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Study: Protein clumps in nerve cells are pathologies of Parkinson's disease

Clumps of α-synuclein protein in nerve cells are hallmarks of many degenerative brain diseases, most notably Parkinson's disease.

29 Mar 2013

Hot water temperatures in homes are hazardous for children and elderly

Home hot water heater temperatures are too high, warns a team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

29 Mar 2013

How will immigration reform intersect with Medicare?

In this pair of stories, news outlets examine whether immigration reform will stress the Medicare program as well as what hospitals are doing to address the health law's Medicare Wage Index.

29 Mar 2013

Study promises effective treatment for stroke patients

Two molecules may provide, for the first time, an indication of which stroke patients will suffer a further, long-term neurological deficit, allowing doctors to tailor treatment more effectively.

29 Mar 2013

Drug costs and pricing issues touch hospitals, independent pharmacies

NPR reports on how one hospital made what is termed an "unusual decision" -- it chose to not stock a new drug because it was very costly.

29 Mar 2013

Different metrics should be used in different settings to measure ARV program success

Studies show "the profound impact of antiretroviral-therapy coverage at a population level" -- how wider coverage can increase life expectancy and reduce the risk of HIV infection.

29 Mar 2013

A new strategy to protect against HIV infection

An effective vaccine against HIV-1 remains elusive, but one promising strategy focuses on designer antibodies that have much broader potency than most normal, exquisitely specific antibodies.

29 Mar 2013

Medicaid expansion in Pennsylvania can boost federal revenue, health care coverage

Expanding Medicaid in Pennsylvania under the Affordable Care Act would boost federal revenue to the state by more than $2 billion annually and provide 340,000 residents with health insurance, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

29 Mar 2013

Adding muscle to plans' push for value-based health care

A survey from Catalyst for Payment Reform, a nonprofit lobbying group comprising highly profitable Fortune 500 giants, found that many of its members do not feel like they are getting the value for which they are paying.

29 Mar 2013

Emergency response training is needed to reduce cardiac arrests in K-12 schools

One of the leading causes of death in the United States is sudden cardiac arrest, which claims the lives of more than 325,000 people each year. In a study published in the April issue of the journal Resuscitation, Beaumont doctors found that cardiac arrests in K-12 schools are extremely rare, less than 0.2 percent, but out of 47 people who experienced cardiac arrest over a six-year period at K-12 schools, only 15 survived.

29 Mar 2013

Research shows certain cells take on new identities through reprogramming mechanism

Researchers have been able to reprogram cells experimentally, but few have shown that cells can change their identities under normal physiological conditions in the body, particularly in mammals.

29 Mar 2013

Leadership at all levels' required for successful health systems

Jonathan Quick, president and CEO of Management Sciences for Health (MSH), writes in the group's "Global Health Impact" blog about Rwanda's success at implementing a "health system [that] has emerged from devastation as a model for others."

29 Mar 2013

Study explores a better alternative for treating bipolar disorder

Toxicity problems and adverse side effects when taking lithium, the mainstay medication for treating bipolar disorder, are fostering a scientific hunt for insights into exactly how lithium works in the body - with an eye to developing a safer alternative.

28 Mar 2013

Educated parents promote healthy eating habits, prevent childhood obesity

Almost 15,000 children aged between two and nine years old took part in the study. The level of education of parents has an influence on the frequency with which their children eat foods linked to obesity. The children of parents with low and medium levels of education eat fewer vegetables and fruit and more processed products and sweet drinks.

28 Mar 2013

DOMA's impact on same-sex couples' access to federal health programs, health insurance

The federal Defense of Marriage Act, under review by the high court this week, allows states to ignore gay marriages or unions sanctioned outside their borders, and it excludes legally married gay couples from the same protections offered to heterosexual couples under federal health programs, like Medicare, Medicaid and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.

28 Mar 2013

Researchers identify HNF1B gene that can increase risk of ovarian cancer

Researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center have identified a novel gene that can contribute to a woman's susceptibility for developing ovarian cancer. Researchers identified the gene, called HNF1B, through large-scale analysis of more than 16,000 women with ovarian cancer and more than 26,000 healthy women.

28 Mar 2013

Rebel coup, looting hampering humanitarian aid delivery in car

"A rebel-led weekend coup in the Central African Republic (CAR) took place against a backdrop of worsening humanitarian conditions in many parts of the country, with access to affected populations severely restricted," IRIN reports.

28 Mar 2013

TSRI scientists receive innovative grant to help people break nicotine addiction

As part of an unprecedented national effort to develop new drugs to treat neurological disorders, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have been awarded an innovative grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to help people break their addiction to nicotine.

28 Mar 2013

Virtual games help blind individuals improve navigation skills and develop cognitive spatial map

JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) will publish a new video article by Dr. Lotfi Merabet showing how researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School have developed a virtual gaming environment to help blind individuals improve navigation skills and develop a cognitive spatial map of unfamiliar buildings and public locations.

28 Mar 2013

New way to predict woman’s final menstrual period

A new UCLA-led study suggests a way to predict when a woman will have her final menstrual period. The findings, published in the April issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, could help women and physicians gauge the onset of menopause-related bone loss, which generally begins a year prior to the last period.

28 Mar 2013