The Department of Veterans Affairs has published a regulation officially amending VA’s medical benefits package to include up to seven days of medical care for newborns delivered by women Veterans who are receiving VA maternity care benefits. “The regulation change makes formal the commitment VA made to women Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Erik K. Shinseki. “This falls in line... 

Divorce at a younger age hurts people’s health more than divorce later in life, according to a new study by a Michigan State University sociologist. Hui Liu said the findings, which appear in the research journal Social Science & Medicine, suggest older people have more coping skills to deal with the stress of divorce. “It’s clear to me that we need more social and family support for... 

Henry Ford Hospital’s Hermelin Brain Tumor Center is the first U.S. hospital to start a new clinical trial for Toca 511 & Toca FC, a combination therapy under investigation for high-grade glioma (HGG), a fast growing, brain cancer that often recurs even after surgery, radiation treatment and chemotherapy. The investigational treatment combines Toca 511 (vocimagene amiretrorepvec), a biologic... 

Students from Michigan State University’s colleges of osteopathic medicine, human medicine and nursing participated recently in a winter break study abroad course in Brazil led by the MSU Institute of International Health. The annual course, “Health Education Tropical Medicine in Brazil,” takes place in Belem in the eastern Amazon region of Brazil. It provides MSU health students... 

A new company formed around Michigan State University nanotechnology promises to move speedy detection of deadly pathogens and toxins from the laboratory directly to the field. Food contamination and other biohazards present a growing public health concern, but laboratory analysis consumes precious time. The company, nanoRETE, will develop and commercialize an inexpensive test for handheld biosensors... 

Transplant patients who develop head and neck cancer are more likely to be non-smokers and non-drinkers, and less likely than their non-transplant counterparts to survive past one year of diagnosis, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. As part of a 20-year review, Henry Ford researchers found cancers of the throat, tonsils and mouth may be more aggressive in transplant... 

Nine local communities from the greater Lansing area are participating in the 2012 Winter Warm-Up, which runs from January 21 through March 10. The free eight-week program, sponsored by Community Partners in Health, encourages local residents to launch the new year with a commitment to healthy living, and motivates participants to get active. The initiative begins on Saturday, Jan. 21, with a... 

Edward Bove, M.D., a world-renowned pediatric cardiac surgeon, was appointed chair of the University of Michigan’s Department of Cardiac Surgery, following action by the University’s Board of Regents today.. Bove is the Helen F. and Marvin M. Kirsh professor of cardiac surgery at the University of Michigan and is the first chair of the new U-M department. The U-M Medical School launched the... 

Prostate cancer is the most frequent and second deadliest cancer men face. A team of Wayne State University researchers recently received $363,660 from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health for the project – “Bone-induced c-kit in prostate cancer cells: implications for bone metastasis” – that aims to shed new light on implications for bone... 

Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed the tremendous cost of diagnosing peripheral neuropathy and found that less expensive, more effective tests are less likely to be used. Almost one-quarter of patients receiving neuropathy diagnoses undergo high-cost, low-yield MRIs while very few receive low-cost, high-yield glucose tolerance tests, according to the study that will be published... 

A receptor found on blood platelets whose importance as a potential pharmaceutical target has long been questioned may in fact be fruitful in drug testing, according to new research from Michigan State University chemists. A team led by Dana Spence of MSU’s Department of Chemistry has revealed a way to isolate and test the receptor known as P2X1. By creating a new, simple method to study... 

While global attention to HIV/AIDS remains strong, a lack of focus on prevention strategies is stonewalling health experts in many developing nations, specifically in the Caribbean. By adopting a new approach to HIV prevention, Michigan State University’s Institute of International Health is hoping to turn the tide on new infections on the island of Hispaniola, which accounts for nearly...