jun 2011

Michelle Obama heads to Africa

"U.S. first lady Michelle Obama left for Africa on Sunday, embarking on her second official solo journey abroad with a goal of advancing U.S. policies on education, health, and democracy," Reuters reports. Obama is due to arrive in South Africa on Monday, "where she will make stops in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Later in the week she will visit Botswana," the news service notes.

21 Jun 2011