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Diet high in fruits and vegetables may help protect kidneys of patients with CKD

Adding fruits and vegetables to the diet may help protect the kidneys of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with too much acid build-up, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

10 Feb 2013

Study into spread of sexually transmitted infection in ladybirds

A study at the University of Liverpool into the spread of sexually transmitted infection in ladybirds has shown that disease risk to large populations cannot be predicted without a full understanding of the disease dynamics at small geographical scale.

10 Feb 2013

Fbxl10 molecule plays a crucial role in differentiation of embryonic stem cells

A single embryonic stem cell can develop into more than 200 specialized cell types that make up our body. This maturation process is called differentiation and is tightly regulated. If the regulation is lost, specialized cells cannot develop correctly during development. In adulthood, the specialized cells may forget their identity and develop into cancer cells.

10 Feb 2013

Sunitinib does not cause lingering risks for cancer patients after their treatment ends

Studies in animals have raised concerns that tumors may grow faster after the anticancer drug sunitinib is discontinued. But oncologists and physicists who collaborated to analyze data from the largest study of patients with kidney cancer convincingly demonstrate that such tumor acceleration does not occur in humans.

10 Feb 2013

Bipartisan duo introduces Medicare 'doc fix' bill in House

The effort, by Reps. Schwartz and Heck, would change the system known as the sustainable growth rate for Medicare physician payments.

10 Feb 2013

Trust in markets essential to creating more food-secure world

"Far too often we are seeing national governments overreact to market fluctuations to the extent that they are making pledges about and taking measures toward food self-sufficiency," Emery Koenig, executive vice president and chief risk officer of Cargill, writes in the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' "Global Food For Thought" blog.

10 Feb 2013

APOBEC3B enzyme plays a key role in breast cancer

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have uncovered a human enzyme responsible for causing DNA mutations found in the majority of breast cancers. The discovery of this enzyme - called APOBEC3B - may change the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated.

10 Feb 2013

Senators offer plan to improve mental health coverage

The bipartisan group's plan would require community behavioral health centers to provide substance abuse treatment and 24-hour crisis care. In return, the centers could bill Medicaid for the services.

10 Feb 2013

$Scientists discover 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia$

Scientists discover 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia

An international team of scientists led by King's College London has discovered 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia (short-sightedness).

10 Feb 2013

India holds national summit on child survival, development

"[M]ore than 200 delegates ranging from policymakers and representatives of development agencies to global health practitioners and civil society members" are gathering in India this week for a national summit on the "Call to Action for Child Survival and Development," IIP Digital reports.

10 Feb 2013

Scientists discover natural trigger that enables stem cell development

A natural trigger that enables stem cells to become any cell-type in the body has been discovered by scientists.

10 Feb 2013

Fighting NTDs has greater effect of empowering women

"As Melinda Gates captured through her blog piece by envisioning the conversation of women's role in the year 2030, I would also like to offer my voice in the spirit of conversation," Mawish Raza, a communications intern with the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), writes in the network's "End the Neglect" blog, adding, "My hope is that by 2030, women are not only given the advantage to circumvent neglected and un-neglected diseases, but that they are able to make better use of their restored health to drive their communities out of poverty and forward into progress."

10 Feb 2013

SUVmax may help indicate progression-free survival in stage I NSCLC patients treated with SBRT

SUVmax (Maximum Standardized Uptake Value) may be a significant and clinically independent marker to indicate progression-free survival in stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), according to research being presented at the 2013 Cancer Imaging and Radiation Therapy Symposium.

10 Feb 2013

Examining the closure, revival of the Global Health Council

Writing in the Humanosphere blog, development blogger Tom Murphy discusses the closure in April 2012 of the Global Health Council [GHC] and the recreation of the organization, "with a new board, a slightly new name (Global Health Coalition) and with purportedly a new and more relevant strategy."

10 Feb 2013

Overexpression of alpha-synuclein can cause Parkinson's

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say overexpression of a protein called alpha-synuclein appears to disrupt vital recycling processes in neurons, starting with the terminal extensions of neurons and working its way back to the cells' center, with the potential consequence of progressive degeneration and eventual cell death.

10 Feb 2013

Christie tries to make light of his weight but then gets serious

All it took was a late-night, nationally televised bite of a doughnut for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to set off an uncomfortable three-day conversation about his weight. A host of media questions and a warning from a former White House doctor this week represent a small sample of what could follow Mr. Christie both into a second term if he wins re-election in November and on a presidential campaign in 2016, should he choose to pursue one.

10 Feb 2013

Infusions of regulatory T cells turn off autoimmune attack on joints

Farber Cancer Institute scientists have demonstrated a new strategy for treating autoimmune disease that successfully blocked the development of rheumatoid arthritis in a mouse model. They say it holds promise for improved treatment of arthritis and other autoimmune disorders in people.

10 Feb 2013

House GOP seeks to change Medicare doctor payment formula

The chairmen of the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees want a permanent change to the current system that repeatedly threatens to cut doctor payments unless Congress steps in.

10 Feb 2013

Harvard's Wyss Institute completes first clinical study of new rapid neuroassessment device

Doctors routinely track their patients' hand-eye coordination to monitor any neuromuscular deficits, particularly as patients age or when they are injured -- but the tests they have been using to track this kind of information may be subjective and qualitative.

10 Feb 2013

Lawmaker advances bill to create FDA Office of Wireless Health

Congressman Michael Honda (D., Calif.), who has been representing Silicon Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives for the past 12 years, recently submitted a bill asking for Congress to create and fund a new office at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which would be called the Office of Wireless Health.

10 Feb 2013