Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:22:27 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Health+ :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/bored-by-everyday-yoga-exotic-options-abound/86783/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The many options available under the umbrella of yoga include not only widely accepted forms, but more avant-garde ones: nude yoga and yoga for canines, among others detailed below. While some practitioners find certain of the newest varieties to be too far-fetched — "A ploy to commercialize yoga," one veteran yogi said — others contend that they preserve a millennia-old tradition of innovation among yogis. "The practice was creative since its inception," a yoga instructor at Equinox, Adam... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/salt-is-next-on-citys-hit-list/86792/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST New York City's health tsar, who has already waged war against tobacco, trans fats, and calories, appears to have chosen his next public enemy: salt. Voicing cautionary tales about high blood pressure that can be caused by eating too much salt, officials from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in recent months have used editorials, public testimony, and educational campaigns to mount a push for regulation of sodium levels in food. "In many ways, high blood pressure is a... KAREN IRIS TUCKER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/with-ovarian-cancer-awareness-can-be-a-key/86781/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Standing among shutterbug tourists and lunching Wall Streeters, Judith Gordon may have looked unremarkable in a black shirt and khaki shorts, but her very presence must be considered exceedingly remarkable: She is an eight-year survivor of ovarian cancer who is disease free. Fifty-five percent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer die within five years, according to the National Ovarian Cancer Alliance. It is a weighty statistic to ponder in September, National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/founding-dean-named-for-cuny-school-of-public/86780/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST A former top official at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Kenneth Olden, has been appointed founding and acting dean of the proposed CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College. Previously, Dr. Olden headed the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, both parts of the NIH. He recently served as Yerby Visiting Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Dr. Olden is a distinguished scientific leader and cancer researcher," CUNY's... Staff Reporters of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/dramatic-rise-in-childhood-diabetes-found/86782/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST A dramatic rise in the number of North Dakota children with Type 2 diabetes — a form of diabetes normally seen in adults — provides more evidence of a link between the disease and childhood obesity, experts say. The likely connection between an increase in obesity and Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents has come to light only in the past decade, and officials still are working to compile nationwide trend data and study the best ways to treat youth with Type 2. A lead investigator of an... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/a-brooklyn-gym-offers-authenticity-not-amenities/86328/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Visitors to Gleason's Gym won't find flat-screen televisions hanging from the rafters or stacks of fluffy towels lining the countertops. There's no smoothie bar or day spa in sight at this venerable boxing gym, where the barbells are rusting and the weight-lifting benches are held together with masking tape. The 71-year-old institution, founded in the Bronx and now situated in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood, prides itself not on technology or amenities, but on the scores of champion... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/upstate-hospitals-aim-to-hire-city-doctors-at-fair/86329/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST In a bid to address a physician shortage, hospitals in upstate New York will seek to recruit New York City doctors at a job fair slated to take place this week. The Where to Practice open house, set for September 28, is sponsored by the Greater New York Hospital Association. So far, more than 30 hospitals and health care organizations are scheduled to attend the event, which aims to attract medical residents. Earlier this year, the Paterson administration launched a loan forgiveness program... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/to-love-honor-obey-and-study-nursing/86330/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Christine Tassone Kovner was 25 years old and a student at the University of Pennsylvania when she first laid eyes on Anthony Kovner, a professor 11 years her senior. Their shared interest in health care gave way to mutual attraction, romance, and — 11 months later — marriage. Nearly 38 years hence, the Kovners, both professors at New York University, are as committed to health care management as they are to each other. In recent years, their work has focused on the nursing shortage in New York... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/3b-study-seeks-a-prevention-blueprint/85364/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST For the doctor behind a $3 billion national study of children's health, Philip Landrigan, the idea of identifying environmental triggers for common diseases is a priceless endeavor. Billed as the largest-ever study of children's health, the National Children's Study seeks to follow 100,000 children from conception to age 21. With the goal of identifying some of the environmental causes of diseases such as asthma, diabetes, and cancer, researchers aim to sign up children from 105 counties across... LINDA A. JOHNSON http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/study-obese-adolescents-are-plagued-by-liver/85366/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST TRENTON, N.J. — A new and disturbing twist on the obesity epidemic, some overweight teenagers have severe liver damage caused by too much body fat, and a handful have needed liver transplants. Many more may need a new liver by their 30s or 40s, experts say, warning that pediatricians need to be more vigilant. The condition, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure or liver cancer, is being seen in kids in America, Europe, Australia and even some developing countries, according to a surge... Daily Telegraph http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/older-brains-may-get-distracted-not-slow-down/85367/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST People become confused more easily as they age because they succumb to distractions and not because their brains are slowing down, a small-scale American study suggests. Scientists found that the reason older people took longer to complete simple tasks was that they found it more difficult to filter out irrelevant information and concentrate fully on the matter in hand. The findings help explain why many people start to show signs of mental decline in their 60s even if they are free of dementia... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/exercises-for-the-under-18-set/85368/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Personal trainers, customized running programs, and group fitness classes aren't the exclusive domains of the over-18 set. The city is home to a wide range of creative exercise programs for toddlers, children, and teenagers. Details about several of these programs follow. Karma Kids Yoga For the city's youngest yogis, there's Karma Kids Yoga — a West Village yoga studio that offers parent-child programs for infants and drop-off classes for children ages 3 to 18. Children learn yoga movements... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/primary-care-boost-on-tap-for-lower-manhattan/85369/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Lower Manhattan's only hospital is planning an $8 million wellness center to offer primary care services to tens of thousands of downtown residents and Wall Street employees. New York Downtown Hospital's Wellness and Prevention Center, the beneficiary of a $5 million grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., will feature an MRI machine and a designated women's health program. The 10,000-square-foot space is projected to open in 2010, and use of the MRI machine will begin next year... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/a-new-kind-of-supersizing-tempts-at-healthy-salad/84537/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Whole Foods Market bills itself as a destination for organic and natural food, and the tactic seems to have worked, as a health-conscious crowd can often be seen at its prepared foods sections — and in particular, the salad bars. Armed with compostable containers, customers can be seen loading their trays with mixed greens and an array of cooked items such as tofu, stir-fry, and chicken. While many prepared dishes at Whole Foods can be healthful, an analysis conducted by a laboratory on behalf... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/americas-obesity-problem-takes-another-helping/84525/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST New Yorkers are getting fatter — again. According to a new report, New York is the 37th most obese state, and the state's adult obesity rate last year grew to 23.5% from 22.4% the year before. In a comparison of state obesity rates, Mississippi ranked first on the list, with a 37.5% rate. Colorado was last, at 18.4%. The obesity rate did not decline in any state, according to the report, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America," published by the Trust for America's Health and... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/an-unusual-method-for-keeping-limber/84526/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Exercise physiologist and soft-tissue specialist Susan Hitzmann asks clients a series of questions when they come in for consultations or to sign up for their first group classes: Do you wake up feeling vibrant? Are your joints working optimally? Do you feel alert throughout the day? "The answer is almost always, 'Not really' or 'Not since high school,'" she said. Many of those clients report eating right and exercising regularly, but doing nothing to care for the body's connective tissue... The Daily Telegraph http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/listening-to-music-may-give-immune-system-a-boost/84527/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Listening to music can give your immune system a boost and may help fight off disease, researchers have discovered. Scientists found that after volunteers had listened to just 50 minutes of uplifting dance music, the levels of antibodies in their bodies increased. They also found that stress hormone levels, which can weaken the immune system, decreased after being exposed to the music. The scientists tested 300 people, asking them to listen to the dance music or to a random collection of tones... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/radioactive-dye-used-to-prove-alzheimers/84535/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST On some mornings Rose Chuderewicz, 80, can't remember how to get dressed. She writes notes to remind herself to do daily tasks, then forgets to read them. Her memory loss could have resulted from a stroke, mental illness, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's, a disease the World Health Organization says affects about 18 million people globally and is likely to double by 2025. Doctors at the University of Pittsburgh, using a novel brain imaging procedure, confirmed Alzheimer's, the relentless destroyer... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/new-yorkers-discover-way-of-the-samurai/84067/ Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST On any given day, New Yorkers seeking a challenging aerobic and upper-body workout crowd into city exercise studios to spend the better part of an hour making broad slashing and skewering movements, all the while wielding 2- to 3-foot swords. The battle-worthy sequences are the core of the popular group fitness phenomenon called Forza, in which a weapon of the ancient Japanese warrior class doubles as a fitness prop. These samurai-inspired Forza classes are not as daunting, or as dangerous, as... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/mount-sinai-appoints-a-president/84068/ Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Mount Sinai Hospital has tapped its chief operating officer, Wayne Keathley, to be president following the resignation of Dr. Burton Drayer. Dr. Drayer, who was named president of the hospital in 2003, announced his intention to step down several weeks ago in order to focus on his roles as chairman of Mount Sinai's department of radiology and chairman of the board of the Radiological Society of North America. Since 2003, Mr. Keathley has served as chief operating officer and executive vice... The Daily Telegraph http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/womens-taste-in-men-may-be-altered-by-pill/84075/ Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST The contraceptive pill changes a woman's choice in men, a British study suggests. Scientists believe that taking the Pill changes the way a woman reacts to a man's smell. A man's aroma can give a clue to his type of genes and ability to fight disease, although it is complicated by factors such as soap and aftershave. Women subconsciously react to a man's smell to pinpoint a partner with dissimilar genes to themselves. But taking the Pill could disrupt this natural ability, study at the... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/discover-your-inner-olympian/83601/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST With the Olympics under way in Beijing, it's hard not to be inspired by the competing athletes, who seem to push the body's physical limits ever further with each passing day. During the games, some New York City trainers and fitness entrepreneurs report an uptick in the number of clients looking to embark on a more rigorous exercise regimen or pick up a new sport. "People aspire to be like whoever they're rooting for," a personal trainer at Equinox on Broadway and 19th Street, Fran Fontaine... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/rare-device-aids-ny-brain-surgeons/83602/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Inside the operating room, three screens projected the magnified image of the patient's brain as surgeons prepared to remove a tumor. But all eyes were trained on one screen in particular: the one offering a three-dimensional view. "Kill the lights," someone said, shortly after the surgeon, Dr. Theodore Schwartz, entered the operating theater. With an egg-size tumor resting on the patient's skull, Dr. Schwartz had planned a minimally invasive procedure using a three-dimensional endoscope, a... Special to the Sun http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/parkway-hospital-planning-transition/83603/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Representatives from Parkway Hospital in Queens are negotiating plans with state health officials to stay open as an acute care facility, hospital officials said. In recent days, Parkway officials attempted to quiet speculation that the hospital had closed already. The hospital was recommended for closure in 2006 by a state health panel, the Berger Commission. Parkway is expected to close by September 30. In a statement, the hospital's vice president of marketing, Fred Stewart, said ambulances... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/study-gene-gives-smokers-a-buzz-may-promote/83604/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Genetics may help explain why some smokers are hooked from their first cigarette while other people seem immune to the addictive properties of tobacco, according to the second study in a month to spotlight a connection. Researchers uncovered a variation in a nicotine-receptor gene that is far more common among smokers than in those who have the occasional cigarette, according to a report in the journal Addiction. People with the genetic mutation were also eight times more likely to have had a... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/new-york-hospitals-are-maneuvering-in-war/83119/ Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST In their quest to attract patients, recruit top researchers, and burnish their reputations, hospitals in New York City are setting their sights on cancer patients. Buoyed by scientific advances, academic medical centers increasingly are building and planning cancer centers, modern facilities featuring state-of-the-art laboratories and clinics. Earlier this year, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center announced plans to expand its cancer program at a cost of $100 million... RACHEL SHANNON-SOLOMON http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/hospice-patients-focus-of-film-contest/83084/ Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Student filmmaker John Daniel Amato has long had a passion for documentary film, so when his professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts told him about the New York Living History Project's Independent Short Film Contest, he jumped at the opportunity to apply. "I'm interested in using film to document the world, some story, some emotion," he said. His passion was rewarded: Mr. Amato was a finalist in the New York Living History Project, a first-time collaboration between the... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/health-groups-launch-infrastructure-agenda/83085/ Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A coalition of New York health care organizations has introduced a five-point agenda aimed at improving New York's primary care infrastructure. Calling the agenda a "road map" for lawmakers, the Primary Care Coalition said its recommendations would also control the cost of health care in New York State, whose $45 billion annual Medicaid budget is the costliest nationwide. The coalition's agenda recommends changing the payment system to increase reimbursement for primary care; expanding the... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/million-expected-for-human-race/83086/ Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A 24-year-old New York City public school teacher, Holli Simon, said she had long considered running too strenuous to be anything but a chore. In the past two months, having willed herself to join a local running club for exercise and camaraderie, Ms. Simon has had quite a change of heart: Later this month, she will attempt to complete a 10-kilometer, or 6.2-mile, race in less than an hour. "It has completely changed me into an athlete, and given me a lot of confidence in my abilities," she... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/hospitals-try-to-rein-in-doctors-rudeness/82728/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The nurse later said she sensed the surgeon was in a bad mood when he walked into the operating room. Things did not improve when she handed him the wrong size gloves, and they deteriorated further when he began shouting at her and then dismissed her from the procedure. "She came out very, very upset," the executive director of perioperative services at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, Pamela Mestel, recently recalled, sharing details of the spat that emerged when the nurse and surgeon... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/rockefeller-archive-gets-its-independence/82712/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The Rockefeller Archive Center — which houses 80 million pages of documents, 750,000 photographs, and thousands of reels of microfilm — has become an independent organization after 34 years of being part of the Rockefeller University. The archive center, in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., will be headed by a new board of directors, including David Rockefeller and a former president of Harvard University, Neil Rudenstein. Last month, the board named Jack Meyers president and CEO of the center. As part of... The Daily Telegraph http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/week-in-review/82722/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Facial wrinkles can be reduced by almost half with laser surgery, according to a study in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery journal. Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing has previously been linked to side effects that include scarring and acne. But new research suggests that the treatment is safe and after two years, patients experience an average 45% reduction in the number of wrinkles and fine lines on their faces. The treatment works by removing layers of damaged skin as well as stimulating... MARGARET HO http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/clinic-in-south-bronx-targets-childrens-mental/82723/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Two years ago, Allan Fernandez was like any other 6-year-old, enjoying school, friends, and playtime. But after entering second grade, his behavior changed. "He started mouthing back and things like that," his mother, Briana Fernandez, said. With her son no longer willing to follow directions and unable to complete simple tasks such as schoolwork, Ms. Fernandez turned to the Visiting Nurse Service of New York's Friends Mental Health Clinic. Tucked along the second-floor corridor of a former... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/salon-fitness-center-the-citys-newest-hybrid/82724/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST New York is full of unorthodox hybrids: Laundromat-cafés, Chinese-Mexican restaurants, childhood enrichment center-day spas. The city's latest hyphenated identity is a salon-fitness center, a new joint venture from hairstylist Julien Farel and personal trainer Pete Kupprion. In recent years, Mr. Farel, an alumnus of Frédéric Fekkai who founded his own eponymous salon eight years ago, was looking to expand his brand. An obvious answer would have been to open a satellite salon or to launch a... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/mount-sinai-to-move-into-public-phase-of-1/82220/ Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Mount Sinai Medical Center has quietly raised $320 million and will soon move into the public phase of a $1 billion capital campaign. According to hospital leaders, the campaign is a signal that the Upper East Side hospital — which five years ago was hemorrhaging millions of dollars each year — has not only rebounded from its financial troubles, but is pressing forward with the next phase of its strategic plan. That plan hinges on recruiting top doctors and updating the hospital's facilities... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/sour-feelings-over-sweetener/82271/ Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST For coffee and tea drinkers, choosing a sweetener — pink, blue, or yellow packet? — became more complicated with the introduction this month of Truvía, billed as "Nature's Calorie-Free Sweetener." Wrapped in green-and-white packaging, Truvía made a splashy debut at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. Available via the Internet and at select D'Agostino supermarkets, the sweetener, which is derived from a South American stevia plant known for its sweet leaves, is all natural and "a lot like sugar,"... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/video-games-helping-burn-patients/82272/ Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST One of the most popular video game consoles on the market, the Nintendo Wii, is being used to rehabilitate burn patients. Therapists at the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are using the Wii to help patients regain motor skills and recover from skin graft surgery. Hospital officials said some patients are using wireless controls to simulate motions such as swinging a tennis racquet and hitting baseballs. For patients with skin... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/ama-president-says-ny-needs-more-primary-care/81803/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Nancy Nielsen, was already quite busy before taking on her new role: The Buffalo, N.Y., native is a mother of five, a practicing physician, and a medical school dean. The second woman to be elected president of the country's largest physician membership organization began her medical career late by most standards. Dr. Nielsen, 65, entered medical school at 29 after giving birth to her children. A graduate of the Catholic University of... CATHERINE BILKEY http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/elderly-drum-away-the-pain/81750/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Paradise View does not actually have a view, but the long-term care residence in Upper Manhattan does have a drum circle. The genesis of the drum circle was about three months ago, when Community Coordinator Paul Padial and Cantor Daniel Pincus were playing drums in Paradise View's dining room, and they attracted the attention of residents. "Everybody started coming out to see what all the noise was, and it turned into a dance floor," Mr. Padial said. "We just looked at each other and said... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/touro-college-names-osteopathic-medicine-college/81751/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Touro College has named the immediate past president of the Medical Society of the State of New York, Robert Goldberg, dean of its College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Goldberg, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, succeeds the school's founding dean, Dr. Martin Diamond, who will become dean emeritus. The medical college opened in Harlem in September 2007, the first new medical school in New York in nearly three decades. Lenox Hill Grows in Queens Lenox Hill Hospital is expanding its presence in... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/study-weak-synapses-may-be-cause-of-autism/81752/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Harvard researchers have discovered half a dozen new genes involved in autism that suggest the disorder strikes in a brain that can't properly form new connections. The findings also may help explain why intense education programs do help some autistic children — because certain genes that respond to experience weren't missing, they were just stuck in the "off" position. But the study's bigger message is that autism is too strikingly individual to envision an easy gene test for it. Instead... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/yoga-goes-beyond-the-studio/81317/ Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST New Yorkers making their way across East 86th Street in recent weeks may have noticed something unexpected: Amid the luxury residential towers and retail stores was a patch of grass growing on the façade of a building. Behind that lush green exterior is the just-opened Pure Yoga. It is not a yoga studio, as New Yorkers have come to know them; it is more a pristine, orchid-filled marketplace, where members can take part in 19 types of yoga and yoga-hybrid classes. The breadth of options is what... The Daily Telegraph http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/mercury-fillings-are-branded-toxic/81315/ Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST A health warning has been issued over amalgam dental fillings by the American government after it insisted for years that they were safe. The U-turn is a victory for campaigners who claim that the fillings can cause heart conditions, Alzheimer's disease, and other problems. Fillings contain mercury that "may have neuro-toxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and foetuses," the Food and Drink Administration Web site says. Amalgam fillings release mercury vapor during chewing... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/hospital-bed-cuts-to-fall-short-of-berger/81316/ Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Eight hundred fewer beds will be eliminated from New York hospitals by 2010 than a state health care commission's initial recommendations, state health officials reported. In a progress report on hospitals' compliance with the Berger Commission's recommendations — which had a June 30 deadline for implementation — health officials said 1,700 beds would be cut by the end of the year and another 1,700 by 2010. In recommendations published in November 2006, the commission called for the elimination... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/more-uninsured-are-among-ranks-of-the-employed/81325/ Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST A 40-year-old talent scout in New York, Thomas Scott, said he accepted a job recently with the understanding that his employer would pay him a $150-a-month stipend to cover health insurance. Then, Mr. Scott said, the Los Angeles-based agency, which he declined to name for fear of losing his job, reneged on the promise. Because, he says, he doesn't earn enough salary to pay for it himself, Mr. Scott is now uninsured. He is one of a growing number of New Yorkers who are gainfully employed but... The Daily Telegraph http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/the-brains-sense-of-adventure-is-identified/80903/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST The brain's "sense of adventure" has been identified by scientists, and it explains why we succumb to advertising. They discovered that humans are programmed to try new things, such as a familiar product in an unfamiliar package or one that claims a new formula. Scientists in London found that we all possess the key brain region, which acts on the same pleasure pathways that make drugs addictive. The region is activated when we choose unfamiliar options, suggesting that having an adventurous... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/sexual-assault-statistics-in-ny-said-alarming/80904/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST One in six teenagers in New York City experiences sexual violence at some point, a rate higher than the national average, a new survey has found. According to the survey, 16.2% of New York City teenagers reported experiencing sexual violence, compared to between 7% and 10.2% of teenagers nationwide. The findings are based on a three-year study of 1,300 New York City high school students between the ages of 13 and 21. Portions of the study, conducted by researchers at Columbia University's... GABRIELLE BIRKNER http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/sneaking-in-a-vacation-workout/80905/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST French women may not get fat — at least, not as fat as their counterparts stateside — but American women who travel to Paris or Provence often come home a little rounder than when they left. It's not just the local delicacies that are to blame. In France, or just about anywhere short of a yoga retreat, vacationers tend to abandon their exercise regimens; and by the end of a trip, fitness goals can seem much further from reach. Several New York-based fitness instructors, as well as an author of... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/hospitals-are-getting-smart-about-patient-data/80906/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Patients at Mount Sinai Medical Center are able to carry their medical records in their wallets, thanks to new "smart" identification cards the hospital is distributing. Each card, which is the size and shape of a credit card, features a digital image of the patient and contains a computer chip that is capable of storing 33 pages of data. Designed to help the hospital correctly identify patients, the cards also consolidate each patient's medical history, which can be accessed anywhere in the... E.B. SOLOMONT http://www.nysun.com/health-fitness/medical-superpower-seen-in-columbia-affiliation/80481/ Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST In a move that could create a new medical superpower, Columbia University is eyeing an affiliation with a wealthy hospital in the Midwest. The Cleveland Clinic, a top-tier hospital with more than $4 billion in annual revenue, is reportedly seeking to sever ties with its current academic partner, Case Western Reserve University, following recent disagreements between the two institutions. Under the terms of the new relationship, Columbia would partner with the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner College...