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State leaders seeking cash, legislation to improve mental health care

Minnesota, Florida, Illinois are directing money to provide more mental health care as Massachusetts is taking another look at background checks for gun sales.

29 Jan 2013

Novel experiment illuminates importance of doctor-patient relationship

A patient's relationship with his or her doctor has long been considered an important component of healing. Now, in a novel investigation in which physicians underwent brain scans while they believed they were actually treating patients, researchers have provided the first scientific evidence indicating that doctors truly can feel their patients' pain - and can also experience their relief following treatment.

29 Jan 2013

African heads of state meet to address maternal mortality, MDG 5 goal

African "heads of state gathered in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa for the African Union Summit met at a side event on Sunday, Jan. 27 to renew their commitment to reducing the maternal mortality rate on the continent," Inter Press Service reports.

29 Jan 2013

Polio eradication must fit into larger public health, development goals

"The tragic murders of nine anti-polio workers in Pakistan last month, followed by the New Year's Day killing of seven more local community development workers, was both a wake-up call to the global polio eradication effort in its current form, and a 'canary in the mine' regarding the deteriorating state of development and security in the country," Heidi Larson, a senior lecturer and principal investigator at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, writes in a SciDev.Net opinion piece.

29 Jan 2013

Scientists identify genetic process in which normal liver cells transform into cancerous ones

A team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has identified a genetic process in which normal liver cells transform into cancerous ones. The finding provides new understanding into the pathogenesis of human cancers.

29 Jan 2013

Opinion pieces examine role of private sector investment in global health

The following opinion pieces were published Saturday as the World Economic Forum, held last week in Davos, Switzerland, came to a close.

29 Jan 2013

Radial approach for PCI leads to less bleeding and improved survival in STEMI patients

The radial approach for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) was developed 20 years ago and is used for more than 50% of procedures in France, Scandinavian countries, the UK, Spain and Italy. Despite the advantages of radial access some countries in Europe such as Germany use radial access for fewer than 10% of PCI.

29 Jan 2013

News outlets examines Bill Gates' commitment to fighting disease globally

"This week the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates" -- co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- "will deliver the annual BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture in which he will spell out his commitment to ridding the world of polio which can cause paralysis and even death within hours," BBC News reports.

29 Jan 2013

Double transplants can be successful with donor lungs from heavy smokers

Lungs from carefully selected donors with a heavy smoking history can be used with good results in adult, double-lung transplants, according to a study released today at the 49th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

29 Jan 2013

Focus water, sanitation investments on cholera risk zones, aid groups say

"Aid groups are urging donors to invest in water and sanitation in areas known as hotbeds for cholera," saying "while such projects might directly affect a relatively small population, the indirect impact in terms of cholera reduction could be immense," IRIN reports.

29 Jan 2013

New genetic test can help identify small aggressive lung tumors linked with poor survival

A novel genetic test can help identify small but aggressive lung tumors associated with poor survival, according to a study released today at the 49th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

29 Jan 2013

Oklahoma pushes back against feds' rebuttal in state's health law challenge

The Oklahoma attorney general argued that the Internal Revenue Service does not have the power to implement the health overhaul.

29 Jan 2013

New tweet-screening method effectively tracks flu cases

Sifting through social media messages has become a popular way to track when and where flu cases occur, but a key hurdle hampers the process: how to identify flu-infection tweets. Some tweets are posted by people who have been sick with the virus, while others come from folks who are merely talking about the illness. If you are tracking actual flu cases, such conversations about the flu in general can skew the results.

29 Jan 2013

Shelters for abused elderly take hold, long-term care ombudsmen questioned

The Associated Press examines the rising use of shelters for the elderly who have been abused, and Kaiser Health News reports that long-term care ombudsmen face questions about their independence.

29 Jan 2013

Gottlieb Memorial Hospital introduces Epic electronic medical record system

Gottlieb Memorial Hospital today introduced the Epic electronic medical record system for patients in the hospital. This new system will offer many benefits to patients and physicians.

29 Jan 2013

Oncolytics Biotech reports new findings at ASCO’s 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

What did Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees have in common? Each was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world and the fourth most common cause of cancer death.

29 Jan 2013

Feb. 4-8 designated ‘Pride in Foodservice Week’ by ANFP

February 4-8 is designated "Pride in Foodservice Week" by the Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals (ANFP). Now in its 22nd year, this recognition week applauds nutrition and foodservice professionals and other members of the nutrition service team for their hard work and dedication to client care.

29 Jan 2013

EC announces selection of Human Brain Project as one of its two FET Flagship program

The European Commission has officially announced the selection of the Human Brain Project (HBP) as one of its two FET Flagship projects. The new project will federate European efforts to address one of the greatest challenges of modern science: understanding the human brain.

29 Jan 2013

Common myths about flu from Mayo Clinic

It seems you can't go anywhere these days without hearing "the flu this" or "the flu that." Unfortunately, this season's influenza outbreak is one of the worst in years. And it's not just the flu virus that's causing problems; there are also many myths about the flu that are keeping people from doing more to prevent it.

29 Jan 2013

Scientists discover four processes by which gastric cancer is formed

Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) headed a study that discovered four processes by which gastric cancer is formed. This is extremely important since gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, claiming almost 750,000 lives annually, 60% of which are Asians.

29 Jan 2013