On Tuesday, HHS and CDC will host a webinar with the American Diabetes Association, the American Lung Association, and the American Cancer Society. Other activities are planned all week, focusing on the importance of continuing the tide of flu vaccinations.
How the drug influences gene expression in the brain's pleasure circuitry without changing the gene's sequence is explained in a NIDA-funded study. The knowledge may lead to more effective treatment medications.
Closing schools for less than two weeks during an influenza epidemic has no effect on infection rates, according to a study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, RTI International, and the Allegheny County Health Department.
Spectranetics Corp., a medical device manufacturer, located in Colorado Springs, Colo., has agreed to pay the United States $4.9 million in civil damages plus a $100,000 forfeiture to resolve claims against the company, the Department of Justice announced.
A new research program called the Medication Exposure in Pregnancy Risk Evaluation Program (MEPREP) will fund research to study the effects of prescription medications used during pregnancy. The program is a collaboration among the Food and Drug Administration and researchers at the HMO Research Network Center for Education and Research in Therapeutics (CERT), Kaiser Permanente's multiple research centers and Vanderbilt University.
Pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration of cardiovascular devices is often based on studies that lack adequate strength or may have been prone to bias, according to a study in the December 23/30 issue of JAMA. The researchers found that of nearly 80 high-risk devices, the majority received approval based on data from a single study.
A new study shines a light on depression in the workplace, suggesting that psychological stress at the office--or wherever people earn their paychecks--can make it more difficult for depressed workers to perform their jobs and be productive.
One dose of vaccine may be effective to protect infants and children and reduce transmission of the H1N1 virus, according to a study in JAMA, which was published online on Dec, 21, 2009, because of its public health implications. The study will appear in the Jan. 6 print edition of the journal.
Signed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski last March, the law added 12 types of cancer to existing firefighter presumptions for employment-caused occupational diseases under workers' comp.
Pediatric researchers have identified a novel gene involved in childhood asthma, in one of the largest gene studies to date of the common respiratory disease. Because the gene, called DENND1B, affects cells and signaling molecules thought to be instrumental in the immune system overreaction that occurs in asthma, the discovery may have singled out an important target for new treatments.
"While the value proposition of BioMedSearch is about the content and our advanced search features, we are also excited about the prospects for researchers, scientists, and medical professionals to collaborate and participate in the community," said CEO Erik Reeves.
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Mount Sinai), the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (Salk), and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) have identified 295 human cell factors that influenza A strains must harness to infect a cell, including the currently circulating swine-origin H1N1. The team also identified small molecule compounds that act on several of these factors and inhibit viral replication, pointing to new ways to treat flu. These findings were published online on Dec. 21 in the journal Nature.
Buy-in. It is a critical element to a valued safety and health process. The problem is, no one seems to be able to agree on how best to get there from here.
Executives are people first. Sounds obvious, but this is key to heightening active support for Safety and Health from your company's apex.
Building a mobile computer for health care involved totally sealing it and adding features such as a fingerprint reader for biometric sign-in, an integrated camera, and a built-in bar code scanner for scanning patients' wrist bands and medicines, said Greg Davidson, Senior Business Development Manager for Health Care for Panasonic Computer Solutions Company (Secaucus, N.J.). He talked about creating computers for these and other challenging environments during a Dec. 1 conversation with OH&S Editor Jerry Laws.
Jackson, Mich., resident Terrence Hicks and Detroit residents Muhammed Al Mahdi and John Saunders pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan for their roles in a $4.2 million Medicare fraud scheme, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI's Detroit Field Office, and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced recently.
"The resolution of this matter yielded a substantial recovery for taxpayers, and it underscores our commitment to ensure that services reimbursable by federal health care programs are based on the best interests of patients rather than the personal financial interests of referring physicians," said Tony West, assistant attorney general for DOJ’s Civil Division.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Procter & Gamble Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio, have announced a voluntary recall of Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu 24-Count Bonus Pack Liquicaps.
In the study, scientists identify reductions in stress hormones and other stress-related biochemical changes in volunteers who rated themselves as highly stressed and ate dark chocolate for two weeks.
First responders are prepared, equipped, and trained to handle various emergency situations; however, this great responsibility can be particularly burdensome on one's emotions.