Patients with both Alzheimer disease and a sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) experience disrupted sleep, resulting in increased nocturnal awakenings and a decreased percentage of REM sleep. [click link for full article]

A childhood sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) is known to have negative consequences on cognitive development, behavior, quality of life and utilization of health care resources. However, a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), finds that breastfeeding may provide long-term protection against the incidence or severity of a childhood SRBD.The study, conducted by Hawley E. [click link for full article]

More than 40 states have budget surpluses this year, in part because of reductions in Medicaid spending growth, which has decreased from an annual rate 11% to about 7% within the past few years, the New York Times reports. [click link for full article]

Being over two-years-old, not being administered anti-coagulant drugs, and having a certain genetic mutation all increase the risks of repeated venous thrombosis (VT) in children, conclude authors of an Article published early Online and in the July edition of The Lancet Neurology. [click link for full article]

U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell and Zimbabwe Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa in a joint announcement on Thursday said that the U.S. will provide the country with $18 million over three years for antiretroviral drugs and rapid HIV testing kits, Reuters reports (Reuters, 6/7). [click link for full article]

By uncovering how one breast cancer drug protects the heart and another does not, Duke University Medical Center researchers believe they may have opened up a new way to screen drugs for possible heart-related side effects and to develop new drugs.The Duke researches compared the actions of two breast cancer drugs in experiments involving human cells and rats. [click link for full article]

A research abstract presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) finds that the health care costs of patients with insomnia are higher than for those without insomnia.Kathleen Foley, PhD, of Thomson Medstat, based this study on a retrospective analysis of health insurance claims data in the United States. [click link for full article]

Key milk nutrients, calcium and vitamin D, may do more than just help keep your bones strong. Increasing intake of calcium and vitamin D could reduce the risk for cancer in women by at least 60 percent, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. [click link for full article]

In a study that examined the relationship between race, menopausal status and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), middle-aged African-American women were found to be more likely to experience OSA symptoms than their Caucasian counterparts, according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS). [click link for full article]

A sleep-related breathing disorder among infants and toddlers born prematurely occurs earlier than expected in this population, and at higher rates than among full-term infants, according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).The study, authored by Hawley E. [click link for full article]