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Health Highlights ? March 11th, 2010

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read.

New Approach to Immune Cell Analysis Seen as First Step to Better Distinguish...

Investigators have developed a new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data derived from complex mixtures of immune cells. This approach, when combined with well-established techniques, readily identifies changes in small samples of human whole blood, and has the potential to distinguish between health and disease states.

Scientists Find New Form of Prion Disease that Damages Brain Arteries

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists investigating how prion diseases destroy the brain have observed a new form of the disease in mice that does not cause the sponge-like brain deterioration typically seen in prion diseases. Instead, it resembles a form of human Alzheimer's disease, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, that damages brain arteries.

Food Allergy-Related Disorder Linked to Master Allergy Gene

Scientists have identified a region of a human chromosome that is associated with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a recently recognized allergic disease. People with EoE frequently have difficulty eating or may be allergic to one or more foods. This study further suggests that a suspected so-called master allergy gene may play a role in the development of this rare but debilitating disorder.

The National Health Observances Toolkit

To help promote certain health observances, the National Health Observances Toolkit provides information and ideas to engage the public in health promotion activities.

Childhood Asthma Treatment: Not One-Size-Fits-All

A new study has found the addition of long-acting beta-agonist therapy to be the most effective of three step-up, or supplemental, treatments for children whose asthma is not well controlled on low doses of inhaled corticosteroids alone. The study was designed to provide needed evidence for selecting step-up care for such children and was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

NHGRI Launches Online Genomics Center for Educators of Nurses, Physician Assi...

An online tool to help educators teach the next generation of nurses and physician assistants about genetics and genomics was launched today by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The tool is part of NHGRI's effort to address the growing need among health care professionals for knowledge in this area, which is paving the way for more individualized approaches to detect, treat and prevent many diseases.

Emerging Science, Tech Advances Highlight New NIH Common Fund Programs

Programs to create a new center for the study of stem cells and to increase capacity to deal with global health issues were among seven scientific initiatives announced today by NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. The seven research programs are supported through the NIH Common Fund, which encourages collaborative research programs across the NIH institutes and centers, or ICs, to accomplish work that no single IC could do alone. The programs are all scheduled to begin during fiscal year 2010.

NIH and FDA Announce Collaborative Initiative to Fast-track Innovations to th...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health today unveiled an initiative designed to accelerate the process from scientific breakthrough to the availability of new, innovative medical therapies for patients.

Information on Life after Cancer Now Available on NIHSeniorHealth.gov

Older adults who have survived cancer can find out what to expect once treatment ends in Life after Cancer, the newest topic on NIHSenior Health.

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