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Bipolar disorder ‘frequent’ in depressive borderline personality disorder

Study results indicate that bipolar disorder may occur in up to half of individuals with co-existing borderline personality disorder and depression.

12 Feb 2013

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) therapy: an interview with Charles A. Nicolette, Ph.D., CSO of Argos Therapeutics

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma is a devastating disease. There are roughly 20-25,000 new cases per year in the United States and it is increasing for some reason.

12 Feb 2013

New video features 5 chemistry facts that highlight chocolate’s beneficial properties

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, released a new Bytesize Science video today featuring five chemistry facts that highlight why chocolate, in moderation, may be good for you.

12 Feb 2013

White House details impact of March 1 sequester on health programs

As these scheduled budget cuts get closer, a poll by the Pew Research Center concluded that young voters are supportive of Medicare and Social Security and hope to see these programs overhauled so they live on into the future.

12 Feb 2013

Study demonstrates effectiveness of laborist' obstetrical care

In a study to be presented on February 16 between 8 a.m., and 10 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that suggest shifting from a traditional model of obstetrical care to a laborist model improves pregnancy outcomes.

12 Feb 2013

As feds encourage health IT, analysts forecast big increase in telehealth

In an age of the Web, Wi-Fi and ever-present social media, so-called e-health lags far behind. But federal officials leading the multibillion effort to get doctors and hospitals to use health information technology are now reaching out to patients and families to help them become e-patients.

12 Feb 2013

Problem drinkers’ depression often related to heavy alcohol intake

For problem drinkers, bouts of depressive symptoms are often the direct result of their heavy alcohol intake, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

12 Feb 2013

Former U.N. official criticizes NGO efforts to campaign for aid to Sudanese

"The former head of the U.N. in Sudan has criticized non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for failing to campaign for aid to flow to people trapped in a war zone on the border with South Sudan," the Guardian reports.

12 Feb 2013

Berkeley Lab researchers resolve EGFR activation mystery

Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have provided important new details into the activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a cell surface protein that has been strongly linked to a large number of cancers and is a major target of cancer therapies.

12 Feb 2013

Cholera cases confirmed in northern Mozambique after heavy rains, flooding

"In the last 10 days, 22 cases of the waterborne disease cholera have been confirmed by laboratory testing in three areas in and around the northern Mozambique town of Pemba, in Cabo Delgado Province," IRIN reports.

12 Feb 2013

Young adults with depression symptoms may benefit from computerized avatars

Young adults, in a period of transition, are often reluctant to seek treatment for mental health problems because of the stigma, inadequate insurance coverage and difficulty finding a mental health care provider.

12 Feb 2013

Roadblocks continue despite efforts to address causes of hospital readmissions

Hospital readmissions are miserable for patients, and a huge cost -- more than $17 billion a year in avoidable Medicare bills alone -- for a nation struggling with the price of health care. Now, with Medicare fining facilities that don't reduce readmissions enough, the nation is at a crossroads as hospitals begin to take action.

12 Feb 2013

Congressional Republicans focus on Tavenner nomination, doc fix, Medicaid costs

News outlets covered a variety of Medicare and Medicaid news, including prospects for Marilyn Tavenner to be confirmed as head of CMS.

12 Feb 2013

Study finds reduced insulin effectiveness, high blood pressure in first-born children

Long a source of sibling rivalry, birth order may raise the risk of first-born children developing diabetes or high blood pressure, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

12 Feb 2013

Examining efforts to integrate cervical cancer screening, treatment into HIV services in Zambia

In the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) "Smart Global Health" blog, Janet Fleischman and Julia Nagel of CSIS discuss "the opportunities and challenges of integrating cervical cancer screening and treatment into HIV services for women," with a focus on the efforts of Zambia.

12 Feb 2013

Strokes that occur during or shortly after surgery can be devastating

Strokes that occur during or shortly after surgery can be devastating, resulting in longer hospital stays and increased risks of death or long-term disability.

12 Feb 2013

In some states, opposition to Medicaid expansion leading employers to brace for higher health care costs

The Wall Street Journal reports on this trend. Meanwhile, other news outlets report on state-specific developments regarding the debates over expanding the health program for low-income people.

12 Feb 2013

Substance abuse and cigarette use more prevalent among adolescents with ADHD histories

A new study published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry revealed a significantly higher prevalence of substance abuse and cigarette use by adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) histories than in those without ADHD.

12 Feb 2013

Three North Korean doctors killed in Nigeria; Government, U.N. agencies condemn murders of polio workers

"Three North Korean doctors have been killed in a pre-dawn attack in Nigeria's northeastern town of Potiskum, police say," but "[t]he motive of Sunday's attack was not immediately clear," Al Jazeera reports.

12 Feb 2013

Blood vessels play an important role in preventing spread of tumour cells

A lack of the protein endoglin in the blood vessels of tumour-bearing mice enables the spread of daughter tumours, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University in Sweden in a study published in the scientific periodical The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Given that the tumour vasculature constitutes an important barrier to the spread of cancer cells, the team suggests that drugs should be developed to strengthen the blood vessels' protective function.

12 Feb 2013