Associated Press May 14, 2008 WASHINGTON - Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor knows the daily balancing act that Alzheimer's caregivers face: When her husband could no longer stay home alone, she had to take him to work with her at the Supreme Court. Source: PsycPORT.com | 14 May 2008 | 2:40 pm
Houston Chronicle May 14, 2008 May 14--Mental health professionals are riding alongside Houston police in a six-month pilot program designed to help defuse crisis situations involving unstable people, officials said. Source: PsycPORT.com | 14 May 2008 | 2:40 pm
AllAfrica.com May 14, 2008 Kampala, May 14, 2008 (New Vision/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- A TOTAL of 465,000 HIV-positive people in Uganda have dementia, a mental problem leading to memory loss, learning and behavioural disabilities, a study has shown. The researchers found that older people were more likely to suffer from dementia,... Source: PsycPORT.com | 14 May 2008 | 2:40 pm
The Food and Drug commissioner has written Congress that the agency needs an immediate infusion of $275 million to ensure that imported foods, drugs and medical devices are safe.
Despite our best efforts -- or sometimes not -- our precious children can develop really annoying habits. But kids are flexible, and if we go about changing their ways correctly, they learn and adjust quickly. Parenting has strategies for tackling four today.
A lack of coordination between CMS and the Office of Personnel Management on prescription drug benefits for federal retirees has cost those retirees and the federal government as much as $200 million annually, according to a letter sent to the agencies on Monday by two House Democrats, CQ HealthBeat reports. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 2:00 pm
The Washington Post on Tuesday profiled American Cancer Society President Elmer Huerta, who uses Spanish-language television and radio to encourage Hispanic women in the U.S. to seek preventive health care. Since 1994, Huerta has starred in the national weekly television program "Hablemos de Salud," or "Let's Talk About Health," which focuses on disease prevention. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 2:00 pm
Health officials in Cuba this year will focus HIV prevention messages at men who have sex with men, Rosaida Ochoa, director of the National Center for the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV, said recently, EFE News Service reports. Ochoa, who was speaking ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia on May 17, said that about 80% of people living with HIV in Cuba are men. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 2:00 pm
Barr Pharmaceuticals on Friday announced that FDA has approved its application to sell a generic version of Bayer Schering's oral contraceptive Yasmin in the U.S., Reuters reports (Reuters, 5/9).In March, a federal court in New Jersey invalidated Bayer's patent on Yasmin, ruling in favor of a challenge filed by Barr (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/5). Bayer has appealed the ruling to the U. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 2:00 pm
Legislation that would allow FDA to regulate flavored tobacco products would exempt regulation of menthol cigarettes, which are widely used among blacks, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, public health experts have long suspected that "menthol might be a factor in high cancer rates in African-Americans. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 1:00 pm
CDC needs a $600 million increase in funding for effective HIV/AIDS prevention and surveillance programs, advocates said Monday at a briefing hosted by the AIDS Institute to assess the agency's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in the U.S., CQ HealthBeat reports. The $600 million increase would nearly double CDC's current HIV/AIDS prevention budget, CQ HealthBeat reports. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 1:00 pm
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear an appeal of a case in which a man was seeking asylum because his partner was forced to have an abortion in China, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The case involves Yi Qiang Yang, whose partner, Hui Ling, was forced to undergo an abortion by Chinese family planning officials when she was eight months pregnant. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 1:00 pm
Black and white rectal cancer patients on Medicare have similar referral rates to oncologists, but black patients are significantly less likely to receive adjuvant care after surgery. Medscape Medical News Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 12:43 pm
A new, first in class sleep medication is launched, offering hope for thousands of sufferers of insomnia in Europe. Circadin(R), sustained-release melatonin, provides natural sleep by increasing the body's own level of this naturally occurring hormone throughout the night. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 12:00 pm
Among women at high risk of developing breast cancer, breast ultrasound combined with mammography may detect more cancers than mammography alone, according to results of a multicenter trial that included UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers.Overall, 40 participants were diagnosed with breast cancer. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 12:00 pm
Residents of low-income, rural communities need better access to health information and health care, finds a new study that focuses on one of the poorest counties in South Carolina. Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 14 May 2008 | 12:00 pm
A key mechanism by which smoking triggers genetic changes that cause cancer has been unravelled. Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 14 May 2008 | 11:11 am
As medical advances have allowed patients who might have died as children to survive into adulthood, the health care system has yet to develop institutions for them.
The study was designed to see whether ultrasound might improve the chances of finding breast cancer in high-risk women with dense breast tissue, which makes cancer harder to see on a standard mammogram.
Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa, 40, was an illegal immigrant working in the vegetable fields of the Central Valley in California before becoming a neurosurgeon.
Maternal and neonatal complications are worse in triplet and quadruplet pregnancies than twin pregnancies, according to a report in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 3:06 am
Animal studies indicate that a genetic deficiency of an estradiol metabolite may underlie pre-eclampsia, and that the deficiency can be reversed. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 12:56 am
South Korea has culled all domestic fowl in the Seoul area in a bid to contain a second outbreak of bird flu to hit the capital in less than a week. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 12:53 am
Combined with diet, orlistat contributes to weight loss and improvement of insulin resistance and androgen levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to a report in the April issue of Fertility and Sterility. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 12:51 am
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthritis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but not ultrasound, is often found at the onset of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), according to Pennsylvania-based researchers. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 12:48 am
Low-vision therapy for patients with moderate to severe vision loss from macular diseases can substantially improve reading ability, mobility, and overall visual function, according to a report in the May issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 12:44 am
A group representing health plans and hospitals proposed health insurance reforms that would revise payment systems on Tuesday, clashing with a respected private foundation that proposed much more extensive reforms. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 12:41 am
Results of a study reveal a "rather striking" association between diabetic retinopathy, particularly proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and the presence and extent of coronary artery calcium (CAC), a reliable indicator of atherosclerosis, researchers report in the May issue of Diabetes Care. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 14 May 2008 | 12:37 am
Technical competence in performing screening and diagnostic colonoscopies is achieved only after participating in at least 150 cases, according to a report in the April issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Reuters Health Information Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 May 2008 | 11:41 pm
Scientists use gene analysis to identify the genetic profile of IVF embryos that result in a successful pregnancy. Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 May 2008 | 11:18 pm
A debate is needed over the ethical dilemmas facing people caring for dementia patients, experts say. Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 May 2008 | 11:08 pm
The Duchess of York says she wants to launch a UK health campaign after living with a Hull family living on benefits. Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
More than 1.5m Indian children are at risk of malnutrition because of rising food prices, Unicef says. Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 May 2008 | 2:54 pm
I was in Washington, D.C., recently with many of my closest friends celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Larry King Cardiac Foundation. Flashback to the day in 1987 that my heart literally stopped. I was working at CNN from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. and for Mutual Broadcasting doing an overnight nationally syndicated radio show from midnight to 4 a.m. Each guest I interviewed that night kept asking me if I felt OK, which I thought was rather strange, especially since one of those guests was Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. I finished the radio show and suddenly felt a pain I couldn't explain. After hearing all these guests telling me I didn't look good, I decided to go to the hospital just to make sure I was OK. It turned out I was having a heart attack -- an event that forever changed my life. My close encounter with death led to a quintuple bypass. This was the biggest wake-up call of my life. It forced me to reconsider my lifestyle. And it made me aware of something else: This whole thing cost a bundle of money! I was lucky. I had a great health plan with CNN. Insurance provided by the company paid for the procedure. How on earth could someone without insurance or vast wealth afford it? Where would they get quality care and treatment? The answers aren't pretty. The uninsured fall into a big, black hole in our nation's health care system. Heart disease doesn't discriminate -- rich and poor are vulnerable. So, I created the Larry King Cardiac Foundation to fund cardiac surgeries and other procedures for those who need them and have no way to pay. This group of Americans used to be called the "working poor." And now the middle class is affected, too -- in tremendous numbers. Millions face a dilemma no one should be forced to confront: going without health care or going broke if something unexpected occurs. We just celebrated a great evening to recognize the work of our foundation and those who support our efforts. We heard from patients and supporters, and were entertained by the wonderful talents of Nathan Burton, Darrell Hammond and three-time Grammy winner Seal. We had some wonderful surprises, which the crowd and I especially enjoyed. They're from some people you can meet by clicking on the videos at our foundation's Web site at http://www.lkcf.org/. I'll finish with a quick story about a 14-year-old named Matt. His father died of sudden cardiac arrest three years ago. This tragedy changed his life. Matt wrote to me about his dad and how he wanted to honor his life by saving the father of another child before it was too late. He made a red band, which you see me wear every night on my show. It's a reminder of so many positive things. We can all help one another and when we do we are part of the larger foundation family. Visit the Web site to learn more about what Matt is doing, how you can make a difference, and how honored I am trying to Save a Heart a Day. That's 365 hearts a year, and who knows how many lives?
International Herald Tribune May 13, 2008 The Department of Veterans Affairs is struggling to cope with a task for which it was tragically unready: the care of soldiers who left Afghanistan and Iraq with an extra burden of brain injury and psychic anguish. The last thing they need is the blend of secrecy and heedlessness that... Source: PsycPORT.com | 13 May 2008 | 2:40 pm
