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CATT study clarifies value of genetic testing for age-related macular degeneration

New findings from a landmark clinical trial show that although certain gene variants may predict whether a person is likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a potentially blinding eye disease that afflicts more than nine million Americans, these genes do not predict how patients will respond to Lucentis- and Avastin-, the two medications most widely used to treat the "wet" form of AMD.

13 Feb 2013

Examining politics of reaching NCD targets

Writing in the PLoS blog "Translational Global Health," Greg Paton, a public health consultant, discusses the history of and current discussions taking place surrounding global targets for non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

13 Feb 2013

Meridian receives ADA's Certificate of Education Recognition for diabetes education program

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has awarded Meridian Medical Associates a Certificate of Education Recognition for its diabetes self-management education program.

13 Feb 2013

AIDS.gov blog examines Global Fund's future

"During January's World Economic Forum, international leaders welcomed former U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Mark Dybul as the new head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria," Deborah Derrick, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, writes in the AIDS.gov blog.

13 Feb 2013

HealthSaaS, iMPak announce white labeling agreement for their Connected Outcomes Platform

iMPak Health, a subsidiary of Meridian Health, today announced a white labeling agreement with HealthSaaS for their Connected Outcomes Platform. This agreement will enhance iMPak's device offerings by bringing patient data into the clinical workflow as an asset while reducing manual data entry and providing actionable information to healthcare providers.

13 Feb 2013

Learning from India's success in eradicating polio

In a post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Shelley Thakral, senior communications officer for the foundation's India Country Office, interviews Orin Levine, director of vaccine delivery at the foundation, about his recent trip to India "to observe the experience of Bihar, a state in Northern India, where the polio effort is now being leveraged to strengthen routine immunization in ways that are really exciting."

13 Feb 2013

Musical training before age 7 creates stronger connections in the brain

If you started piano lessons in grade one, or played the recorder in kindergarten, thank your parents and teachers. Those lessons you dreaded - or loved - helped develop your brain. The younger you started music lessons, the stronger the connections in your brain.

13 Feb 2013

U.S. News examines growing threat of drug-resistant TB

U.S. News & World Report examines the growing epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), highlighting a "new paper published earlier this week in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal warn[ing] that the first cases of 'totally drug-resistant' tuberculosis have been found in South Africa and that the disease is 'virtually untreatable."

13 Feb 2013

Researchers investigate new avenue of treatment to help boost poor pancreatic cancer survival rates

Researchers at Georgia Regents University Cancer Center are investigating a new avenue of treatment to help boost poor pancreatic cancer survival rates.

13 Feb 2013

Supporting innovation through public-private partnerships

"Given the increasingly aligned incentives" between the private sector and global health and development practitioners, "the time is right for more effective and consistent collaboration between these two groups," Dheeraj Batra, head of business design at IDEO Mumbai, and David Milestone, senior adviser at USAID's Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact, write in a USAID "IMPACTblog" post originally published in the "Stanford Social Innovation Review."

13 Feb 2013

Periconceptional folic acid intake may reduce risk of autistic disorder in children

In a study that included approximately 85,000 Norwegian children, maternal use of supplemental folic acid from 4 weeks before to 8 weeks after the start of pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of autistic disorder in children, according to a study appearing in the February 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Feb 2013

Final word on essential health benefits expected soon

CQ Healthbeat reports the Office of Management and Budget is reviewing several health law implementation rules including this one, which will determine the types of coverage available to consumers. Meanwhile, a study examines how the health law's caps on out-of-pocket costs will affect consumers next year.

13 Feb 2013

Children's pre-operative anxiety could be reduced by flexible approaches

A survey of nurses anaesthetists in Sweden identified difficulties in preparing children for surgery but also found that when the hospital and the staff were flexible in their approaches, the children's anxiety could be reduced. These approaches included varying the operation schedule, provided it do not create risk to the child, and pre-surgical visits with operating staff.

13 Feb 2013

Government recovers billions in health fraud crackdown

The Obama administration announced Monday that it recovered a record $4.2 billion last year from medical providers who cheated Medicare and other government health programs.

13 Feb 2013

African-American and Caucasian women absorb, metabolize vitamin D at same rate

African-American women battling vitamin D deficiencies need the same dose as Caucasian women to treat the condition, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

13 Feb 2013

Global gender equality critical for successful development programs

"Many steps have been taken during the Obama administration to elevate the issues of global gender equality," but "perhaps the most critical thus far occurred on January 30, 2013, when President Obama signed a presidential memorandum focusing on these issues," contributor Juliana Thong writes in the "Global Washington" blog.

13 Feb 2013

Ability to tune gene activity will permit refined research for drug resistance, cancer

Scientists who built a synthetic gene circuit that allowed for the precise tuning of a gene's expression in yeast have now refined this new research tool to work in human cells, according to research published online in Nature Communications.

13 Feb 2013

VA adding mental health staff - including doctors, nurses and counselors

The Veterans Affairs Department said Monday it has added more than 1,000 mental health professionals and 200 support staff over the past eight months to meet the needs of returning veterans, but still has more to do to meet the requirements of an executive order issued by President Barack Obama.

13 Feb 2013

Scientists identify aromatic rice with very low arsenic content

Millions of people worldwide are regularly exposed to arsenic through drinking water and eating rice grown in soil and water containing high amounts of arsenic. Long-term exposure can lead to the development of different types of cancer as well as serious cardiovascular, neurological, and other health problems. Scientists have now identified aromatic rice from Bangladesh that has far lower arsenic concentrations than found in non-aromatic rice.

13 Feb 2013

Obama opposes raising Medicare's eligibility age to reduce spending

According to White House spokesman Jay Carney, the president does not believe this is the right policy to take, although he is open to discussing other entitlement program changes.

13 Feb 2013