For the first time, scientists at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have discovered a unique population of adult stem cells derived from human muscle that could be used to treat muscle injuries and diseases such as heart attack and muscular dystrophy. [click link for full article]

An Alabama Department of Public Health report released on Tuesday shows a link between birth outcomes and health insurance, the AP/Decatur Daily reports. The report, by the department’s [click link for full article]

Despite recommendations for annual preventive exams for adolescents, only 10 percent of teens have enough visits within 12 months to receive the recommended three shots needed for HPV vaccine. Ideally the three shots are delivered within six months, and only 1 percent of teens see their physicians that often.”In order to be best protected against HPV, teens need all three shots before they are exposed to the virus,” said Cynthia Rand, M.D., M.P.H. [click link for full article]

The National Association of State Medicaid Directors and the American Public Human Services Association on Tuesday sent a letter to [click link for full article]

Nasal polyps are clear, gelatinous growths within the nose and sinuses, and are caused by chronic inflammation and/or chronic infections. People with nasal polyps typically experience severe nasal congestion and…

The next battle in the war on asthma symptom control could be a psychological one, a new study finds. [click link for full article]

Children under the age of 5 who receive an annual flu shot have a greatly reduced risk of needing to see their doctor or be admitted to the hospital because of flu-related illness. A new study in the September issue of Pediatrics that analyzes how many outpatient visits or hospitalizations might be prevented by childhood influenza immunization finds that vaccinating only half U.S. children could eliminate as many as 650,000 doctor’s office visits and 2,250 hospitalizations in a year. [click link for full article]

More than one-third of Canadian women believe that human papillomavirus vaccines prevent ovarian cancer, and about 25% of women believe routine Pap tests detect ovarian cancer, a survey commissioned by Ovarian Cancer Canada found, Toronto’s Globe and Mail reports. [click link for full article]

The Healthy Steps for Young Children Program, which added behavior and development services to pediatric practices, continued to benefit families more than two years after the intervention ended, according to a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. [click link for full article]

A study from the Monell Chemical Senses Center reports that nicotine in the breast milk of lactating mothers who smoke cigarettes disrupts their infants’ sleep patterns.”Infants spent less time sleeping overall and woke up from naps sooner when their mothers smoked prior to breastfeeding,” says lead author Julie A. Mennella, PhD, a psychobiologist at Monell. [click link for full article]