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Avoiding spleen removal for Cooley's anemia sufferers

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College may have discovered the precise role of a gene in one of the world's most common blood disorders, beta-thalassemia, commonly known as Cooley's anemia. Along with sickle-cell anemia, Cooley's anemia is the most commonly inherited disease in the world, affecting many people of Mediterranean descent, and 20 out of every 100,000 African-Americans. The World Health Organization estimates that between 50,000-100,000 children are born with the disease each year.

27 May 2008

Increased screening may better predict those at higher risk for heart disease

Adding noninvasive imaging to current risk-assessment protocols may identify more people who are at risk of developing heart disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

27 May 2008

Methadone to be dumped in Scotland as treatment for heroin addiction

A new approach to tackling heroin addiction is about to be tried out in the United Kingdom.

27 May 2008

Increased screening may better predict those at higher risk for heart disease

Adding noninvasive imaging to current risk-assessment protocols may identify more people who are at risk of developing heart disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

26 May 2008

New guideline for the treatment of vertigo

A new guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology found that the best treatment for vertigo is the easiest and quickest one. The guideline on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), an inner ear disorder that is a common cause of dizziness, is published in the May 27, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

26 May 2008

Americans believe wounded Iraq war veterans generally neglected

As part of the ongoing poll series, Debating Health: Election 2008, a recent survey by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Harris Interactive finds that a majority of Americans (62%) believe that wounded Iraq war veterans do not receive high quality care in military and Veteran's Administration (VA) hospitals once they return to the U.S. Similar majorities feel that veterans requiring rehabilitation care and mental health care do not receive high quality care (62% and 65% respectively).

26 May 2008

AstraZeneca supports transparency legislation on payments to health care providers

AstraZeneca announced today that it supports the revised Physician Payment Sunshine Act as part of the company's latest step to provide the public with more information about the way it does business.

22 May 2008

Summit to tackle African-American HIV/STD crisis

Black state board of education leaders from across the nation will meet to strategize about ways in which public schools can help address the HIV and STD crises among African-Americans and to highlight the clear link between risky sexual behaviors and academic performance on May 28-30, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.

22 May 2008

Senate Finance Committee Democrats to move forward with Medicare package that includes Medicare Advantage plan cuts

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Wednesday said he will move forward with a Medicare package developed by Democrats that likely will be opposed by Republicans and the Bush administration, CQ Today reports.

22 May 2008

Quitting smoking a group activity!

The number of smokers who have quit over the last three decades has multiplied as a result of public-health campaigns, but now researchers in the U.S. say people quit smoking as groups and not as individuals.

22 May 2008

White House opposes use of Medicare Advantage indirect medical education funds as offset in Medicare bill, Sen. Baucus says

Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Tuesday after a meeting of committee leaders said that the White House opposes the use of a decrease in Medicare Advantage indirect medical education funds to offset the cost of a provision in a broader Medicare bill that would delay for 18 months a scheduled 10.6% reduction in physician reimbursements, CQ HealthBeat reports.

21 May 2008

DOJ investigating Alabama resort after manager prohibits HIV-positive child from using pool, restrooms

The Department of Justice is investigating Wales West RV Resort in Silverhill, Ala., in preparation for a possible discrimination lawsuit after a manager at the facility prohibited an HIV-positive child from using the facility's swimming pool and restrooms in July 2007, the Birmingham Press-Register reports (Bean, Birmingham Press-Register, 5/19).

21 May 2008

Smoking is addictive, but quitting is contagious

Over the last 30 years, the number of smokers in the U.S. has steadily decreased-a tribute to the efforts of public-health workers everywhere. And while this fact is unarguable, less obvious are the social and cultural forces that lead an individual to kick the habit. In fact, when someone crumbles that last empty pack of their favorite unfiltered brand and vows to never buy another, he might not realize that he is less like the heroic individual grasping his own boot straps and more like a single bird whose sudden left turn is just one speck in the larger flock.

21 May 2008

Low-intensity case management cuts chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related hospital visits in half

A new study has found that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are at high risk for hospitalization or emergency room visits from exacerbations or complications benefit from simple low-intensity case management.

21 May 2008

DNA modification seen in colorectal tumors helps predict outcomes, John Wayne Cancer Institute researchers find

An international study led by researchers at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John's Health Center has found that modifications to DNA found on multiple chromosomes in tumors can help to predict outcomes in patients with early-stage rectal cancer.

21 May 2008

Babies born preterm more than twice as likely to have major birth defects as full-term infants

Preterm birth, live birth before 37 completed weeks gestation, is a growing national health crisis, according to the March of Dimes. More than a half million babies are born too soon each year, and the rate continues to rise. Birth defects and preterm birth are the leading causes of infant death.

21 May 2008

NPR program examines HIV/AIDS education in U.S.

NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday" examined issues surrounding HIV/AIDS education in the U.S. The segment included a discussion with Adam Tenor -- executive director of Metro TeenAIDS, a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that runs education programs in city schools -- and with John Jemmott, a specialist in health psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

20 May 2008

Online game aims to raise HIV/AIDS awareness

The New York Times on Monday examined an Internet game, called Pos or Not, that aims to increase HIV/AIDS education and awareness.

19 May 2008

Aging brings ease and contentment

Aging brings a sense of peace and calm, according to a new study from the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Starting at about age 60, participants reported more feelings of ease and contentment than their younger counterparts.

19 May 2008

21st birthday drinking

The "21 for 21" ritual, where 21st birthday revelers attempt to down 21 alcoholic drinks, is highly prevalent among college students, according to new research. In the largest study of its kind, researchers at the University of Missouri determined that many college students drink to excess on their 21st birthdays and potentially jeopardize their health.

19 May 2008