UCLA researchers used structural magnetic resonance imaging to show for the first time that individuals whose mothers abused methamphetamine during pregnancy (with or without alcohol abuse) had brain structural abnormalities that were more severe than in children whose mothers abused alcohol alone. The researchers identified what brain structures are vulnerable, which may help predict particular learning and behavioral problems in meth-exposed children. Read more from this post.

Rutgers engineers have modified a popular home video game system to help teenagers with cerebral palsy improve their hand functions. In a pilot trial conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine, the system improved the teens' abilities to perform a range of daily personal and household activities. The modified system with custom-developed software and games provided exercise routines aimed at improving hand speed and range of finger motion. Read more from this post.

This issue brief examines the provisions in the pending legislation and how each one would work to improve benefits, extend the fiscal solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, reduce pressure on the federal budget, and contribute to moving the health care system toward better access to care, improved quality, and greater efficiency. Read more from this post.

Insurance practices that encourage patients to receive care from physicians who keep medical costs low are based on unreliable estimates of doctor performance and may not achieve the intended savings, according to a new study. Read more from this post.

The profession must take advantage of changes in medical education to ensure that all health professionals, but especially gut specialists, are given adequate training in nutrition, urge Dr Penny Nield and colleagues, in the launch issue of Frontline Gastroenterology, the new quarterly companion journal to Gut. Read more from this post.

Researchers at Children's National Medical Center have discovered that African American children with asthma in metropolitan Washington, DC, are significantly more likely to have low levels of vitamin D than healthy African-American children. This study supports recent research that suggests vitamin D plays a greater role in the body than just keeping bones healthy. Vitamin D deficiency has been recently linked to a variety of non-bone related diseases including depression, autoimmune disorders, and now asthma. Read more from this post.

Norwegian research reveal the nature of emotional problems experienced by mothers with eating difficulties. Guilt and shame are key factors. Health workers need better training in order to be able to spot and alleviate such problems. Read more from this post.

Providers of publicly subsidized housing in both the US and the UK have partnered with private sector entities to provide affordable housing for a number of years now. Though the policy contexts differ considerably between the two countries, the problems that housing and community redevelopment efforts seek to address are similar, as are the approaches taken to address them. In the second phase of joint research, the Urban Institute and the Institute for Community Cohesion examined two previously distressed communities that have undergone considerable change in their built environments and resident base. The case studies highlight changes in management, community safety, and place identity in places seeking nothing short of community transformation. This report presents the case studies and suggests lessons drawn from the exchanges that took place during the summer of 2009. Read more from this post.

Being overly cautious or dismissive in relating to others, including health-care providers, may shorten the lives of people with diabetes. In a five-year study, diabetes patients who had a lower propensity to reach out to others had a higher mortality rate than those who felt comfortable seeking support. There are approaches that health-care professionals might try to improve collaboration with patients who have an independent relationship style. Read more from this post.

Stress during pregnancy may raise the risk of asthma in offspring, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. The researchers investigated differences in immune function markers in cord blood between infants born to mothers in high stress environments and those born to mothers with lower stress and found marked differences in patterns that may be associated with asthma risk later in life. Read more from this post.

Karen Lawrence, President of Sarah Lawrence College, today announced an innovative planning program to expand and strengthen environmental initiatives across the curriculum, including preparing students for a new generation of "green careers." Assisted by a planning grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the selective liberal arts college will sponsor a series of programs on campus and a long-term planning process designed to build cutting-edge, environmental offerings based on its historic strengths in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Read more from this post.

Increasingly common insurance plans that encourage patients to receive care from physicians who keep medical costs lower are based on unreliable estimates of doctor performance and may not achieve the intended savings, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Read more from this post.

Chronic feelings of loneliness take a toll on blood pressure over time, causing a marked increase after four years. A new study shows, for the first time, a direct relation between loneliness and larger increases in blood pressure four years later -- a link that is independent of age and other factors that could cause blood pressure to rise, including body-mass index, smoking, alcohol use and demographic differences such as race and income. Read more from this post.

In 2002, a promising new nonprofit that wanted to link school teachers in search of basic classroom supplies with willing donors nearly collapsed because of potential backers' concerns that despite having a worthwhile goal, the organization itself would not be able to execute its mission competently. Read more from this post.

The U.S. Department of Education's "Blueprint for Reform of Education" makes the case for a dramatic rewriting of national policy. In a new issue brief from The Century Foundation, Gordon MacInnes concludes that the Blueprint features some worthwhile and needed changes to the current law, but that it contains some serious problems that Congress should correct before it reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA), formerly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Read more from this post.