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Black patients face higher death rates in early stages of kidney disease

Black patients are more likely to die in the early stages of chronic kidney disease than whites, according to a new study by a Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) researcher and his team that will be published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

19 May 2008

Senate leaders agree on privacy protections amendment to health care information technology bill

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Wednesday announced that sponsors of a bill (HR 1693) that would promote the use of health care information technology have agreed to include an amendment Leahy proposed to help protect patient privacy, CQ HealthBeat reports. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) introduced the legislation last October.

19 May 2008

Cleveland Clinic Medical School to offer no-cost education for students pursuing academic careers

The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University on Thursday announced that all future students entering the school will be given full scholarships in an effort to promote academic medicine as a career path among medical students, the Wall Street Journal reports.

19 May 2008

Second Peace Corps volunteer reports being discharged after testing HIV-positive, Washington Post reports

Washington Post columnist Stephen Barr on Friday examined the case of a second Peace Corps volunteer who said she was discharged from service after testing HIV-positive. Rebecca Coulborn, a former volunteer in Burkina Faso, said she was required to leave her post immediately in 2001 after she tested positive for the virus.

19 May 2008

Gap in mortality rates between people with more, less education widened, study finds

The gap in mortality rates between highly educated and poorly educated people widened during the 1990s, according to a study published on Tuesday in the online journal PLoS One, the Washington Post reports.

19 May 2008

Group Health study debunks five myths about abuse of men

Domestic violence can happen to men, not only to women, according to Group Health research in the June American Journal of Preventive Medicine. "Domestic violence in men is under-studied and often hidden-much as it was in women 10 years ago," said study leader Robert J. Reid, MD, PhD, an associate investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies. "We want abused men to know they're not alone."

19 May 2008

Obesity and unhealthy lifestyles linked to more complex urinary problems

People who are obese and lead unhealthy lifestyles are more likely to suffer from a larger number of urinary problems, according to a population-based study of more than 5,000 men and women published in the May issue of the UK-based urology journal BJU International.

15 May 2008

New report details cancer prevention efforts

An annual report from the American Cancer Society highlights that long-term favorable trends have stalled for several factors that have been responsible for declining cancer death rates in the U.S.

15 May 2008

Research targets diabetes-related eye conditions

New research projects commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research's Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different screening tests used in diabetic eye care.

15 May 2008

New Wilmot Cancer Center offers expanded care, research for cures

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) today celebrates the expansion of cancer care and research as it dedicates the new James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. The Center introduces leading-edge technology, greater access to multidisciplinary care, a new model for breast care, and more opportunities to receive tomorrow's therapies today.

15 May 2008

Pediatric obesity program effectively improves outcomes for kids

A multidisciplinary pediatric weight management program can improve the weight status of high-risk patients, according to Joseph Skelton, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist and Director of the Pediatric Weight Management program (called Brenner FIT) at Brenner Children's Hospital.

15 May 2008

Kids' sport: more than health and fitness

Children learn fair play, gender identity, self motivation and much more through participation in sport activities, a new book argues.

15 May 2008

Poll finds planning tops action when it comes to healthcare advance planning

While more than three-quarters of Americans have discussed how they want to be cared for in the event they are incapacitated and unable to make their own health care decisions, less than one-third (30 percent) have actually legally appointed someone to act on their behalf.

14 May 2008

Three quarters of child car deaths could have been prevented in Australia

In what will come as quite shocking news, Australian researchers say that almost three-quarters of child deaths in car accidents could have been prevented if seatbelts had been properly fitted.

13 May 2008

Just what is a binge drinker and how to get through to them

Just as governments in Australia and Britain are on the brink of introducing new measures to combat alcohol abuse and binge drinking, new research says that campaigns warning about the harmful effect of excessive alcohol consumption don't work.

13 May 2008

Chronic disease management: Does it improve health and save money?

A study published in the May/June issue of Health Affairs reports on the first randomized trial providing a scientifically valid look at what one might expect from chronic disease management programs that serve low-income individuals. The study result provides good news for state Medicaid leaders struggling to meet the needs of individuals with chronic conditions and also suggests that some disease management efforts, even among relatively low-risk patients, may be an effective strategy.

13 May 2008

Facing the Presidential candidates; pollsters say sweeping health reform unlikely in new administration and congress

Despite the prominent role that health care reform is playing in the 2008 presidential election, leading Republican and Democratic pollsters agree that deep partisan divides among voters -- combined with a worsening economy -- may permit only incremental, rather than sweeping, changes to the health care system. The perspectives of political pollsters William McInturff and Celinda Lake are featured in a far-reaching thematic issue on health reform in the May/June 2008 issue of the journal Health Affairs.

13 May 2008

microRNAs provide more clues to genetics of schizophrenia

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs, a family of molecules that regulate expression of numerous genes, may contribute to the behavioral and neuronal deficits associated with schizophrenia and possibly other brain disorders.

11 May 2008

University of Leicester to lead audit of adults with autism

The University of Leicester is leading on a national study to calculate the number of adults with autism, it has been announced today.

9 May 2008

New guidelines say botulinum toxin effective for many neurological disorders, but not headache

New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology confirm that the drug botulinum toxin is safe and effective for treating a variety of neurological conditions. Surprisingly, the drug may not be effective for chronic headaches, accrding to Allison Brashear, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, who helped develop the guidelines.

9 May 2008