A representative of the world’s largest organization devoted to human resource management appeared before a Senate panel to ask that confusing loopholes in the Family Medical and Leave Act (FMLA) be closed.

A UK research team reviewing data pooled from over 140 studies has found that increasing BMI (body mass index, the ratio between a person’s weight and their height squared) is linked to increasing risk of developing a number of common and some less common cancers. They also found that the link varies with gender and in some cases, by ethnic origin.

The Bush administration is planning to propose legislation that would address excess spending in Medicare and go beyond the “trigger” provision in the 2003 Medicare law to health care in general, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday,

An analysis of the air quality of trailer units provided to Gulf Coast area residents after Hurricane Katrina found toxic levels of formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory and other health problems, CDC officials said on Wednesday, the AP/New York Times reports. For the analysis,

“Does Preventive Care Save Money? Health Economics and the Presidential Candidates,” New England Journal of Medicine: The NEJM perspective by Joshua Cohen, a research associate professor of medicine at

FDA will decide on Feb. 23 whether to approve Genentech’s colon and lung cancer treatment Avastin for treatment of metastatic breast cancer, the

Researchers have solved a longstanding mystery about how flexing muscles “tell” nearby blood vessels that they need more blood to perform, according to a study published Feb. 15 in the journal Circulation Research. The study mechanism suggests new ways to treat conditions that involve poor circulation like peripheral artery disease, which comes with aging, affects 10 million Americans and leads to amputation in the worst cases.

Studies have shown that youthful playtime - running in the park or playing ball in the schoolyard - fades by the time children enter middle school years, sometimes with dangerous effects to their health. This is especially true if those children are low-income and Hispanic, studies show. Researchers with the University of Houston Department of Health and Human Performance want to know why, and what can be done about it.

The following highlights recent state news about women’s health policy and legislation.Colorado: The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted 3-2 Monday to reject a bill (

Medical Therapies Limited has announced that it has completed its ‘first in human’ clinical trial of Cuprindo” with interim results from patient diaries indicating that Cuprindo” is safe and well tolerated.The trial subjects, healthy volunteers, reported 100% compliance with the dosing protocol which involved application of Cuprindo” suppositories twice daily over a seven day period.