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No single approach might effectively improve Americans' dietary behavior, health

Will people eat healthier foods if fresh fruits and vegetables are available in stores near their homes? Will they eat less fast food if restaurants are not in their neighborhoods? These and other policy interventions may be useful steps toward better public health, but no single approach alone will effectively improve Americans' diets or stem the obesity epidemic, concludes a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

14 Jul 2011

Maintaining general health may help reduce risk for dementia

Improving and maintaining health factors not traditionally associated with dementia, such as denture fit, vision and hearing, may lower a person's risk for developing dementia, according to a new study published in the July 13, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

14 Jul 2011

Five-year research initiative to cure HIV disease

A team of AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and other institutions have embarked on a joint five-year research initiative to cure HIV disease by finding ways to completely purge the virus from the body in people already successfully suppressing the virus with antiretroviral drug therapy.

14 Jul 2011

Accelrys releases Discovery Studio software for biotherapeutics research

Accelrys, Inc., a leading scientific enterprise R&D software and services company, today announced a new release of the Discovery Studio life sciences modeling and simulation software.

14 Jul 2011

Cancer studies less likely to make data available for future research

A new study finds that -- even in a field with clear standards and online databases -- the rate of public data archiving in cancer research is increasing only slowly. Furthermore, research studies in cancer and human subjects are less likely than other research studies to make their datasets available for reuse.

14 Jul 2011

Raising taxes on cigarettes does not motivate all smokers to quit the deadly habit

Raising taxes on cigarettes, a public health measure used by governments to encourage people to quit, doesn't motivate all smokers to stop the deadly habit.

14 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Prominent Republicans against IPAB; docs defend health law; medical marijuana research

The IPAB has created "immediate uncertainty at hand," says Scott & White Healthcare in central Texas, for their 12 hospitals and more than 800 physicians. Many more organizations and associations have expressed similar concerns and urged me to do what I can to repeal this ill-conceived bureaucratic board. That's why I have introduced the Health Care Bureaucrats Elimination Act, and why I'm testifying Wednesday on the other side of the Capitol to build support in the House.

14 Jul 2011

Dummy inhalers trick asthma patients to breathe easier: Study

A new study shows that dummy pills or placebo can act in asthma patients effectively making them think that real and fake drugs were doing the same level of good, even though the real medication actually had a much greater physical effect on their lungs. The effect was so strong that it convinced patients they were breathing much better even if they hadn't taken a real drug and hadn't actually improved much, as measured by a breathing test.

13 Jul 2011

Swine flu vaccine and risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome

In a large five nation study from Europe it was seen that the use of adjuvanted vaccines against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus probably did not increase the risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), but the investigators could not firmly rule out a slightly greater chance of suffering the paralytic condition.

13 Jul 2011

Chronic self-reported NSAID use associated with increased risk of adverse events in hypertensive patients with CAD

A study published in the July issue of The American Journal of Medicine, reports that among hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease, chronic self-reported use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was associated with an increased risk of adverse events during long-term follow-up. Long-term NSAID use is common for treatment of chronic pain.

13 Jul 2011

Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges Explorations increases investments in bold innovative ideas

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that twelve grantees have advanced to the next level of Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE), an initiative that enables researchers worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges. The grantees will receive additional funding to continue Phase II of their research over a two-year period.

13 Jul 2011

IAS, NIDA announce recipients of third annual joint research fellowships

The International AIDS Society (IAS) and the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) today announced the recipients of their third annual joint research fellowships. Recipients of the prestigious awards will receive US$75,000 each to advance scientific understanding of the linkages between drug use and HIV while fostering multinational research.

13 Jul 2011

Study evaluates viewing distance and font size in smart phone users

Smart phone users reading text messages and internet pages hold their devices at a closer distance than they would for printed text—which may have important implications for prescribing vision correction, reports a study in the July issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

13 Jul 2011

JSPH, Worldwide Clinical Trials partner to meet demands of healthcare reform

Worldwide Clinical Trials Inc., a leading, global provider of clinical research services, and Thomas Jefferson University's School of Population Health (JSPH), under the direction of David B. Nash, MD, MBA, today announced that they have entered into an alliance to provide pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients with a broad range of outcomes research services including comparative effectiveness, burden of illness, and quality of life studies.

13 Jul 2011

Study about impact of drug shortages on U.S. health systems

Increasing drug shortages are impacting patient care and increasing costs to the nation's health system, according to a new study released today by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

13 Jul 2011

Teenagers prefer beverages that contain caffeine

Research to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, indicates that caffeine added to sugar-sweetened, carbonated beverages teaches adolescents to prefer those beverages.

13 Jul 2011

Article describes predictors of post-TBI psychiatric disorders

A history of psychiatric illness such as depression or anxiety before a traumatic brain injury (TBI), together with other risk factors, are strongly predictive of post-TBI psychiatric disorders, according to an article published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

13 Jul 2011

Study: Family meals may help prevent eating disorders in teens

As children become teenagers, it may be more challenging to regularly include them in family meals, but doing so is key to heading off such problems as eating disorders, obesity, and inadequate nutrition in adolescence, said Barbara Fiese, a University of Illinois professor of human development and family studies and director of the U of I's Family Resiliency Center.

13 Jul 2011

Regular exercise may help prevent panic and related disorders

Regular exercise may be a useful strategy for helping prevent the development of panic and related disorders, a new study suggests.

13 Jul 2011

Adopting dominant poses may help reduce pain

Mothers have been telling their children to stop slouching for ages. It turns out that mom was onto something and that poor posture not only makes a bad impression, but can actually make you physically weaker. According to a study by Scott Wiltermuth, assistant professor of management organization at the USC Marshall School of Business, and Vanessa K. Bohns, postdoctoral fellow at the J.L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, adopting dominant versus submissive postures actually decreases your sensitivity to pain.

13 Jul 2011