Reuters - Researchers have identified two new genetic mutations that cause a significant number of the hardest-to-treat kinds of ovarian cancer, and say they point to a new "on-off" switch for tumors.

(MedPage Today) -- Many cases of deadly clear-cell ovarian cancers and endometrioid carcinomas appear to arise from disruption of a previously-discovered tumor-suppressor gene, according to new RNA sequencing studies of cancer cells.

(MedPage Today) -- A decision by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to require screening for sickle cell carrier status among Division I athletes ultimately may do more harm than good, researchers predict.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Of the 354 million acute care visits patients made to healthcare providers over a three-year period, more than one-quarter took place in emergency rooms, representing a shift from the old days when general practitioners were the main providers of acute care.

Reuters - A new Alzheimer's compound kept toxic clumps from forming in the brains of mice, without causing side effects seen in similar drugs, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

AP - The peanut industry executive whose filthy processing plants were blamed in a salmonella outbreak two years ago that killed nine people and sickened hundreds more is back in the business.

(MedPage Today) -- All healthcare personnel should be required to get vaccinated against influenza, according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

CVS Caremark and Direct Relief USA have joined forces to offer $5 million in free flu vaccinations to community clinic and health center patients who have no health insurance coverage. CVS Caremark informs that the shots are currently available at all its CVS pharmacies and MinuteClinics throughout the USA. The company says free flu-shot vouchers will be distributed by CVS Caremark and Direct Relief USA to participating medical centers...

(MedPage Today) -- A short course of antibiotics for acute otitis media in children is slightly more likely to fail than a longer course, researchers reported.

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Sept. 8 (HealthDay News) A group representing America's pediatricians is urging that flu shots be mandatory for all U.S. health-care workers in order to protect patients.

Reuters - Providing surgical treatment for people who are morbidly obese could save British taxpayer-funded health services and the wider economy hundreds of millions of pounds a year, leading surgeons said on Wednesday.

(MedPage Today) -- A toddler's fixation on geometric patterns may be an early warning sign of autism, researchers found.

A new report reveals that $54.4 billion is spent annually on medical malpractice systems; 2.4% of America's health care spending. America's health care has existed with two separate, but related crises - its high rates of medical errors, and dissatisfaction with the malpractice liability system. The Institute of Medicine, in a 1999 study estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 thousand patients died annually as a result of avoidable errors in inpatient hospital treatment. This perceived "crisis" has been around for much longer than people realize. Over 20 years ago, Howard H...

Reuters - Long-term weight loss may release into the blood industrial pollutants linked to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers said on Tuesday.

US scientists have moved a step closer to developing a mind-reading machine: they wired a man's brain up to a computerized device that helped them to determine at a rate significantly better than chance, which brain signals represented which word he had read from a list. The study is the work of a team based at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and also another researcher from the University of Washington in Seattle. A paper about their research was published online on 1 September in the Journal of Neural Engineering...

Ever heard of tea-flavored beverage makers making health claims for their teas which really should only be made for properly brewed tea? It seems the FDA (Food and Drug Administration, USA) has, and is warning both Dr. Pepper Snapple Group about its Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale and Unilever Americas over its website claims and labeling for Lipton Green Tea. It accuses them of making unsubstantiated claims, among other things...

(MedPage Today) -- Skimping on sleep can increase the risk for common psychological problems such as low mood and anxiety, according to a large prospective study.

People with long-term weight loss have higher levels of persistent organic pollutants in their blood, which are known to increase the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes, according to an article published today in the International Journal of Obesity. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds, they are resistant to environmental degradation - they do not break down easily, so they persist and build up in the environment. POPs can bioaccumulate (build up) in human and animal tissue, as well as food chains...

(MedPage Today) -- Physicians who see more socially disadvantaged and nonwhite patients received overall lower-quality performance ratings -- while doctors who see fewer such patients received higher rankings, researchers found.

Preventive health services such as daily aspirin use, tobacco cessation screening and alcohol abuse screening can potentially save 2 million lives and nearly $4 billion annually, according to a new paper produced by the National Commission on Prevention Priorities (NCPP). The NCPP is convened by the Partnership for Prevention. Four of the five lead authors perform research with HealthPartners Research Foundation. The paper, "Greater Use Of Preventive Services In U.S. Health Care Could Save Lives At Little Or No Cost," is published in the September issue of Health Affairs...