A new survey released by The Lung Association shows that more than half of Canadians with asthma notice that their breathing gets worse on smoggy days, yet few know the range of steps they can take to protect their breathing. Additionally, the survey found that a surprising 62 per cent of Canadians with asthma say their asthma “acts up” on days when air quality is poor.

In Northern California, like alot of areas around the country, we’ve had a significant increase in the amount of grass pollen in the air recently. As a result, many people…

As Americans observe 2008 May is Mental Health Month and National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, Mental Health America asks families to recognize and promote their children’s mental health and overall development through increased communication, guidance and emotional support. The theme for this year’s Mental Health Month is “Get Connected” to emphasize the important role of social relationships in protecting and improving mental health and building resiliency.

A new policy ending a requirement that military personnel applying for security clearance disclose any treatment they received for service-related mental health problems is a “welcome sign that the military is serious about changing how those in need of mental care are perceived and treated,” a

Native Hawaiians, Maoris and Polynesians have higher rates of breast, stomach, cervical and lung cancer than whites, according to a study published in the May issue of The Lancet Oncology, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.

CMS recently announced a decision on Medicare coverage of artificial hearts and a final rule on reimbursements for long-term acute care hospitals. Summaries appear below.Artificial hearts: CMS last week announced that Medicare will cover artificial hearts, as well as the implantation of the devices, for beneficiaries who participate in studies approved by

Senate action on legislation to delay a 10.6% Medicare physician fee cut might take a back seat to a supplemental spending bill for the Iraq war and a measure to delay new Medicaid regulations, AARP’s lead lobbyist said on Friday,

State officials soon will ask Congress to grant them more regulatory authority over the marketing of private Medicare drug benefit and Medicare Advantage plans to respond to continuing complaints of aggressive marketing practices, the

Newborn babies have immature immune systems, putting them at risk for severe infections and preventing them from mounting an effective immune response to most vaccines. Over the years, Ofer Levy, MD, PhD, of Children’s Division of Infectious Diseases, has shown that the newborn immune system functions differently than that of adults, but that one part of the system is fully functional and can be harnessed to boost immunity.

The United Nations World Food Programme began distributing food today in cyclone-damaged areas of Yangon as it ramped up efforts to respond to the looming humanitarian needs in the southern coastal regions of Myanmar hardest hit by the powerful Cyclone Nargis three days ago.