Health & Wellness - baltimoresun.com

Seasonal flu ramps up in U.S.; bird flu talks to start in Geneva

By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times / for the Booster Shots blog — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:07:00 GMT

Flu was in the news Tuesday, with updates on seasonal influenza in the U.S. and on the debate over bird flu research that is raging around the world.

Could your Valentine's kiss give you lead poisoning?

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:38:33 GMT

Kids have been sleep-deprived for more than 100 years: study

By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times/For the Booster Shots blog — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:59:00 GMT

Worried that your children aren’t getting enough sleep? You’re not alone. As one prominent educational psychologist put it, “physicians and writers on school hygiene agree that children are likely to receive less sleep than is needful to them.”

Maryland seeks to improve support for mothers to breast-feed

By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:52:00 GMT

Recommendations may include banning formula samples at hospitals and offering education programs

Breast-feeding didn't come easy at first for Sharalyn Webre, who struggled through five months with her first child.

Obama's birth-control compromise wins some support

By Christi Parsons, Kathleen Hennessey and Noam Levey — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:21:00 GMT

– For days President Obama had been hammered by critics — including Cardinal-designate Edwin F. O'Brien of the Archdiocese of Baltimore — over a regulation in the healthcare law that required religiously affiliated hospitals, charities and universities to provide birth control coverage for female employees even if that conflicted with church teachings.

Karen Handel calls Planned Parenthood a 'gigantic bully'

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:30:00 GMT

Dava Pharmaceuticals settles accusations it overcharged Medicaid

By Meredith Cohn , The Baltimore Sun — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:59:00 GMT

Dava Pharmaceuticals Inc. will pay about $11 million to settle federal claims that it misreported drugs prices so it could charge more of the state-federal Medicaid program, according to U.S. Attorney for Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and others in the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Audit finds drug oversight, record-keeping problems at Springfield Hospital Center

By Meredith Cohn , The Baltimore Sun — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:25:00 GMT

A state legislative audit of Springfield Hospital Center found that the state psychiatric hospital in Sykesville was not keeping good records or controls of its $2.4 million stable of pharmaceuticals.

Cesarean section, induced labor not always best choice, studies say

By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Cesarean sections are often performed when a baby is going to be born early. Likewise, sometimes labor is induced when a woman's water breaks too early in the pregnancy. However, two new studies suggest that these common practices may, in fact, not benefit babies.

State workers to get new pharmacy plan

By Michael Dresser , Baltimore Sun — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:02:00 GMT

Board of Public Works awards contested $2.4 billion contract

More than 200,000 Maryland state employees, retirees and dependents will switch to a new pharmacy plan as a result of the Board of Public Works' decision Wednesday to award the $2.4 billion contract to a St. Louis-based company.

Emergency preparation for dialysis patients

By Meredith Cohn , The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:17:00 GMT

In case of inclement weather, there are steps kidney patients can take to maintain their health

Dialysis is a lifesaving treatment for those with kidney disorders. But during emergencies, particularly bad weather, sometimes patients don't want to go — or can't get to — their usual dialysis center. There are some steps patients can take to prepare, says Brandon Eck at the DaVita dialysis centers, who volunteers with the company's emergency response team, DaVERT.

Seeing more than just blurred vision in your eye exam

By Karen Nitkin, Special to The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:08:00 GMT

Increasingly, optometrists are the first to spot conditions like diabetes and hypertension

A recent study commissioned by a vision insurance company confirms what many optometrists already knew anecdotally: That eye exams can be valuable tools for detecting the chronic diseases that are taking an increasing toll on American health and health care dollars.

Bread a culprit in Americans eating too much salt

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:28:44 GMT

Sun Magazine: From a marriage to cancer diagnosis, Giuliana Rancic opens up

By Jean Marbella , The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:57:00 GMT

From a long-distance marriage to her cancer diagnosis, E! host Giuliana Rancic opens up for audience

Growing up in Bethesda, Giuliana Rancic thought there was nothing more glamorous than the news women she saw on TV. First at the University of Maryland, College Park, then at graduate school in Washington, she trained to join their ranks, heading with mike and camera to the White House, Pentagon and Capitol Hill.

Maryland native at center of Komen controversy steps down

By Yvonne Wenger, The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:10:08 GMT

Analysts say Karen Handel's resignation a start, but not enough for full Komen recovery

The resignation of Maryland native Karen Handel from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation on Tuesday could be a first step toward the organization's recovery from a week of negative headlines, comments and tweets.

O'Brien says Archdiocese of Baltimore won't offer birth control coverage

By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:04:00 GMT

Health reform law requires coverage of contraception

Cardinal-designate Edwin F. O'Brien said in a strongly worded letter that the Archdiocese of Baltimore will not comply with federal law requiring churches to offer birth control coverage even it means dropping health insurance for its 3,500 employees.

Project seeks 1 million veterans to give blood, DNA for disease research

By Meredith Cohn , The Baltimore Sun — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:23:00 GMT

Department of Veterans Affairs working to uncover genetic mysteries

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is looking for a few good men and women to volunteer for a battle it's waging at home — against disease.

Komen controversy puts Maryland native in spotlight

By Yvonne Wenger and Jill Rosen , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:10:00 GMT

Karen Handel criticized amid Planned Parenthood flap

As the funding controversy swirled around Susan G. Komen for the Cure this week, much of the criticism was directed not at the group's chief executive but at a Maryland native who serves as a senior policy adviser.

Groups react to Susan G. Komen's Planned Parenthood reversal

By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:01:19 GMT

Breast cancer advocacy group said it would continue to fund Planned Parenthood

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer advocacy and charity group backed away Friday from a plan to slash funding to Planned Parenthood programs, but the public apology might not be enough to repair its damaged image right away.

Tom Brady highlights need for kidney donations

By Meredith Cohn , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:00:00 GMT

His former coach awaits transplant at Johns Hopkins

When the Super Bowl ends Sunday, win or lose, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is likely to exchange texts with one man.

Komen cancer charity abandons plans to cut breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood

DAVID CRARY — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:29:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity on Friday abandoned plans to eliminate grants to Planned Parenthood. The startling decision came after three days of virulent criticism that resounded across the Internet, jeopardizing Komen's iconic image.

Debate over Komen's Planned Parenthood decision grows in Maryland, nation

By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:53:00 GMT

Local affiliate plans first Ocean City race in spring amid controversy

The inaugural Susan G. Komen breast cancer race scheduled for Ocean City in April was meant to be a feel-good event promoting a noble cause — and a way to boost tourism during the resort town's off-season.

Adventist Behavioral Health to close Crownsville campus

By Jamie Smith Hopkins , The Baltimore Sun — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:20:00 GMT

Adventist Behavioral Health said it will close its residential treatment facilities and school in Crownsville later this year, moving the teen-agers it serves to locations in Rockville and in Cambridge on the Eastern Shore.

Mikulski bill would speed approval of new drugs by FDA

By John Fritze, The Baltimore Sun — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:16:00 GMT

Legislation focused on treatments for chronic conditions

Drugs for chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and diabetes would move through the Food and Drug Administration approval process more rapidly under a bipartisan bill Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski will unveil Thursday.

Maryland Board of Physicians gets new leader

By Meredith Cohn , The Baltimore Sun — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:56:00 GMT

Carole Catalfo named executive director

The Maryland Board of Physicians, which has faced scrutiny in recent months because of its backlog of cases and other problems, is getting a new leader, state health officials said Wednesday.