Obama Unveils $63 Billion Global Health Initiative

U.S. President Barack Obama has announced a $63 billion, six-year health initiative to help people in the world's poorest countries, most of it to bolster existing programs.

"We cannot simply confront individual preventable illnesses in isolation. The world is interconected, and that demands an integrated approach to global health," Obama said in a statement.

Video Can Help Patients Make End-Of-Life Decision

Viewing a video showing a patient with advanced dementia interacting with family and caregivers may help elderly patients plan for end-of-life care, according to a study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers. In their report, being released online today, the investigators find that participants who watched such a video in addition to listening to a verbal description of the condition were more likely to indicate they would choose only comfort care if they developed advanced dementia and also said they felt the video was helpful to their decision-making process.

Acupuncture Eases A Side Effect Of Radiation

When people with head or neck cancer are treated with radiation, a common side effect is dry mouth, and now researchers have shown that the problem can be relieved by acupuncture.

Excessive dryness of the mouth is technically termed xerostomia. Dr. Mark Chambers and colleagues from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, conducted a pilot study...

Green Tea Extract Shows Promise in Leukemia Trials

Researchers are reporting positive results in early leukemia clinical trials using the chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an active ingredient in green tea. The trial determined that patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) can tolerate the chemical fairly well when high doses are administered in capsule form and that lymphocyte count was reduced in one-third of participants.

Mayo Clinic And Microsoft Deliver A Powerful And Personalized Consumer Solution For Managing Health

Mayo Clinic announced the launch of Mayo Clinic Health Manager, a privacy- and security-enhanced free online application that provides people with a place to store medical information and receive real-time individualized health guidance and recommendations. This interactive functionality extends the capabilities of traditional personal health records, using an individual's health information to generate customized recommendations on which they can act to help them better manage their health and the health of their families.