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Developing countries face health financing crisis due to low domestic investment, stagnating international aid

Two major studies published in The Lancet reveal the health financing crisis facing developing countries as a result of low domestic investment and stagnating international aid, which could leave millions of people without access to even the most basic health services.

18 Apr 2016

Funding improves for maternal, child health compared to donor investments in HIV, TB and malaria

Funding earmarked for improving maternal and child health in low- and middle-income countries has grown faster since 2010 than funding for HIV, TB, and malaria.

16 Apr 2016

Willow herb extracts may be beneficial in treating multi-drug resistant bacterial and fungal infections

A common herb could help reduce antibiotic doses and result in less severe side effects in treatments against multi-drug resistant microorganisms.

16 Apr 2016

Experts launch mhNOW initiative to bring proven mental health solutions to people most in need

Today, the Mental Health Now, or mhNOW, initiative will launch at the inaugural Financing and Innovation in Global Health (FIGH) conference. Led by mental health experts Chris Underhill, founder and president of BasicNeeds, and Moitreyee Sinha, head of health at the Global Development Incubator (GDI), mhNOW is a global, collective action including social entrepreneurs, organizations and companies that are working together to innovate and identify mental health solutions on a global scale, and systemically implement in communities at a local level.

15 Apr 2016

Researchers develop novel method to store microfluidic devices for CD4 T cell testing

Providing vital health care services to people in developing countries without reliable electricity, refrigeration and state-of-the-art medical equipment poses a number of challenges. Inspired by pregnancy tests, researchers from Florida Atlantic University, Stanford University, and Baskent University in Turkey, have developed a novel method to store microfluidic devices for CD4 T cell testing in extreme weather conditions for up to six months without refrigeration.

14 Apr 2016

Researchers observe increase in antibiotic resistance genes

Around the world, antibiotic use and resistance is increasing while the discovery of new antibiotics has nearly halted.

13 Apr 2016

Spending less than $5 per person could save millions of maternal, child lives every year

By spending less than $5 per person on essential health care services such as contraception, medication for serious illnesses and nutritional supplements, millions of maternal and child lives could be saved every year, according to a new analysis led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

11 Apr 2016

Study reports high prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes in Samoan Islands

In two new papers in The Lancet that report dramatic worldwide increases in body-mass index (BMI) and type 2 diabetes, the U.S. territory of American Samoa and independent Samoa are mentioned for their especially high prevalence of both conditions.

7 Apr 2016

Warming temperatures may increase risk for dengue outbreaks in Europe

Increasing temperatures will enlarge Europe's seasonal window for the potential spread of mosquito-borne viral disease, expanding the geographic areas at risk for a dengue epidemic to include much of Europe. The findings by researchers at Umea University in Sweden are published in the journal EBioMedicine.

7 Apr 2016

Unhealthy BMIs, smoking, drinking alcohol and solid fuel use increase asthma risk in women

Underweight and obese women who also drank alcohol and smoked tobacco had a two-fold higher risk of being diagnosed with asthma than women with a healthy body mass index who did not drink or smoke, a St. Michael's Hospital study found.

7 Apr 2016

Apple body shape linked to higher heart risk than pear-shape in diabetics

People with type 1 or 2 diabetes who have apple-shaped bodies with excessive fat around the abdomen and stomach, can be at higher risk of serious heart disease than patients with pear-shaped figures who store excess fat around their hips, according to a new study from Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute and John Hopkins University.

4 Apr 2016

Cholesterol drug evacetrapib fails to reduce risk of cardiovascular events

Despite lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL), known as "bad" cholesterol, while markedly increasing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, a large clinical trial to investigate the cholesterol drug evacetrapib was discontinued early after a preliminary analysis showed it did not reduce rates of major adverse cardiovascular events, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session.

4 Apr 2016

GHIT Fund invests in two innovative malaria eradication tools

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) announced today that it’s investing US$1,383,785 in a pair of innovative malaria eradication tools—a vaccine that could block transmission of two species of the deadly disease and a rapid field test that can reveal a malaria infection in minutes.

1 Apr 2016

Body temperature can have profound impact on diabetic patients

The World Health Organization estimates that of the 500 million people worldwide thought to have diabetes, 90% have type 2 diabetes and the number diagnosed with diabetes by 2020 will increase dramatically.

1 Apr 2016

Multiple combination therapies could prevent malaria resistance

In order to preserve first-line drugs for treating malaria, multiple combination therapies should be deployed within a population to prevent resistance from developing, according to Maciej Boni from the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, UK, and colleagues in a Policy Forum article published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

30 Mar 2016

The human aspect of simulations through role playing

I think role playing plays an important role, it's a really interesting question because role playing is somewhere on that spectrum of simulation. There is the potential for patients to play a role to relive an experience or an actor can be used.

29 Mar 2016

Researchers develop rapid yet inexpensive test for TB

Although tuberculosis (TB) is commonly thought of as being a disease that mainly affects nineteenth century poets and Victor Hugo characters, it is still the second-most common cause of mortality from an infectious disease in the world, killing nearly three people every minute. Every March 24, on World TB Day, the global health community recognizes the work of Robert Koch, who announced on that date in 1882 his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB.

25 Mar 2016

Common genetic defect in beta cells may underlie both known forms of diabetes

New research by Dr. Sylvie Lesage, scientist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and associate research Professor at University of Montreal, just published in the prestigious international scientific journal Nature Genetics, has discovered that a common genetic defect in beta cells may underlie both known forms of diabetes.

25 Mar 2016

Simple tool for inserting intrauterine device may offer low-cost option for long-term contraception

A simple tool designed for inserting an intrauterine device may offer women in the developing world a convenient, low-cost option for long-term contraception.

24 Mar 2016

Sterilization station for surgical instruments can help minimize risk of infections

Rice University students and their mentors have created a sterilization station for surgical instruments that can help minimize risk of infections to patients anywhere in the world.

24 Mar 2016

Global Health News and Research

Developing countries face health financing crisis due to low domestic investment, stagnating international aid

Funding improves for maternal, child health compared to donor investments in HIV, TB and malaria

Willow herb extracts may be beneficial in treating multi-drug resistant bacterial and fungal infections

Experts launch mhNOW initiative to bring proven mental health solutions to people most in need

Researchers develop novel method to store microfluidic devices for CD4 T cell testing

Researchers observe increase in antibiotic resistance genes

Spending less than $5 per person could save millions of maternal, child lives every year

Study reports high prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes in Samoan Islands

Warming temperatures may increase risk for dengue outbreaks in Europe

Unhealthy BMIs, smoking, drinking alcohol and solid fuel use increase asthma risk in women

Apple body shape linked to higher heart risk than pear-shape in diabetics

Cholesterol drug evacetrapib fails to reduce risk of cardiovascular events

GHIT Fund invests in two innovative malaria eradication tools

Body temperature can have profound impact on diabetic patients

Multiple combination therapies could prevent malaria resistance

The human aspect of simulations through role playing

Researchers develop rapid yet inexpensive test for TB

Common genetic defect in beta cells may underlie both known forms of diabetes

Simple tool for inserting intrauterine device may offer low-cost option for long-term contraception

Sterilization station for surgical instruments can help minimize risk of infections

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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