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Global malaria R&D funding has received sustained growth, report says

"Annual funding for research and development (R&D) in the fight against malaria has quadrupled over 16 years, generating the strongest pipeline of potential treatments in history, according to a report on Tuesday," Reuters reports.

30 Jun 2011

Researchers discover Foxj1 genetic 'conductor' responsible for new brain cell production

A team of North Carolina State University researchers has discovered more about how a gene connected to the production of new brain cells in adults does its job. Their findings could pave the way to new therapies for brain injury or disease.

30 Jun 2011

Federal appeals court in Cincinnati upholds health law

"A federal appeals court in Cincinnati on Wednesday upheld the health-care law passed by Congress last year, saying the law's requirement for most Americans to carry insurance or pay a penalty is constitutional. The vote was 2-1 on the three-judge panel on the key question of whether the insurance requirement exceeded Congress's powers under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The majority concluded that it did not".

30 Jun 2011

Research raises questions about some generic epilepsy drugs

Generic anti-epilepsy drugs, pharmaceutical products similar to brand-name versions, save consumers billions of dollars each year, but some are different enough from branded formulations that they may not be effective, particularly if patients switch between two generic drugs, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests. A report on the study, published online and in an upcoming issue of Annals of Neurology, raises questions about whether some generic products are safe and effective when a narrow dose range separates patients from help and harm.

30 Jun 2011

Brain stem cells shown to generate multiple new brain stem cells

A Johns Hopkins team has discovered in young adult mice that a lone brain stem cell is capable not only of replacing itself and giving rise to specialized neurons and glia – important types of brain cells – but also of taking a wholly unexpected path: generating two new brain stem cells.

30 Jun 2011

Surgical complications much more likely in obese patients

Obese patients are nearly 12 times more likely to suffer a complication following elective plastic surgery than their normal-weight counterparts, according to new research by Johns Hopkins scientists.

30 Jun 2011

Coffee protects against Alzheimer's disease

The study appears online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, was in mice whose DNA had been tweaked to contain a human Alzheimer’s gene. Just like humans with familial Alzheimer’s, these mice become increasingly forgetful as they age. It was seen that the equivalent of four to five cups of caffeinated coffee every few days led to much improved memories in the Alzheimer’s mice, says study co-author Gary Arendash, a scientist at the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Tampa.

30 Jun 2011

Rinderpest - fatal animal disease eradicated

Rinderpest, German for cattle plague, has finally met its match and does not exist anymore. It is the first animal disease to be eradicated and only the second disease ever, after smallpox in 1980. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization declared Tuesday that the world was rid of Rinderpest.

30 Jun 2011

New classification for assessing functional status and disability in patients with osteoporosis

A new study brings the experience of physical therapists to a developing "Core Set" of criteria to guide evaluation and treatment for patients with osteoporosis, reports the April/June issue of the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, official journal of the Section on Geriatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association.

30 Jun 2011

Obama health insurance plans upheld at the Appeals court

President Obama's healthcare make over plans sailed through its first hurdle at the federal appellate court, as the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati concluded that the law's insurance requirement is constitutional.

30 Jun 2011

Deworm the World updates website

Deworm the World on Tuesday unveiled a new website, which "is now more interactive and more suited to feature deworming programs around the world," according to End The Neglect blog.

30 Jun 2011

Text messages help smokers quit: Study

A behavioral study has found that motivational text messages sent to smokers' mobile phones can double their chances of giving up tobacco. The “txt2stop” trial at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and funded by the Medical Research Council tested the effects of inspirational text messages designed to encourage quitting on almost 3,000 smokers. Participants were twice as likely to banish their habit as another group sent texts unrelated to smoking.

30 Jun 2011

Energy density, portion size and eating occasions contribute to obesity epidemic in the U.S.

Over the past 30 years U.S. adults have been eating larger portions and eating more often, according to a new study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers.

30 Jun 2011

Non-smoking women more likely to be obese: Study

According to the latest research non-smoking women are more likely to be obese and die of associated illnesses than those who smoke. About 8,000 women were recruited to the Renfrew and Paisley study from 1972 to 1976. Of these, 40% had never smoked.

30 Jun 2011

Christie signs law to cut health benefits; Conn.'s Malloy also seeks trims

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has approved broad cuts to health benefits for the state's 750,000 government workers. The new law requires state and local employees and retirees to pay a much bigger share of their health insurance costs and eliminates their right to collective bargaining on health issues.

30 Jun 2011

EHRA, Cardiostim partner to develop common scientific programme committee

EHRA-Europace and Cardiostim, Europe's leading congresses in "electrophysiology" and the treatment of heart rhythm disorders have formed a strategic alliance to ensure the development from year to year of a homogeneous congress programme devised under the direction of a common scientific committee.

30 Jun 2011

100 million Americans suffer pain - many in silence

According to a report released by the Institute of Medicine Wednesday, nearly a third of Americans experience long-lasting pain and too often feel stigma rather than relief from a health care system poorly prepared to treat them. Chronic pain is costing the nation at least $558 billion a year in medical bills, sick days and lost productivity, the report found. That's more than the cost of heart disease, the top killer.

30 Jun 2011