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Loneliness can be debilitating to older adults and cause serious health problems

Loneliness - the unpleasant feeling of emptiness or desolation - can creep in and cause suffering to people at any age. But it can be especially debilitating to older adults and may predict serious health problems and even death, according to a new study by UCSF researchers.

19 Jun 2012

Advances in robotic spine surgery

1. Please could you give a brief outline of robotic spine surgery and its recent history? Robotic spine surgery is very new, less than 10 years old. There are only 10 hospitals in the US offering it and we are the second hospital in California to offer this technology.

15 Jun 2012

Top five prostate wellness tips

David Samadi, MD, Vice-Chair of Urology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, knows that many men put off caring for their health, even when they have a family. But just a loving nudge from his family can help keep Dad on track for long-term prostate health, prostate cancer prevention, and prostate cancer awareness.

15 Jun 2012

Calif. Dems balking on more Medicaid cuts; Big jump in Minnesota Medicaid rolls

Democratic legislative leaders announced Wednesday that they plan to move forward with their proposal to address California's $15.7 billion deficit even though Gov. Jerry Brown hasn't signed off on the plan. ... Democrats refused to cut an additional $1.2 billion on programs for the poor, particularly the welfare-to-work program CalWORKS; childcare; In-Home Supportive Services, which provides care for the sick and disabled in their homes; low-cost health insurance known as Healthy Families; and Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program.

15 Jun 2012

No evidence for inherited addictive behavior

Dr. Stanton Peele's extensive research concludes that there is no evidence that biological or genetic mechanisms have been identified for addictive behavior or that addictive behavior is therefore inherited. The inherited addiction gene theory is widely used by the majority of alcohol and drug rehab programs, but Peele's research reveals that addiction is just too complicated to be contained within a simple inherited gene.

15 Jun 2012

Roundup: Calpers rate hike approved; Painkiller databases slow abuse in Mass., Minn.; Health workers authorize strike in Philly

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the third-largest purchaser of health benefits in the country, approved a 9.6 percent increase in health premiums next year for its nearly 1.3 million members.

15 Jun 2012

CalPERS readies nearly 10% rate hike; Blue Shield of Calif. faces lawsuit

California's Public Employees' Retirement System premium increase is more than twice as large as last year's. Meanwhile, the lawsuit against Blue Shield alleges that the insurer is seeking to push customers into new options that offer less coverage.

14 Jun 2012

Insurers, politicians girding for Supreme Court health law decision

Insurance company executives tell news outlets they support the mandate to buy insurance or pay a fine, as Republicans try to refine their post-SCOTUS decision strategy.

14 Jun 2012

Reovirus can trick the body's defenses to reach and kill cancer cells

Scientists have shown how a promising viral therapy that delivers a double blow to cancer can sneak up on tumors undetected by hitching a ride on blood cells.

14 Jun 2012

Call for medical bodies to stop opposing assisted dying supported by BMJ

The BMJ today supports a call for leading UK medical bodies to stop opposing assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults.

14 Jun 2012

iWalk announces availability of BiOM bionic lower limb system for above-knee amputees

iWalk, the personal bionics company advancing technology to restore natural movement for lower-limb amputees, today announced the availability of its BiOM bionic lower limb system for above-knee amputees.

13 Jun 2012

Acorda commences AMPYRA clinical study for post-stoke deficits

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a proof-of-concept study exploring the use of AMPYRA(dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg in treating patients who have post-stroke deficits.

13 Jun 2012

Insurers propose rate hikes for Calif. small businesses; New survey finds interest in expanding small biz coverage

Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California propose raising health insurance rates up to 24 percent. Meanwhile, the poll finds that one in three small businesses now offer health coverage and 44 percent said they would likely do it if an insurance exchange opens.

13 Jun 2012

Changes in walking speed in late life may signal MCI

A new study shows that changes in walking speed in late life may signal the early stages of dementia known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

12 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 12, 2012

Today's headlines include news about the pressure health costs are placing on state budgets.

12 Jun 2012

Roundup: Calif. cigarette tax hike too close to call; Mass. insurance mandate not as contentious; Sept. 11 health fund cancer coverage ruling delayed

Tobacco companies poured nearly $47 million into defeating Proposition 29, a $1-a-pack tax hike on cigarettes, but the measure was narrowly leading in early returns Tuesday despite the hard-fought campaign. The tax increase would raise $810 million a year for cancer research and smoking cessation programs, and it would give California -- which currently has a lower tobacco tax than 32 other states -- the 16th-highest cigarette tax in the nation. … The vote would be a huge win for the public health groups that sponsored the measure, including the American Cancer Society.

6 Jun 2012

UCSF's ACT program helps amputees reach their athletic goals

Carlos Gonzalez stands out from an athletic group gathered on a grassy field at the UCSF Mission Bay campus. The gregarious 32-year-old sports a stylish fauxhawk and walks with a confident yet understated swagger. He's training to become a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.

6 Jun 2012

Scientists propose new theory of the brain activity behind arm movements

Unlike their visual cousins, the neurons that control movement are not a predictable bunch. Scientists working to decode how such neurons convey information to muscles have been stymied when trying to establish a one-to-one relationship between a neuron's behavior and external factors such as muscle activity or movement velocity.

4 Jun 2012

Non-invasive stimulation of cerebellum helps individuals learn new walking patterns

In a step towards improving rehabilitation for patients with walking impairments, researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute found that non-invasive stimulation of the cerebellum, an area of the brain known to be essential in adaptive learning, helped healthy individuals learn a new walking pattern more rapidly.

2 Jun 2012

Imaging of blood flow provides new way to look into cardiac abnormalities and dysfunction

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine are pioneering new ultrasound techniques that provide the first characterization of multidirectional blood flow in the heart. By focusing on fluid dynamics - specifically, the efficiency with which blood enters and exits the heart's left ventricle - the researchers believe they can detect heart disease even when traditional measures show no sign of trouble.

2 Jun 2012