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Bed cluster concept improves patient care

When hospitals group patient rooms into small clusters, nurses have more time for their patients. But the design of these "bed clusters" is important.

17 Sep 2012

Researchers regenerate axons at spinal cord injury site

In a study at the University of California, San Diego and VA San Diego Healthcare, researchers were able to regenerate "an astonishing degree" of axonal growth at the site of severe spinal cord injury in rats.

14 Sep 2012

Legs of grasshoppers and crabs have ideal shape to resist bending and compression

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have recently shown that the legs of grasshoppers and crabs have the ideal shape to resist bending and compression. If human leg bones were built the same way, they could be twice as strong.

13 Sep 2012

Exercise and health: An interview with Professor Karim Khan

I’ll quote from the ‘7 investments’ document (see below) as I don’t believe we need to reinvent the wheel to argue for the benefits of exercise. I am very keen to move to the issue of ‘how can we help people exercise’. But for the record:

12 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Home health workers need better pay; Is there a better solution than Medicaid to cover seniors' long-term care?

[F]or the stay-at-home elderly to have so-called "independent living" they must be highly dependent on the home care aides who look after medication schedules, cook meals, assist with bathing and generally keep them happy and healthy. And yet these workers are anything but well cared for. The vast majority are dreadfully overworked and woefully underpaid. The average hourly wage of a home care worker in the United States is less than $10.

11 Sep 2012

Keep moving, socializing to prolong life in old age

Maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle, to include physical exercise and leisure and social activities, prolongs life even among the elderly, show results of a Swedish study involving individuals aged 75 years and over.

10 Sep 2012

Bionic leg activated by patient’s intent to move introduced by Tibion

Patients who can't use their legs from the effects of multiple sclerosis, stroke, traumatic brain injury, partial spinal cord injury and other debilitating conditions have been given a new 'leg up' with the introduction of the only wearable, lower limb, robotic trainer activated by the patient's intent to move - the Tibion Bionic Leg.

7 Sep 2012

Preliminary research findings from Kessler Foundation’s Ekso device study on SCI

Kessler Foundation has released preliminary research findings from its clinical study of the wearable robotic exoskeletal device, Ekso. Gail Forrest, PhD, assistant director of Human Performance and Engineering Research, presented the Ekso research data on September 3, at the meeting of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals at the Rio Suites in Las Vegas. Dr. Forrest directs mobility research at the Foundation, including activity-based locomotor therapy, functional electrical stimulation, and treadmill training with the LokomatPro v6, as well as Ekso.

6 Sep 2012

ARGO Medical, Cyclone Technologies announce availability of ReWalk exoskeleton system

5 Sep 2012

Exoskeleton technology now available to take home

Exoskeleton technology leader, ARGO Medical Technologies, along with mobility solutions provider, Cyclone Technologies, announced today that Claire Lomas has become the first person to take home an exoskeleton system for personal use. Claire demonstrated her personal ReWalk™ at the annual International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) meeting held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center.

5 Sep 2012

Metabolic syndrome associated with cognitive and brain impairments in adolescents

A new study by researchers at NYU School of Medicine reveals for the first time that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with cognitive and brain impairments in adolescents and calls for pediatricians to take this into account when considering the early treatment of childhood obesity.

3 Sep 2012

New toolbox for neuroscientists will reduce time for clinical research

Richard Gershon has a shiny new toolbox for neuroscientists that will revolutionize their clinical research by making it radically faster, cheaper and more accurate. It also will help researchers recruit children and adults for studies because participation will be much less time consuming.

1 Sep 2012

Pressure’s not off for diabetic feet

Custom-made footwear for diabetes patients must offload pressure if it is to be effective at preventing ulceration, Dutch researchers emphasize.

30 Aug 2012

Roundup: Calif. Gov. Brown's pension plan silent on current workers' health care; Psychologists want power to prescribe drugs

Gov. Jerry Brown announced a new plan Tuesday to rein in public pension costs that would raise the retirement age, cap benefits for the highest-paid employees and eliminate "spiking" -- but lacks key parts of the bolder system overhaul he proposed months ago and would even increase some payouts. ... The plan also does not address skyrocketing health care costs for retirees, another main element of the governor's first scenario. Hundreds of thousands of government workers have been promised medical coverage for life.

30 Aug 2012

Preventing falls in older people: an interview with Professor Lindy Clemson

We often think of tripping over a step edge or pathway obstruction but there can be a range of things that can contribute to a fall. One of the most common is that our ability to balance can be reduced. This means that we don’t recover from a trip and are at more of a risk of losing our balance.

29 Aug 2012

Being physically fit also increases the chances of aging healthily

Being physically fit during your 30s, 40s, and 50s not only helps extend lifespan, but it also increases the chances of aging healthily, free from chronic illness, investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center and The Cooper Institute have found.

28 Aug 2012

Roundup: Ga. AIDS Drug Assistance waiting list at zero; Mass. signs up for health law's disabled adults program

The state has eliminated a waiting list for a program that provides lifesaving medications to thousands of low-income, uninsured Georgians with HIV/AIDS more than two years after the list was first started. Established in July 2010, the wait list for Georgia's AIDS Drug Assistance Program rapidly ballooned to more than 1,600 -- at one time becoming the largest in the country. A spike in the need for the program was largely fueled by the economic downturn as people lost their jobs and health insurance.

28 Aug 2012

Roundup: Rate regulation on Calif.'s 2014 ballot; Ga. state workers facing health premium hike; Kan. Medicaid overhaul recruiting providers

An initiative that would bring health insurance rate regulation to California has qualified for the November 2014 ballot, setting the stage for a vigorous and costly battle between insurers and consumer groups. The measure, sponsored by Consumer Watchdog, would give the state insurance commissioner the power to deny certain premium increases if they are deemed excessive.

26 Aug 2012

San Francisco to require employers pay more for employee health care

Employers in San Francisco with more than 100 employees will have to contribute more to their employees' health care starting in 2013.

24 Aug 2012

UNH faculty member to study effectiveness of two distinct strength-training regimens on older adults

A University of New Hampshire faculty member has received a grant of more than $360,000 from the National Institutes of Health to study the effectiveness of two distinct strength-training regimens on older adults. The study will compare traditional resistance training exercises, in which participants build muscle strength by lifting heavy weights, to an innovative program that uses very light resistance coupled with blood flow restriction.

23 Aug 2012