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Epilepsy-induced brain cell damage blocked in lab experiments

For some epilepsy patients, the side effects of epilepsy can be as troubling as the seizures.

29 Oct 2007

Low-dose CT scanning detects cancers long before symptoms ever appear

Early screening for lung cancer using non-invasive, low-dose CT scanning detects early stage cancers long before symptoms ever appear, according to results of a clinical study with 1,000 high-risk Canadian smokers.

29 Oct 2007

Childhood apraxia of speech becoming more common

Speech pathologists at Nationwide Children's Hospital report an increasing number of patients diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech, a motor speech disorder in which children have difficulty saying basic sounds and words.

29 Oct 2007

Do statins make radiation more effective at curing prostate cancer?

Patients with prostate cancer who receive high-dose radiation treatment and also take statin drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol have a 10 percent higher chance of being cured of their cancer at 10 years after diagnosis (76 percent), compared to those who don't take these medications (66 percent), according to a study presented at a scientific session October 31, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

29 Oct 2007

Can you put your faith in dolphin assisted therapy?

WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, is today calling for a total ban on Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT), stating that the therapy provided is ineffective and potentially harmful to both people and animals.

29 Oct 2007

Study confirms the aggressive nature of breast cancer in African-American women

Contrary to previous studies, African-American women with early-stage breast cancer who have surgery to remove the cancer (lumpectomy) followed by radiation therapy have a higher chance of their cancer coming back in the breast and lymph nodes 10 years after diagnosis, compared to their Caucasian counterparts, according to the largest study of its kind, presented at a scientific session October 29, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

29 Oct 2007

Hunger influenced by leptin hormone

Researchers at UCLA have determined the brain circuits involved in hunger that are influenced by a hormone called leptin.

29 Oct 2007

Lessons learned from Marburg and Ebola outbreaks

Outbreaks of filovirus haemorrhagic fevers (FHFs) such as those caused by the Ebola and Marburg viruses can only be controlled if agencies have the support and trust of local communities, according to two papers just published in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases as part of a special supplement on filovirusues.

29 Oct 2007

Study finds increase of avoidable hospitalizations in Washington, D.C.

The rate of avoidable hospitalizations in Washington, D.C., increased from 39.1 per 1,000 adults ages 40 to 64 in 2004 to 43.4 in 2006, and from 8.9 per 1,000 children younger than age 18 to 12.1 during the same period, according to a report released Thursday by RAND, the Washington Post reports.

29 Oct 2007

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report reports on Presidential campaigns related to health care

Forty-six percent of U.S. adults who responded to a recent survey conducted by Scripps Howard and Ohio University said that Democrats were more likely to improve access to health care than Republicans, Scripps Howard/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The survey, which included responses from 811 adults nationwide collected from Sept 24. to Oct. 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

29 Oct 2007

Baltimore Sun examines U.S. health care system, efforts for reform

The Baltimore Sun on Sunday examined how the lack of progress toward the "goal" of ensuring that all U.S. residents have affordable health coverage "is causing a slow-motion health care crisis that is already threatening the well-being of millions."

29 Oct 2007

UnitedHealth concurs with House panel that access to dental care lacking for child Medicaid beneficiaries in Maryland

UnitedHealth Group Senior Vice President Judah Sommer in a letter to members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy agreed with a panel finding that thousands of Maryland children enrolled in the company's Medicaid plan were unable to receive dental care after initially denying the claims, CQ HealthBeat reports (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 10/25).

29 Oct 2007

UAW members at Chrysler approve four-year contract with voluntary employees' beneficiary association

United Auto Workers officials on Saturday said that Chrysler Group employees represented by the union approved a four-year contract that will establish a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, the Detroit Free Press reports (Higgins, Detroit Free Press, 10/28).

29 Oct 2007

Southern Africa Litigation Centre launches HIV/AIDS program

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre on Monday announced the launch of a new program that will focus on human rights in an effort to address HIV/AIDS issues in the region, the SAPA/SABCNews.com reports.

29 Oct 2007

HIV vaccine trial volunteers asked to undergo testing to determine whether they are at increased risk of HIV

Researchers have asked more than 3,000 people who participated in a trial of Merck's experimental HIV vaccine that was halted last month to undergo additional testing to determine if they are at an increased risk of HIV, Reuters reports (Fox, Reuters, 10/25).

29 Oct 2007

Zimbabwe in line to reach antiretroviral treatment target, health official says

Zimbabwe could meet its target of providing 140,000 HIV-positive people with access to no-cost antiretroviral drugs by the end of the year, Owen Mugurungi, head of the Zimbabwean government's HIV/AIDS unit, said on Tuesday at a two-day workshop on drug access issues in the country, the Herald/AllAfrica.com reports (Herald/AllAfrica.com, 10/26).

29 Oct 2007