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Health insurance costs rise sharply for unemployed as COBRA subsidy ends

Kaiser Health News staff writers Andrew Villegas and Phil Galewitz, writing in collaboration with USA Today, report on the status of health insurance assistance for the unemployed: "Jennifer Richards of Park Ridge, Ill., is angry that her family's monthly health insurance bill tripled in August to $1,250 after her husband lost his job and health benefits. But as bad as that is, what really upsets her is the inaction of Congress"

19 Aug 2010

Unavoidable breakdowns in brain connections as we age: Study

It's unavoidable: breakdowns in brain connections slow down our physical response times as we age, a new study suggests.

19 Aug 2010

U-M research results show potential for discovering new avenues for anti-aging drugs

A team of University of Michigan scientists has found that suppressing a newly discovered gene lengthens the lifespan of roundworms. Scientists who study aging have long known that significantly restricting food intake makes animals live longer. But the goal is to find less drastic ways to achieve the same effect in humans someday. The U-M results offer promising early evidence that scientists may succeed at finding targets for drugs that someday could allow people to live longer, healthier lives.

19 Aug 2010

University of Maryland researchers link 3-D CT scans to standard ablation techniques

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have developed a novel 3-D imaging approach that may improve the accuracy of treatment for ventricular tachycardia, a potentially life-threatening heart rhythm disorder that causes the heart to beat too fast. The new approach couples CT images with conventional ablation techniques to eliminate erratic electrical circuits in the heart that produce arrhythmias.

19 Aug 2010

Grants infuse health centers with more money to build, bolster services

The Washington Post: "Health centers across the country are lining up for a shot in the arm from the Obama administration: $250 million in federal grants to build clinics and bolster services at existing clinics for low-income patients such as public housing residents, the homeless, seasonal farmworkers and others who struggle to pay for care.

19 Aug 2010

New study sheds light on recovery from intoxication

A new study shows the impact of alcohol intoxication on reasoning and problem-solving abilities and may explain why some people feel they have recovered enough to drive after drinking. The research, led by Peter J. Snyder, PhD, vice president of research for Lifespan, is the first to explore how these cognitive abilities are impacted during both rising and declining blood alcohol concentrations, at matched blood alcohol level concentrations, and how self-evaluation of recovery differs from actual recovery from impairment.

19 Aug 2010

OpenEye Scientific Software releases SZYBKI 1.5.0 optimization application for molecular structures

OpenEye Scientific Software, Inc., the developer of innovative molecular modeling and cheminformatics solutions for drug discovery, announces the release of SZYBKI 1.5.0, the company's molecular structure optimization application.

19 Aug 2010

U.S. children and adolescents become fatter over the last decade: Study

Overweight American children and adolescents have become fatter over the last decade, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and National Institute on Aging (NIA). They examined adiposity shifts across socio-demographic groups over time and found U.S. children and adolescents had significantly increased adiposity measures such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and triceps skinfold thickness (TST).

19 Aug 2010

Cluster-coated implant strengthens attachment of joint-replacement implant with bone

Researchers have developed an improved coating technique that could strengthen the connection between titanium joint-replacement implants and a patients' own bone. The stronger connection created by manipulating signals the body's own cells use to encourage growth could allow the implants to last longer.

19 Aug 2010

What do we call nurses with doctorates? And other quality issues

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Kansas City Star: "Most nurse practitioners still have master's degrees, but nursing schools want the doctor of nursing practice degree to be the entry-level degree for advanced-practice nurses by 2015. Enrollment in those programs nationally jumped from 70 in 2002 to more than 5,000 last year." The titles of nurses and how they interact with academic degrees are causing some confusion among patients and resentment from doctors. "Most newly graduating physical therapists now have doctorates, too.

19 Aug 2010

Kansas Health Policy Authority awards HMS contract to conduct Medicaid Subrogation Services

HMS announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the Kansas Health Policy Authority to conduct Medicaid Subrogation Services, including Casualty and Estate Recovery services. HMS will identify cases for action and implement best practice recovery procedures.

19 Aug 2010

Overweight, smoking and lack of exercise linked to frequent headaches in teens

Teens who are overweight, get little exercise or who smoke may be more likely to have frequent headaches and migraines than teens with none of these factors, according to a study published in the August 18, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Aug 2010

Study finds factor behind alcohol use disorder after liver transplantation

Patients who receive a liver transplant due to alcoholic liver disease need to demonstrate periods of abstinence and often attend addiction treatment before transplantation. However, alcohol use disorders can recur, as can other diseases requiring transplantation, and thus alcohol use after liver transplantation is not uncommon.

19 Aug 2010

Mass. regulators reach rate hike accord with one more insurer

Massachusetts regulators cut a deal Monday with insurer Health New England to limit premium increases for individual policyholders and small businesses to 8.2 percent, down from the hikes ranging from 11.5 to 21.3 percent the firm requested earlier this year, The Boston Globe reports. "With the Health New England agreement, the Patrick administration has now reached accords with five of the six Massachusetts insurance carriers that were denied double-digit increases on April 1.

19 Aug 2010

Closure of Vancouver General Hospital's outpatient Domestic Violence Program puts vulnerable women at risk

Despite strong community opposition and media attention, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority continues to dismantle the outpatient Domestic Violence Program at Vancouver General Hospital. The 18-year-old program is slated to close at the end of this week.

19 Aug 2010

TPRF grants $25k to St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital for children's eye care program

For the third consecutive year, a grant for $25,000 from The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) will help St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital (SJJEH) provide eye care to children in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

19 Aug 2010

New 'Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database' tracks published epidemiologic and real world exposure studies

Links to pesticide exposure are being found in a growing number of studies that evaluate the causes of preventable diseases -- including asthma, autism and learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and several types of cancer. A new database, released today, tracks published epidemiologic and real world exposure studies.

19 Aug 2010

Scientists reveal lab approach method to treat neuroblastoma in children

A study led by scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) reveals a new method of identifying drugs to treat children suffering from fatal cancers for which an effective treatment has not been found. Rather than developing a new drug from scratch, which is a complicated and time-consuming process, they tried a different approach: in the lab, they tested existing drugs on cancer stem cells from young patients with neuroblastoma, one of the common cancers of infants and children.

19 Aug 2010

Fralin Life Science Institute professor receives grant from NSF to elucidate research on fungi

Pablo Sobrado, assistant professor of biochemistry with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech, has received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance his research on the mechanism of iron acquisition in fungi and mycobacteria.

19 Aug 2010

Laid-off workers lament conclusion of COBRA subsidy

Kaiser Health News, in a collaboration with USA Today: Recently laid-off workers, as well as people who received a subsidy for 15 months to help them afford to keep their former employer's health insurance, are lamenting the end of the popular program. "Deficit-conscious lawmakers have not renewed a subsidy that helped many jobless Americans afford health benefits.

19 Aug 2010

Medical News

Health insurance costs rise sharply for unemployed as COBRA subsidy ends

Unavoidable breakdowns in brain connections as we age: Study

U-M research results show potential for discovering new avenues for anti-aging drugs

University of Maryland researchers link 3-D CT scans to standard ablation techniques

Grants infuse health centers with more money to build, bolster services

New study sheds light on recovery from intoxication

OpenEye Scientific Software releases SZYBKI 1.5.0 optimization application for molecular structures

U.S. children and adolescents become fatter over the last decade: Study

Cluster-coated implant strengthens attachment of joint-replacement implant with bone

What do we call nurses with doctorates? And other quality issues

Kansas Health Policy Authority awards HMS contract to conduct Medicaid Subrogation Services

Overweight, smoking and lack of exercise linked to frequent headaches in teens

Study finds factor behind alcohol use disorder after liver transplantation

Mass. regulators reach rate hike accord with one more insurer

Closure of Vancouver General Hospital's outpatient Domestic Violence Program puts vulnerable women at risk

TPRF grants $25k to St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital for children's eye care program

New 'Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database' tracks published epidemiologic and real world exposure studies

Scientists reveal lab approach method to treat neuroblastoma in children

Fralin Life Science Institute professor receives grant from NSF to elucidate research on fungi

Laid-off workers lament conclusion of COBRA subsidy

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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