GlaxoSmithKline awarded up to $200 million by U.S. government to develop new antibiotics – GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) have agreed to a first of its kind collaboration that will support the development of several antibiotics to fight antibiotic resistance and bioterrorism.
Barack Obama launched a plan to map the human brain, in an attempt to find vital clues for treating diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders. – US President Barack Obama unveiled a bold new research initiative designed to revolutionize understanding of the human brain. Launched with approximately $100 million in the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget, the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative ultimately aims to help researchers find new ways to treat, cure, and even prevent brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Statement on National Public Health Week – As US celebrate the start of National Public Health Week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius emphasised the benefits of the Affordable Care Act to advance the public’s health, which started 3 years ago in America under the leadership of US president Barack Obama.
Medicare patients who use hospice receive better care at a lower cost to the government – Medicare patients who enrolled in hospice received better care at a significantly lower cost to the government than those who did not use the Medicare hospice benefit. The data indicate that annual savings to Medicare could amount to $2.4 million to $6.4 million.
Electronic health records shown to improve the quality of patient care — New Weill Cornell study provides compelling evidence that commercially available electronic health records are associated with better physician performance – A new study provides compelling evidence that electronic health records (EHRs) enhance the quality of patient care in a community-based setting with multiple payers, which is representative of how medicine is generally practiced across the United States.
PEPFAR HIV/AIDS programs linked to uptick in babies born at health facilities in sub-saharan Africa – While HIV programs provide lifesaving care and treatment to millions of people in lower-income countries, there have been concerns that as these programs expand, they divert investments from other health priorities such as maternal health. Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health assessed the effect of HIV programs supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) on access to maternal health care in sub-Saharan Africa for women who are not infected with HIV.
World’s largest release of comprehensive human cancer genome data helps speed discoveries — Whole genome data from hundreds of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patients exceeds volume of all other sources combined – A comprehensive human cancer genome data is released in US for free access by the global scientific community. The amount of information released more than doubles the volume of high-coverage, whole genome data currently available from all human genome sources combined.
NIH study shows poor quality malaria drugs pose threat — Drug resistance a growing concern in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa – Poor quality antimalarial drugs lead to drug resistance and inadequate treatment that pose an urgent threat to vulnerable populations. Emergence of malaria strains that are resistant to artemisinin drugs on the Thailand-Cambodia border make it imperative to improve the drug supply, stressed the researchers.
More than half of all cancer is preventable — Public health researchers outline obstacles standing in the way of prevention – More than half of all cancer is preventable, and society has the knowledge to act on this information today. Researchers outline obstacles they say stand in the way of making a huge dent in the cancer burden in the United States and around the world.
Effectiveness of interventions to improve screening for syphilis in pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis – About 2?1 million pregnant women have active syphilis every year. Without screening and treatment, 69% of these women will have an adverse outcome of pregnancy. The objectives of this study were to review the literature systematically to determine the effectiveness of screening interventions to prevent congenital syphilis and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.
