October 2012 - NPR Health Blog - The Network of Care

Loss Of Balance Is Leading Cause Of Elderly Falls

Researchers say falls often happen when the elderly are not using a walker or wheelchair. Though 75 percent of patients in a recent study used one to get around, only 20 percent were using one when they fell. Read More...

Published Wed, Oct 17 2012 12:29 PM by Shots - Health News

Debate Heats Up About Contentious Bird Flu Research

Because of fears that lab-altered bird flu viruses could cause a deadly pandemic if they ever escaped the lab, scientists agreed to a moratorium on mutant H5N1 flu research eight months ago. Now top scientists in the field continue the debate about the...

Published Tue, Oct 09 2012 7:54 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Vitamin D No Help For Colds

Some lab studies suggested vitamin D supplements might enhance immunity. But a clinical test in New Zealand found that taking vitamin D didn't reduce the frequency or duration of colds for the people who took the supplements. Read More...

Published Tue, Oct 02 2012 2:35 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Among Disciplined Nurse Aides, Criminal Records Turn Up

The federal government is providing more grants for nursing home background checks, but a federal investigation finds that a background check would likely flag some, but not all, of the aides who ultimately are disciplined. Read More...

Published Thu, Oct 11 2012 1:51 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Spray Lights Up The Chemical That Causes Poison Ivy Rash

Researchers have developed a clever new method to detect the chemical that causes the annoying itch. But urushiol isn't all bad. It's also behind the shine of beautiful Japanese lacquerware. Read More...

Published Mon, Oct 15 2012 12:29 AM by Shots - Health Blog

When New Diseases Emerge, Experts Are Faster On The Uptake

Public health experts have gotten better at detecting new diseases and figuring out their cause since the SARS outbreak nearly 10 years ago. Advances in communications and genetics mean information about new microbes is more accessible. Read More...

Published Wed, Oct 03 2012 12:31 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Medicare Rolls Out Carrots And Sticks For Hospital Quality

Medicare is withholding 1 percent of its regular hospital payments to fund bonuses for hospitals that score well on quality tests. Separately, Medicare will penalize hospitals that have higher than expected readmission rates. Read More...

Published Mon, Oct 01 2012 10:11 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Chat With Jason Beaubien About Nigerian Gold: Today At Noon ET

NPR's global health correspondent Jason Beaubien just returned from a remote region of northern Nigeria, where he was reporting on the tragic lead poisoning of thousands of children. Beaubien will be chat today on Twitter at noon EDT about this crisis...

Published Thu, Oct 04 2012 7:11 AM by Shots - Health Blog

How Some Parents Could Learn Adult Daughters' Birth Control Habits

Under the federal health law, adult children can remain on parents' insurance plans until they reach age 26. Parents may find out about their daughters' prescriptions for birth control pills from notices of insurance benefits. Read More...

Published Tue, Oct 02 2012 7:54 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Meningitis Outbreak Puts Doctors, Regulators In New Territory

Little is known about how to diagnose and treat this kind of meningitis, which was caused by a tainted drug. And the investigation into how the drug contamination occurred is revealing a spectacular failure of consumer protection. Read More...

Published Thu, Oct 11 2012 4:57 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Girls Vaccinated For HPV Not More Likely To Be Sexually Active

Researchers found that 11- and 12-year-old girls who had the vaccine were no more likely to have had sexual health issues than ones who didn't. Still, parents' concerns about daughters and sexual activity remain a barrier to widespread adoption...

Published Mon, Oct 15 2012 12:34 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Classroom Yoga Helps Improve Behavior Of Kids With Autism

Kids with autism who did a yoga routine at school every morning for 17 minutes behaved better, researchers at New York University found. Read More...

Published Fri, Oct 12 2012 10:58 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Rare Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Spreads To Six States

A steroid drug administered to relieve back pain has been contaminated by the spores of a common leaf mold. Five deaths have been reported so far. Read More...

Published Thu, Oct 04 2012 4:51 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Fun With Physics: How To Make Tiny Medicine Nanoballs

Scientists have long toyed with the idea of putting medicine inside microscopic capsules that could travel to hard-to-reach places inside your body. Now, researchers have come up with a method to assemble tiny nanospheres. Read More...

Published Wed, Oct 10 2012 12:17 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Medicare: Where Presidential Politics And Policy Collide

Medicare is emerging as the most important health care voting issue — more important than even the Affordable Care Act. And with 10,000 baby boomers qualifying for the program every day, whoever wins the election will have to find some way to rein in...

Published Tue, Oct 16 2012 1:43 PM by Shots - Health News

October 2012 - NPR Health Blog

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