Health News Update

By ages 12 to 14, half of obese children have metabolic syndrome — a groupof risk factors that predicts heart disease and type 2 diabetes, a study shows.

At least 32 people in Ohio and Michigan have been sickened by E. coli that appears to be linked to ground beef.

Heart disease is the nation’s number one killer for women. But, the well-known heart attack symptoms acute pain, tightness, burning and a dull ache in the chest describe what men typically experience during an attack. For many women the signs of a heart attack are completely different and can go unrecognized. Women tend to ignore [...]

Teenagers throughout New York state recently urged State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R) and other senators to pass the Healthy Teens Act, which would make funding available for schools to provide comprehensive sex education, Long Island Newsday reports.

ACOG Today, the official newsletter of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), recently received the highest award for association newsletters in a national competition. ACOG Today received a Gold Award in the Excel Awards’ “Newsletters-General Excellence” category. The newsletter was also recognized for the second year in a row with a Silver Award [...]

To accelerate the translation of basic discoveries about HIV into advances in vaccine design and evaluation, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has formed a new Vaccine Discovery Branch within the Vaccine Research Program in the Division of AIDS (DAIDS).

Federal regulatory agencies have accepted recommendations of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) for two methods that can reduce live animal use for ocular safety testing, the committee announced today. ICCVAM is a permanent interagency committee composed of representatives from 15 federal regulatory and research agencies, including the National Institutes [...]

An ultrasound exam of the heel may be able to predict if a woman is at heightened risk for fractures due to osteoporosis, according to a new multicenter study being published in the July issue of the journal Radiology. Along with certain risk factors, including age or recent fall, radiation-free ultrasound of the heel may [...]

Large variations among hospitals persist in the quality of maternity and cardiac care for women, according to a new study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. The Fifth Annual HealthGrades Women’s Health in American Hospitals study analyzes the quality of care at U.S. hospitals in 17 states for treatment of heart [...]

Some Planned Parenthood Federation of America affiliates nationwide are “rebranding” their clinics to expand their appeal beyond the teens and low-income women who have traditionally constituted the majority of patients to more “affluent” clients in an effort to increase both revenue and “political clout,” the Wall Street Journal reports.