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Postmenopausal women can benefit from self-paced walking test

The self-paced walking test, known as the 400-meter walk test, is effective in measuring improved physical function in postmenopausal women who have lost weight through healthy physical activity and dietary changes, according to collaborative research conducted by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and The University of Pittsburgh.

7 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 7, 2011

Today's news highlights include reports about signs of progress in the debt-reduction talks and details of a new study that finds Medicaid makes a big difference in people's lives.

7 Jul 2011

Levels of urinary eosinophil protein-X may predict future atopy in asymptomatic children

The signs of atopy may be present long before symptoms begin, even in month-old babies, according to a new research study from Denmark. The study found that the level of urinary eosinophil protein-X (u-EPX), a marker of inflammatory cells, in newborn babies was linked to higher risk of allergic sensitization, nasal eosinophilia and eczema at six years.

7 Jul 2011

Experiment to protect astronauts from bone loss during space travel

Astronauts lose a significant amount of bone mass during space travel and with long duration flights there is concern that this bone loss could lead to an increased risk of fractures.

7 Jul 2011

Researchers find new molecule that controls pain sensitivity from UVB irradiation

Researchers at King's College London have found a molecule in the body which controls sensitivity to pain from UVB irradiation, identifying it as a new target for medicines to treat pain caused by other common inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.

7 Jul 2011

Sen. Rubio defends foreign aid in video response to constituent letter

"Freshman Sen. Marco Rubio is becoming an increasingly critical and hawkish voice on the Obama administration's foreign policy, but he is actually a supporter of U.S. foreign assistance programs and made the case for maintaining this funding to his constituents last week," Foreign Policy's "The Cable" blog writes.

7 Jul 2011

Cultural, gender and ethnic stereotypes can distort treatment of Parkinson's

Cultural, ethnic and gender stereotypes can significantly distort clinical judgments about "facially masked" patients with Parkinson's disease, according to a newly published study from researchers at Tufts University, Brandeis University and the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan.

7 Jul 2011

British company designing genetically modified mosquito to fight dengue

NPR's All Things Considered on Tuesday examined the efforts of the British company Oxitec to develop a genetically modified mosquito meant to wipe out wild populations of the insects, which carry potentially lethal diseases such as dengue.

7 Jul 2011

GEN article reports on new drug research and development costs

A policy specialist and a healthcare economist both say that the oft-quoted cost of $1.32 billion to bring a new drug to market does not hold up to close scrutiny, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.

7 Jul 2011

Obama calls GOP and Dem leaders to White House for deficit talks

President Obama stepped up pressure on Congressional Republicans on Tuesday to agree to a broad deficit-cutting deal, pledging to put popular entitlement programs like Medicare on the table in return for Republican acquiescence to some higher taxes.

7 Jul 2011

Low temperature vacuum drying process for production of probiotics

Probiotic bacteria are rapidly gaining ground as healthy food supplements. However, the production of this "functional food" has its pitfalls: only few probiotic bacterial strains are robust enough to survive conventional production processes.

7 Jul 2011

Data fusion of three vital signs may predict serious illness in children

The research will be presented today at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Academic Primary Care, hosted this year by the Academic Unit of Primary Health Care, University of Bristol. The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research.

7 Jul 2011

Puerto Rico reports first cholera case linked to outbreak in Dominican Republic

Puerto Rico has reported its first case of cholera imported by a recent traveler to the island of Hispaniola, where a cholera outbreak began in October, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

7 Jul 2011

Some states slow in implementing health insurance exchanges

The Hill reports that the delays taking place in many states could put their legislatures at risk of handing over this aspect of the health overhaul to the federal government. Meanwhile, in a pair of articles, Politico revisits key political messages of the reform debate — "repeal and replace" as well as "death panels."

7 Jul 2011

Study finds link between genetic variation and cetuximab rectal cancer therapy

team of researchers led by Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) oncologist Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D., has identified a genetic marker that may predict which patients with rectal cancer can be cured by certain chemotherapies when combined with surgery.

7 Jul 2011

Efforts to reduce Medicaid costs leave docs, hospitals feeling pinch

In an effort to contain health care costs, dozens of states are reducing Medicaid payments to doctors and hospitals. A report from a University of Kansas researcher, though, finds a "glaring need" for more preventive services and patient education and argues these steps are ways to control Medicaid spending.

7 Jul 2011

Medicare coverage, pricey cancer drugs and the 'rationing' issue

As health care costs play an ever-increasing role in Washington's budget drama, Medicare officials announced last week they will continue to pay for two extremely expensive cancer treatments despite lingering questions about their effectiveness. At a cost of about $88,000 per year, the cancer-fighting Avastin will still be available to eligible senior citizens for breast cancer treatment.

7 Jul 2011

Elsevier announces availability of new tool in expertise management solution

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the availability of a new tool in its expertise management solution SciVal Experts.

7 Jul 2011

U.N. Women report examines women's access to justice worldwide

"More than half of working women in the world, 600 million, are trapped in insecure jobs without legal protection, according to the first flagship report of the new agency U.N. Women. A similar number do not have even basic protection against domestic violence, it finds, while sexual assault has become a hallmark of modern conflict," the Guardian reports.

7 Jul 2011

Study: Cancer patients with VTE do not benefit from IVCF and fondaparinux

Cancer patients with blood clots -- which occur in one of every 200 cancer patients and are the second most common cause of death among cancer patients -- gain no benefit from the insertion of an inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) to the anticoagulant medication fondaparinux (Arixtra), according to research presented today at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

7 Jul 2011