The rate of U.S. cancer deaths decreased by an average of 2.1% annually between 2002 and 2004, almost double the decline annually between 1993 and 2002, according to a report released on Monday by several federal agencies and the American Cancer Society, USA Today reports (Davis, USA Today, 10/15). [click link for full article]

A “means testing” proposal by the Bush administration, under which higher-income Medicare beneficiaries would have to pay higher premiums and deductibles under the prescription drug benefit, “won’t put much of a dent in the massive future deficits facing Medicare,” according to a [click link for full article]

Scientists have shown how developing brain tumors can turn an encounter with a signaling molecule from a fatal experience for the tumor cells into a cue for their own growth and multiplication.Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found the transformation relies on at least two other molecules that can be modified with existing drugs, opening the possibility that they may be able to use the established drugs to treat brain tumors. [click link for full article]

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) has declared 2008 the Global Year Against Pain in Women to draw attention to the significant impact of chronic pain on women and the need for more effective care. Lack of awareness of pain issues affecting women and gender disparities in treatment and research contribute to the suffering of millions of women. [click link for full article]

If a child is diagnosed with sleep-disordered breathing and has his/her tonsils and adenoids taken out he/she is more likely to sleep better and have improved behavior after the operation, according to an article in Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (JAMA/Archives).Up to 11% of all children may develop sleep breathing disorders, which include obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, snoring, and other conditions related to affected air flow, the authors explain. [click link for full article]

Nearly $15 billion could have been saved this year if private insurers that offer Medicare prescription drug plans had administrative costs similar to those of Medicare and if they obtained discounts on drugs similar to those received by Medicaid, according to a report commissioned by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif. [click link for full article]

Eating garlic is one of the best ways to lower high blood pressure and protect yourself from cardiovascular disease. A new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) shows this protective effect is closely linked to how much hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is produced from garlic compounds interacting with red blood cells.The UAB researchers found this interaction triggered red blood cells to release H2S, which then led to the relaxation of blood vessels. [click link for full article]

Depression has long had a popular link to cardiovascular disease and death. However, only during the last 15 years scientific evidence supporting this common wisdom has been available (Glassman et al., 2007a). Since the early 1990s studies have reported prevalences of major depression between 17% and 27% in hospitalized patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) (Rudisch & Nemeroff, 2003). [click link for full article]

A new system under development by a team of researchers at the University of Iowa will help children better cope with pain during difficult medical procedures.The system works by using a Web-based software to advise nurses on the best way to distract children from the procedures that cause the pain. The distractions could be anything from having a book read to them, watching a video, talking, or playing a game. [click link for full article]

The University of Delaware has been named a regional research participant in the National Children’s Study–the largest long-term study of children’s health ever conducted in the United States.The study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, will follow an estimated 100,000 children in communities across the United States, from before birth to 21 years of age. [click link for full article]