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Language skills are essential to a child’s ability to communicate and develop. These skills enable children to engage with other people and learn from their surroundings and in the classroom.

Racial disparities in colorectal cancer screening rates

Blacks and Hispanics appear less likely to undergo colorectal cancer screening than whites because of socioeconomic, health care access and language barriers, according to a report in the June 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. However, other factors may contribute to screening disparities experienced by Asians.

24 Jun 2008

Few community health centers receive reimbursement for providing language services, report indicates

While 84% of community health centers treat patients with limited English proficiency on a daily basis, only 5% receive direct reimbursement for language services from Medicare, Medicaid or private insurers, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Community Health Centers, CQ HealthBeat reports.

17 Jun 2008

HIV/AIDS advocates petition Sen. Reid to override Sen. Coburn's block on PEPFAR reauthorization bills

In a petition generated by MoveOn.org recently presented to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), advocates asked him to override seven Republican senators, led by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who are blocking a vote on measures (HR 5501, S 2731) aimed at reauthorizing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, CQ Today reports. More than 15,000 people have signed the petition, according to CQ Today (Graham-Silverman, CQ Today, 6/13).

17 Jun 2008

NPR program examines Brazil's antiretroviral program, efforts to collaborate with other countries to fight HIV

NPR's "Tell Me More" on Thursday included a discussion with Brazil's HIV/AIDS program director Mariangela Simao. Simao discussed progress in Brazil's no-cost antiretroviral program and the country's efforts to collaborate with Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa on HIV prevention.

17 Jun 2008

Expansion of health insurance could help reduce health care disparities, lawmakers, experts say

Proposals to expand health insurance to all U.S. residents could help reduce, but would not eliminate, health care disparities, lawmakers and health care experts said on Tuesday at a House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing, CQ HealthBeat reports.

17 Jun 2008

Warning about use of psychiatric drugs with the elderly

Health officials in the U.S. are warning doctors that prescribing certain psychiatric drugs to elderly people suffering from dementia can increase their risk of death.

17 Jun 2008

Some muscles controlling facial expressions are not common to everyone

Laugh and the world laughs with you, but wrinkle your nose and you could find yourself on your own. A new study by a scientist at the University of Portsmouth who examined the facial muscles in cadavers, has revealed that the muscles which control our facial expressions are not common to everyone.

16 Jun 2008

Antipsychotic drugs get FDA label changes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today exercised its new authority under the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) to require manufacturers of "conventional" antipsychotic drugs to make safety-related changes to prescribing information, or labeling, to warn about an increased risk of death associated with the off-label use of these drugs to treat behavioral problems in older people with dementia.

16 Jun 2008

Presidential candidates comment on causes of autism - Association says evidence-based approach should guide national autism

Noting that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are often the first group of professionals to recognize that a child has autism and are central to providing treatment, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) sent letters this month to Presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama that advise taking an evidence-based approach to the vaccine controversy surrounding what causes autism and to policy development related to care.

16 Jun 2008

Scientist deciphers language bacterial cells use to 'talk' to each other - also discovers how to quell their conversation

Understanding the way bacterial cells "talk" to each other could lead to more effective methods for fighting the often persistent and serious infections caused by the biofilms they form, says a Texas A&M University professor of chemical engineering who not only has deciphered their language but also discovered how to quell their conversation.

11 Jun 2008

Specific immune therapy works for many people with allergies

The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care has assessed recent evidence on allergies. It found that the once controversial immune therapy against allergy symptoms can definitely help many people with allergies.

11 Jun 2008

People with tune deafness able to detect a wrong note unconsciously

People with tune deafness aren't able to tell when a musician accidentally strikes the wrong note in a song, but their brains know the difference. Researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that people with tune deafness, an auditory processing disorder in which a person with normal hearing has trouble distinguishing notes in a melody, are able to detect a wrong note unconsciously.

11 Jun 2008

Children in non-English-speaking households experience multiple health disparities

Children in U.S. households where English is not the primary language experience multiple disparities in health care, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found.

11 Jun 2008

House panel hearing focuses on health IT privacy, cost concerns

Lawmakers, patient-privacy and health care advocates, and information technology experts on Tuesday "debated ... how Congress can strike a balance between accelerating the adoption of a nationwide system of electronic medical records while protecting patient privacy," CongressDaily reports (Noyes, CongressDaily, 6/4).

8 Jun 2008

Should research volunteers be told results?

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans volunteer to take part in medical research studies, from simple health surveys to detailed analyses of their DNA or tests of experimental medicines.

8 Jun 2008

Majority of U.S. House supports repeal of Medicare therapy caps

With about one month to go before the current exceptions process for clinically based care above the Medicare therapy caps expires, a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives has endorsed legislation to repeal the arbitrary financial limit on therapy benefits.

5 Jun 2008

Talking to cells

For an organism to develop and function, the individual cells must exchange information, or communicate, with each other. Is it possible to learn their language and "talk to" the cells? Yes it is: Cameron Alexander and George Pasparakis at the University of Nottingham (UK) have been able to facilitate a conversation between bacterial cells and artificial polymer vesicles.

5 Jun 2008

Finance Committee staffers meet with stakeholders about Medicare physician cuts

Democratic staffers for the Senate Finance Committee on Monday met with physician specialty groups to discuss a legislative package proposed by committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) that would halt a scheduled 10.6% cut to Medicare physicians' payments and institute a 0.5% increase in the payments for next year, CongressDaily reports.

3 Jun 2008

Writing techniques improve results of post-traumatic therapy

Writing as a component of a clinical course of therapy improves results and allows patients to recover more quickly. Doctoral candidate Peggy Penn concludes this in her thesis, which she defended on Monday June 2nd at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

3 Jun 2008

Edward Kennedy has successful surgery for deadly brain tumour

Doctors in the United States treating Senator Edward Kennedy for a brain tumour say he has undergone successful surgery.

3 Jun 2008

Language News and Research

Further Reading

Racial disparities in colorectal cancer screening rates

Few community health centers receive reimbursement for providing language services, report indicates

HIV/AIDS advocates petition Sen. Reid to override Sen. Coburn's block on PEPFAR reauthorization bills

NPR program examines Brazil's antiretroviral program, efforts to collaborate with other countries to fight HIV

Expansion of health insurance could help reduce health care disparities, lawmakers, experts say

Warning about use of psychiatric drugs with the elderly

Some muscles controlling facial expressions are not common to everyone

Antipsychotic drugs get FDA label changes

Presidential candidates comment on causes of autism - Association says evidence-based approach should guide national autism

Scientist deciphers language bacterial cells use to 'talk' to each other - also discovers how to quell their conversation

Specific immune therapy works for many people with allergies

People with tune deafness able to detect a wrong note unconsciously

Children in non-English-speaking households experience multiple health disparities

House panel hearing focuses on health IT privacy, cost concerns

Should research volunteers be told results?

Majority of U.S. House supports repeal of Medicare therapy caps

Talking to cells

Finance Committee staffers meet with stakeholders about Medicare physician cuts

Writing techniques improve results of post-traumatic therapy

Edward Kennedy has successful surgery for deadly brain tumour

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