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Digoxin increases risk of death in patients with atrial fibrillation

Digoxin, a drug widely used to treat heart disease, increases the possibility of death when used by patients with a common heart rhythm problem − atrial fibrillation (AF), according to new study findings by University of Kentucky researchers. The results have been published in the prestigious European Heart Journal, and raises serious concerns about the expansive use of this long-standing heart medication in patients with AF.

28 Nov 2012

Impact of Medicaid expansion would vary by state, according to study

The analysis released Monday explored how some states would experience savings while others would see cost increases as a result of the health law's plan to expand Medicaid.

28 Nov 2012

Study broadens understanding of how cells regulate X chromosome inactivation

In a paper published in the Nov. 21 issue of Cell, a team led by Mauro Calabrese, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina in the lab of Terry Magnuson, chair of the department of genetics and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, broadens the understanding of how cells regulate silencing of the X chromosome in a process known as X-inactivation.

28 Nov 2012

IPS examines undernourishment, efforts to reverse vitamin deficiencies

"Poverty is the leading cause of many vitamin deficiencies, especially vitamin A," and the problem is acute in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where food staples such as cassava and rice are high in calories but low in nutrients, Inter Press Service reports.

28 Nov 2012

Researchers aim to improve feeling of 'walking on marbles' for arthritis patients

Researchers at the University of Southampton are to undertake a new stage of a study aimed at improving the health and mobility of those suffering from the common complaint of 'walking on marbles' associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in the feet.

28 Nov 2012

USAID launches '16 Days of Activism' for Elimination of Gender Violence

"This week we launch the 16 Days of Activism for the Elimination of Gender Violence, which runs from November 25 to December 10," Carla Koppell, senior coordinator for gender equality and women's empowerment at USAID, writes in the agency's "IMPACTblog."

28 Nov 2012

Patients with RA more likely to have dislocation following hip replacement surgery

In the first systemic review of evidence assessing complications following total joint arthroplasty, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were found to have an increased risk for hip dislocation after hip replacement surgery compared to those with osteoarthritis (OA). Study findings published online in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), also indicate that RA patients have a higher infection risk following total knee replacement than patients with OA.

28 Nov 2012

Global Fund's new funding model 'designed to be flexible, focused, fast'

In the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) "Smart Global Health" blog, Todd Summers, senior adviser at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, reviews the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's old rounds-based grant system that the Global Fund Board recently agreed to replace with a new funding model "that's designed to be flexible, focused, and fast," he says.

28 Nov 2012

Cry acoustics may help identify infants at risk of autism

Autism is a poorly understood family of related conditions. People with autism generally lack normal social interaction skills and engage in a variety of unusual and often characteristic behaviors, such as repetitive movements. While there is no specific medical treatment for autism, some success has been shown with early behavioral intervention.

28 Nov 2012

Critics look to House panels to restrain health law; Big policy issues remain

Questions remain on implementing the health law -- both politically and in settling policy matters -- as opponents look to House committees to police the Obama administration's activities to get the law up and running.

28 Nov 2012

Intramyocardial injection of organ-derived stem cells after AMI improves left ventricle function

A study published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation, now freely available on-line, has found that when mesenchymal cells derived from skeletal muscle (SM-MSCs) or adipose tissue (ADSCs) were injected into the heart muscle (myocardium) of separate groups of laboratory rats that had suffered a myocardial infarction, rats in both groups experienced significantly improved left ventricle function and smaller infarct size after cell therapy.

28 Nov 2012

Democrats resist significant changes to Medicare, other entitlement programs

Efforts to avert the looming "fiscal cliff" have revived talk of raising Medicare's eligibility age. Some Republicans also suggest that spending to carry out the health law should be viewed as a source for savings. Meanwhile, an important meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

28 Nov 2012

Gadd45g protein essential in initiating development of male sex organs

Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz have identified a protein essential for initiating the development of male sex organs. Loss of the gene Gadd45g results in complete sex reversal of male mice, making them appear female.

28 Nov 2012

High court OKs Liberty University's push to argue claims against the health law

The arguments, which were not considered in the earlier Supreme Court review of the overhaul, maintain that it is unconstitutional for the government to require large employers to provide health insurance to their full-time workers or pay a tax and that the law violates the school's religious freedoms.

28 Nov 2012

Carnosic acid promotes eye health

Herbs widely used throughout history in Asian and early European cultures have received renewed attention by Western medicine in recent years. Scientists are now isolating the active compounds in many medicinal herbs and documenting their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In a study published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Stuart A. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D. and colleagues at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) report that carnosic acid, a component of the herb rosemary, promotes eye health.

28 Nov 2012

U.N. Human Rights Council passes resolution condemning female genital mutilation

The U.N. General Assembly Human Rights Council on Monday adopted by consensus a resolution calling on U.N. member states to condemn female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM) and "launch education campaigns for girls and boys, women and men, to eliminate it," the Associated Press reports.

28 Nov 2012

High-resolution real-time images show how nerves may be damaged during earliest stages of MS

High-resolution real-time images show in mice how nerves may be damaged during the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis. The results suggest that the critical step happens when fibrinogen, a blood-clotting protein, leaks into the central nervous system and activates immune cells called microglia.

28 Nov 2012

State roundup: Conn. official says bulk buying prescription drugs could help budget

The state's chief fiscal watchdog is asking legislators and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration to take a second look at how government purchases prescription medication -- and a proposal he believes could save more than $65 million over the next fiscal year.

28 Nov 2012

Vitamin D may help prevent dental caries

A new review of existing studies points toward a potential role for vitamin D in helping to prevent dental caries, or tooth decay.

28 Nov 2012

Investing in eyeglasses in developing nations could boost global economy, study shows

"Eliminating the worldwide shortage of eyeglasses could cost up to $28 billion, but would add more than $200 billion to the global economy, according to a study" conducted by researchers from Australia and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and published last month in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, the New York Times reports.

28 Nov 2012