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IOM report identifies options that could further improve information obtained from pediatric studies

Federal laws that motivate or require drug and biologic developers to conduct pediatric studies have yielded beneficial information to guide the use of medications in children, says a new report by the Institute of Medicine. Still, studies involving children continue to be limited, especially in certain areas such as medications' use in newborns and long-term safety and effectiveness in children.

1 Mar 2012

Political Studies professor wants to see more research into remarkable examples of health

Political Studies professor Colin Farrelly wants to see more research into remarkable examples of health - such as why some people live 100 years disease-free.

1 Mar 2012

KF's TBI research director to speak at Washington conference

Jordan Grafman, PhD, director of Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation, is an invited speaker at The 2nd Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference on March 6, 2012, in Washington, DC. Dr. Grafman will describe the long-term cognitive and social consequences of traumatic brain injury.

1 Mar 2012

Aging does not appear to be a factor in poor sleep

Aging does not appear to be a factor in poor sleep, a new survey of more than 150,000 Americans shows. In fact, subjective sleep quality seems to improve over a lifetime, with the fewest complaints coming from people in their 80s.

1 Mar 2012

Study examines mRNA transcripts in the sperm of fruitflies and humans

It had long been assumed that the human sperm cell's mission in life ended once it had transferred its freight of parental DNA to the egg. More recently however, other components of sperm have been implicated in fertilization, and perhaps even in subsequent embryonic development.

1 Mar 2012

Perception of epilepsy is not faring well in social media

A revealing study published in Epilepsy & Behavior provides evidence that the perception of epilepsy is not faring well in social media. Kate McNeil and colleagues from Dalhousie University in Canada analyzed data collected from Twitter to provide a snapshot of how epilepsy is portrayed within the twitter community.

1 Mar 2012

Health care costs after self-castration significantly greater than elective outpatient surgical castration

Michael S. Irwig, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine, Anton Trinidad, M.D., PhD., associate professor of Psychiatry, and Matthew St. Peter, a fourth year medical student at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, co-authored an article in the Journal of Sexual Medicine entitled, "Self-Castration by a Transsexual Woman: Financial and Psychological Costs: A Case Report."

29 Feb 2012

Tenfold increase in OARnet network bandwidth speeds will boost medical research

Following his State of the State announcement of a tenfold boost to OARnet's statewide network bandwidth, Governor John R. Kasich joined medical researchers from across the state on Feb. 27 in a video teleconference to discuss how the faster network speeds will help enhance innovation.

29 Feb 2012

Scientists to speak on cultural issues pertinent to rehabilitation research

Two scientists will represent Kessler Foundation at the 2012 Race, Ethnicity and Disabilities State of the Science Conference on March 1-2 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia.

29 Feb 2012

Cold air can trigger coronary events

People with heart disease may not be able to compensate for their bodies' higher demand for oxygen when inhaling cold air, according to Penn State researchers, making snow shoveling and other activities dangerous for some.

29 Feb 2012

Timing of educational attainment associated with health

Better health in midlife might be a matter of degrees. According to a study led by Dr. Katrina Walsemann of the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, attaining at least a bachelor's degree after 25 years of age is associated with better midlife health.

29 Feb 2012

Examining link between 'power structures,' disease spread through study of incarceration, HIV treatment

In this Open Society Foundations (OSF) blog post, Daniel Wolfe, director of the International Harm Reduction Development Program at OSF, examines "the ways that power structures, rather than individuals, contribute to disease rebound and spread," citing a recent study by MJ Milloy and colleagues, published in the journal JAIDS, "which shows the link between incarceration and the failure of HIV treatment."

29 Feb 2012

People with TBI show decline in financial management skills

People who experience a traumatic brain injury show a marked decline in the ability to make appropriate financial decisions in the immediate aftermath and a continued impairment on complex financial skills six months later, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

29 Feb 2012

Research compares basis for social dysfunction between ASD, schizophrenia

A UT Dallas professor is studying the differences between the social impairments found in autism and schizophrenia to help develop better treatments for people with both disorders.

29 Feb 2012

DKR Fund for Alzheimer's research launches today

The Darrell K Royal Fund for Alzheimer's Research was launched today at an Interim Joint Committee hearing on Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in the Texas Senate Chamber. The DKR Fund is named after legendary Texas football coach Darrell Royal and was created to facilitate research and care for Texans to attempt to cure AD in our lifetimes.

29 Feb 2012

Obesity can decrease risk of mortality in people over 85 years of age

Obesity is considered the leading preventable cause of death worldwide - until you reach old age, that is. Though obesity increases the risk of an early death, shaving an average of six to seven years off a person's lifespan, Tel Aviv University researchers have found that this trend may reverse itself after the age of 85. In these people, excess fat seems to have a "protective" effect, decreasing the risk of death when compared to those who are considered at a normal body weight.

29 Feb 2012

Single dose of Ritalin may raise awareness of mistakes: Study

The study, by Dr Rob Hester from the Department of Psychological Sciences and colleagues at the Queensland Brain Institute, investigated how the brain monitors ongoing behavior for performance errors – specifically failures of impulse control. This study found that a single dose of methylphenidate (Ritalin) results in significantly greater activity in the brain’s error monitoring network and improved volunteers’ awareness of their mistakes.

28 Feb 2012

Low levels of omega-3 in blood ‘ups’ risk of dementia and brain aging: Study

Researchers looked at 1,575 adults who averaged 67 years old and had no signs of dementia and had not had a stroke. They were given MRI brain scans and a battery of tests to measure memory and thinking abilities; they also had blood drawn to check the level of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or omega-3 fatty acids in their red blood cells. Those with the lowest levels of omega-3s showed signs of accelerated aging. They had lower brain volume, indicating shrinkage comparable to two additional years of aging. Compared with those with the highest blood levels of omega-3s, they scored lower on cognitive tests measuring such things as memory, problem solving, abstract thinking and multi-tasking.

28 Feb 2012

Adolescents more sensitive to effects of sport-related concussions

Research results published in Brain Injury by Universit- de Montr-al neuropsychologist Dave Ellemberg reveal that adolescents are more sensitive to the effects of a sport-related concussion than adults or children.

28 Feb 2012

Study sheds light on why physicians mistakenly believe that poor people sue more often

Contrary to the common perception among physicians that poor people sue doctors more frequently, Ramon L. Jimenez from the Monterey Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Institute and his team demonstrate that socioeconomically disadvantaged patients, in fact, tend to sue physicians less often.

28 Feb 2012