Feature Channels: Public Health

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UAB-led Research to appear in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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The latest research and clinical information for nurses specializing in rehabilitation has a new publisher and a new online home, as Rehabilitation Nursing, official journal of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN), begins a new publishing partnership with Wolters Kluwer.

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Mount Sinai Health System today announced it will offer same-day appointments with primary and specialty care physicians. The Same-Day Program was created to provide fast and efficient access for patients with immediate health concerns or those requiring a second opinion.

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UF/IFAS researchers find two more non-native mosquito species in Florida that transmit viruses that cause disease in humans and wildlife. That makes nine new mosquito species found in Florida in the past decade.

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The Orphan Disease Center in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has established a new Program of Excellence for Motor Neuron Disease. The new initiative will focus on ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).

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Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke -- even before conception -- appears to have a lingering impact that can later impair the brain development of a fetus, researchers at Duke Health report.

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Institute Will Pursue Cutting-Edge Research to Find Treatments and Cures

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The lower a neighborhood’s socioeconomic status is, the more likely its black residents are to develop heart disease and stroke, according to a new Drexel University-led public health study.

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Cutting edge techniques show low-dose, long-term exposure to Roundup causes liver disease in rats

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Cornell and Weill Cornell Medicine researchers report on the use of biomaterials-based organoids in an attempt to reproduce immune-system events and gain a better understanding of B cells.

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African Americans may be less responsive to asthma treatment and more likely to die from the condition, in part, because they have a unique type of airway inflammation, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. The study is one of the largest and most diverse trials conducted in the U.S. on race and asthma, with 26 percent of the patients self-identifying as African American. Researchers found that black patients were more likely to exhibit eosinophilic airway inflammation than whites, despite taking comparable doses of asthma medication, such as inhaled corticosteroids.

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• Among nursing home residents in the last year of life, patients with kidney failure were far less likely to have advance directives that put limitations on treatments and designated surrogate decision makers compared with other nursing home residents with serious illnesses. • Advance directives with these components were associated with a lower use of intensive interventions at the end of life. • Nearly all kidney failure patients with an advance directive putting limitations on treatment received end-of-life care that was concordant with their preferences.

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• Hemodialysis patients tend to have denser blood clots than individuals without kidney disease. • Dense blood clots were linked to an increased risk of premature death from cardiovascular and other causes.

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As the United States prepares for new leadership, global health thought leaders will convene January 10 to discuss ways the Trump administration can contribute to pandemic preparedness, global health security, and domestic readiness and resilience.

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Researchers have found iron deficiency anemia protects children against the blood-stage of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Africa, and treating anemia with iron supplementation removes this protective effect.

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A large international survey, published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology by researchers from La Roche-Posay and the George Washington University, asked nearly 20,000 participants about their sun protection behavior and skin cancer awareness.

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State laws requiring ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders appear to reduce the number of fatal drunk driving crashes, a new study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Colorado School of Public Health researchers suggests.

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Researchers from Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear have uncovered two factors responsible for the chronic, lifelong nature of autoimmune disorders, which tend to “flare up” intermittently in affected patients. These two factors are cell-signaling proteins called cytokines—specifically Interleukin-7 and -15 (IL-7 and IL-15)—that are secreted by cells of the immune system and help modulate memory Th17 cells, a subset of T cells which are known to contribute to autoimmune disorders. Until now, it was unclear how Th17 cells maintained memory; the study results show that IL-7 and IL-15 signal the Th17 cells to chronically reside in the body.

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Researchers at the University Health Network have found that when treating recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (RCDI), a single fecal transplantation delivered by enema is no more effective than the existing standard of care for RCDI, administration of oral vancomycin taper.

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The perception that e-cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes fell between 2012 and 2014, a sign that fewer people see them as a safe alternative to smoking tobacco, a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests.

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Funding and publication of gun violence research are disproportionately low compared to other leading causes of death in the United States, according to new research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published online today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

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Over the last few weeks, Vanderbilt University Medical Center has seen multiple admissions and a few tragic deaths due to fire and smoke inhalation injuries.

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Chicagoland families affected by autism can participate in the nation’s largest study to uncover genetic links to the condition by attending an on-site registration and data collection event in the western suburbs, Saturday, January 14.

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A life-threatening infection in an infant with leukemia led to a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital discovery of how prolonged infection sets the stage for bacterial persistence despite antibiotic susceptibility.

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A new study has for the first time identified seven key proteins in the virus that may be the culprits behind this damage. The study is the first comprehensive description of the Zika virus genome.

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• In a recent study, most women with advanced chronic kidney disease had not received breast or cervical cancer screening in recent years. • Older age, greater comorbidities, and lower income were associated with a lower rate of screening.

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Whitehead Institute researchers provide insight into a specific gene pathway that appears to regulate the growth, structure, and organization of the human cortex. They also demonstrate that 3D human cerebral organoids can be effective in modeling the molecular, cellular, and anatomical processes of human brain development.

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Breast cancer researchers from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a novel approach for identifying how chemicals in the environment—called environmental estrogens—can produce infertility, abnormal reproductive development, including “precocious puberty,” and promote breast cancer.

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DETROIT, December 29, 2016 – American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) announced today its latest Autoimmune Heroes – Founder and Executive Director Virginia Ladd, Director of Operations Jerry Ladd, Assistant Director Patricia Barber and InFocus Editor and Executive Assistant Eula Hoover.

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Researchers at McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton have demonstrated that physiotherapists can safely start in-bed cycling sessions with critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients early on in their ICU stay.

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Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center announced its first-ever grants from its newly established Evergreen Fund to spur researchers’ efforts to advance bold ideas toward creating or partnering with a commercial entity.

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Research shows that only 8% of people making New Year’s resolutions end up achieving them each year. Some health experts believe a more effective approach would be to follow New Year’s with a recommit strategy that capitalizes on the natural momentum of the weekly cycle.

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A Saint Louis University geriatrician says her patients frequently feel better when she reduces the number of medicines they take. She advocates older adults who take five or more medications talk their doctors annually about triaging their pill boxes.

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When people with chronic health problems couldn't get around town to their doctors' appointments, a four-year Johns Hopkins program brought the appointments to them. Johns Hopkins cardiologist and senior director for accountable care Scott Berkowitz, M.D., has published an extensive report of a four-year, $19 million Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services grant in the journal Healthcare.

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Along with increased cheer and festivities during the holidays comes an increased risk of stroke, one of the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S. Patrick D. Lyden, MD, chair of the Cedars-Sinai Department of Neurology, said he sees a significant increase in stroke incidents during December and January, particularly on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

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A clump of just a few thousand brain cells, no bigger than a mustard seed, controls the daily ebb and flow of most bodily processes in mammals -- sleep/wake cycles, most notably. Now, Johns Hopkins scientists report direct evidence in mice for how those cell clusters control sleep and relay light cues about night and day throughout the body.

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Runners who consistently log high mileage show more neuromuscular changes that improve running efficiency than their low-mileage counterparts, according to researchers from Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom. The paper is published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

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A hospital engaged in a quality improvement program launched by ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) has identified weaknesses in existing antibiotic stewardship initiatives and implemented workflow changes that resulted in faster antibiotic administration. St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, Wash., was recently featured in ASHP’s InterSections, which highlights the hospital’s team approach to improving infection treatment with IV antibiotics.

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In a landmark trial, researchers have demonstrated that when treating children between 9 and 23 months of age with antibiotics for ear infections, a shortened course has worse clinical outcomes without reducing the risk of antibiotic resistance or adverse events.

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It’s no secret that discrimination is stressful for those who experience it, but turns out the issue is more than skin deep—these stressors can interact with our genetics to negatively impact our health, a new University of Florida study shows.

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The detection of prions in the blood of patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease could lead to a noninvasive diagnosis prior to symptoms and a way to identify prion contamination of the donated blood supply, according to researchers at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

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Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are working on the basic science that lays the groundwork to finding a way to treat and prevent the Zika virus, a global health risk.

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A new, highly effective multiple sclerosis therapy will be presented at the America’s Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2017, Thursday, Feb. 23, in Orlando.

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A Population Health Research Initiative is expected to help solve global public health problems by establishing a Public Health doctoral degree program and launching other collaborative programs that combine different fields from six academic colleges.

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Biology dictates that DNA creates proteins which create – among other things – metabolites, the outputs of metabolism. In organisms from fungi to humans, the relationship between these players is heavily influenced by our internal circadian clock, and responds to environmental influences (such as a prolonged day) with implications from industry to human health.

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Toxicologists at the Tennessee Poison Center (TPC), housed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, say that adults need to be aware that all too often these little batteries find their way into little people. In 2014 approximately 3,500 people, mostly children, ingested button batteries and reported that event to state poison centers. And each year in the U.S., more than 2,800 children are treated in emergency rooms after swallowing button batteries.

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Experimenting with human cells and mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that a genetic mutation that alters a protein called NOD1 may increase susceptibility to human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. CMV is a common pathogen that infects almost 60 percent of adults in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and can lead to devastating developmental defects in fetuses and severe disease in people with weakened immune systems.

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The O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law at Georgetown Law has named Eric Lindblom, JD, as director of its Tobacco Control and Food & Drug Law Program.