Feature Channels: Public Health

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People under the age of 30 account for the majority of new HIV infections in the United States. This age group is also more likely than adults to own a smartphone. Recognizing adolescents’ connection with mobile technology, a research team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, along with colleagues at Emory University, has secured $18 million in funding over the next five years from the National Institutes of Health to form the UNC/Emory Center for Innovative Technology or iTech.

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A new biomarker has identified known and unknown exposure to second-hand smoke and confirmed a strong association to increased mortality in non-smokers, according to a new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The results, published this month in the journal Carcinogenesis, provide a more accurate way to gauge second-hand smoke exposure than questionnaires, and present a strong case for more stringent limits on smoking and increased preventive screenings for those more likely to have been exposed to second-hand smoke.

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Houston Endowment has awarded a three-year, $3 million grant to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health to expand a successful teen pregnancy prevention program that began in the Sunnyside community of Houston.

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Latest Research from ACSM

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In a presentation to OneCity, Executive Director of Health People, Chris Norwood proposes a new vision of health---a vision that absolutely includes poor communities as recognized and valued partners in building their own health.

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A three-part series published in The Lancet and released in conjunction with the United Nations quantifies health gains achieved if cities were designed so that shops, facilities, work and public transportation were within walking distance of most residents.In part three of the series, researchers tackle how to implement timely research into city design, planning and policy to improve the health of a city’s residents.

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• In a study of VA patients with kidney failure, the overwhelming majority (85.5%) of patients had either received, or were preparing to receive, renal replacement therapy. • Even among members of the oldest age group (≥85 years) with the highest burden of comorbidity, most (51.2%) received or were preparing to receive renal replacement therapy.

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Structural virologist Ekaterina Heldwein of Tufts University School of Medicine will map out herpesviruses thanks to a five-year Faculty Scholars grant, a new program sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Simons Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Researchers have identified a way to prevent chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs). Vaccinating mice against a key protein that bacteria use to latch onto the bladder and cause UTIs reduces severe disease, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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An article in AACN Advanced Critical Care reviews the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection, clinical presentation of infection, diagnosis and various therapies including fecal microbiota transplant

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An article published today in the New England Journal of Medicine updates the medical community on a potentially devastating liver disease that afflicts approximately 29,000 Americans. Primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC, is a condition that damages the ducts that carry digestive bile from the liver to the small intestine. Many individuals affected by this disease eventually require a liver transplant for continued survival.

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Wayne State University recently received notice of a nearly $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation that aims to address the many health challenges faced in urban communities due to the increasing complexity of urban life, declining urban services, and growing health and economic disparities. The team science project will focus on childhood obesity disparities, one example of the negative consequences of such challenges.

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A Kansas State University study at the Biosecurity Research Institute has found important results in the fight against Zika virus: Culex mosquitoes do not appear to transmit Zika virus.

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Zhijian “Jake” Tu and colleagues found that placing a particular Y chromosome gene on the autosomes of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes — a species responsible for transmitting malaria — killed off 100 percent of all female embryos that inherited this gene.

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Shantenu Jha is a RADICAL man. Jha and his RADICAL (Rutgers Advanced Distributed Cyberinfrastructure and Applications Laboratory) team operate at the crossroads of computing and science, and their work has benefited research in the molecular sciences, polar sciences and high-energy physics.

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The Health division of Wolters Kluwer, a leading global provider of information and point of care solutions for the healthcare industry, has launched the Zika Resource Portal, a single point of access to trusted clinical knowledge and current information to help healthcare professionals worldwide stay up-to-date on the rapidly spreading virus. The portal provides complimentary access to leading evidence-based point of care clinical, learning and research solutions from Wolters Kluwer, as well as continuous updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO).

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Even as doctors across America encourage their patients to share concerns about depression, anxiety and other concerns, a new study suggests the doctors may be less likely to seek help for those same concerns about themselves.

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The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global, non-profit organization serving molecular diagnostics professionals, recently participated in two events designed to help educate lawmakers and congressional staff about laboratory developed procedures (LDPs) and the vital role they play in precision medicine and patient care. Both the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Hearing and the Co-hosted Congressional Briefing provided bipartisan forums for AMP leaders to discuss how LDPs are currently designed, validated, regulated, and used in a variety of clinical settings.

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Over 100 million women are on hormonal contraceptives. All of them contain some form of progesterone, either alone or in combination with estrogen. A study published on Sept. 15th in PLOS Pathogens reports that treatment with progesterone protects female mice against the consequences of influenza infection by reducing inflammation and improving pulmonary function, primarily through upregulation of amphiregulin in lung cells.

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Argonne microbiologist Jack Gilbert explore whether or not consuming probiotics benefits our health.

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An international team of researchers led by infectious disease experts at the University of Georgia has received $5.2 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop a more accurate, affordable diagnostic test for Chagas disease, a parasitic infection that kills more than 50,000 people each year in Central and South America.

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National Institutes of Health funding will allow physicians and researchers to help sickle cell patients in Memphis and surrounding communities improve access and adherence to hydroxyurea treatment

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The National Institutes of Health today announced that the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, along with the research firm RTI International, will receive a seven-year, $95 million grant to analyze the data from its new Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, an initiative designed to understand how the environment influences health beginning in the womb.

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"Vision impairment remains notably absent from many population health agendas and community programs,” say the authors of a new report, "Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow," from The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

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A new study offers compelling evidence that a novel form of the dangerous superbug Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can spread to humans through consumption or handling of contaminated poultry. The research, published online today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that poultry may be an important source of human exposure to MRSA, a superbug which can cause serious infections and even death.

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The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University has named Alicia Ely Yamin, a pioneering scholar in social and economic approaches to realizing health rights, as director of the O’Neill Institute’s Health and Human Rights Initiative. Trained in both law and public health at Harvard University, Yamin’s 20-year career at the intersection of health and human rights bridges academia and activism. 

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A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine-led team of international researchers has for the first time identified a fungus as a key factor in the development of Crohn’s disease.

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Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may reduce levels of vitamin D in the bloodstream, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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By analyzing information included in the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) database, researchers found that laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, a newer type of weight loss surgery that reduces the stomach size by about 75 percent, is a safe procedure with a low morbidity rate.

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A new explanation for some of the symptoms of fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability, has been proposed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Their explanation suggests new targets for treatment.

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Beginning in 2008, Volkswagen installed software to circumvent emissions testing by turning off the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions control system in real-world driving in nearly half a million cars. A new analysis using a tool developed and used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess the health and economic impacts related to air quality calculates that a single year of elevated emissions from the affected VW vehicles could lead to as many as 50 premature deaths, 3,000 lost workdays, and $423 million in economic costs.

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The Center for Global Health in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is pleased to honor Ernest Madu, MD, chairman and CEO of the Heart Institute of the Caribbean with its first annual Global Health Champion Award. Madu was presented with the award on Thursday, Sept. 15 as part of a celebration for Penn’s newly launched Center for Global Health.

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A new, inexpensive method for detecting salt concentrations in sweat or other bodily fluids has been developed by Penn State biomaterials scientists. The fluorescent sensor, derived from citric acid molecules, is highly sensitive and highly selective for chloride, the key diagnostic marker in cystic fibrosis

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Two recent studies published in Diabetes and Scientific Reports highlight the loss of muscle stem cells early on in the disease; a likely key to the muscle deterioration which happens later on. One means to prevent the loss of skeletal muscle in diabetes is to reduce myostatin.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its annual influenza season guidelines, withdrawing the child-friendly nasal flu vaccine, FluMist, this year. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead this flu season.

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Malaria-Transmitting Mosquitoes’ Preference for Cattle May Be Due to Chromosome Anomaly

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Roswell Park Cancer Institute scientists report that several flavorings added to electronic cigarettes impact the toxicity of the devices and that, among the tested flavors, strawberry was the most toxic. The researchers also confirmed an earlier finding that increasing the battery output voltage of these devices significantly increases toxicity. The study has been published online ahead of print in the journal Tobacco Control.

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Free Physical Therapy Program at Rutgers Helps Patients Regain Mobility

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The newly expanded Methodist Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at Methodist University Hospital will strengthen research into sickle cell disease and serve the growing needs of sickle cell patients in the Memphis area

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Using a clot-busting medication to treat people who wake up with symptoms of stroke was safe and should be studied further to see how effective it might be for a population that otherwise has few treatment options, according to researchers at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.

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Discovery of a novel, advanced technique to identify the rare cells where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) hides in patients taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). This is an important step forward in the search for a HIV/AIDS cure.

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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a strategy to overcome a key defense that drug-resistant bacteria use to fend off antibiotic attack.

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Dr. Lieping Chen has launched a startup—NextCure—that is poised to lead to even more breakthrough treatments.

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Researchers use hospital emergency room data from around the country to document emergence of E. coli strain that fights medication. They recommend development of new antibiotics and treatment guidelines.

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A team of scientists led by Stony Brook University researchers have discovered a new mechanism for a bacterial toxin to inhibit inflammation.

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An international, multi-institutional research collaboration identified, for the first time, mutant traits in the mouse for 52 human disease genes, which significantly contributes to the understanding of the genetic bases for some human diseases.

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Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University (GW) will hold a public forum on September 22 that will address the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which offers much-needed reforms to the nation’s system of regulating chemicals. Join us on September 22 for a lively discussion of new law and what it will take to implement some of its key health protection measures.

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Program will strengthen communication and coordination across hospitals and private practices to improve care and reduce costs.