Addiction researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a risk for alcoholism also may put individuals at risk for obesity. The researchers noted that the association between a family history of alcoholism and obesity risk has become more pronounced in recent years.

Millions of Americans with a Pre-existing Condition Could Be Denied Coverage without Affordable Care Act Protections: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a new report showing that, without the Affordable Care Act (ACA), up to 129 million non-elderly Americans who have some type of pre-existing health condition, like heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis or cancer, could of lose health insurance or be denied coverage altogether. The Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan program serves as a bridge until 2014, when insurance companies can no longer deny or limit coverage or charge higher premiums because of a pre-existing condition. Check out “Voices of Health Reform: Cathy’s Story” on the White House Blog.

Work Incentives Update: Are you Receiving Benefits and Interested in Working? Do you receive Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance? Are you thinking about going back to work? If so, register for this online training event which will be held next Wednesday, January 26, from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (EST). This webinar will present information about the Ticket to Work program and other work incentives that allow you to keep your Social Security cash benefits and Medicare or Medicaid while you test out your ability to work. Work Incentive Seminar Events are also being held around the country.

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced an agreement under the ADA with HRB Tax Group Inc., H&R Block Tax Services LLC and HRB Advance LLC (H&R Block) to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing when providing income tax preparation services and courses. The settlement agreement requires, among other things, that H&R Block provide auxiliary aids and services, including sign language interpreter services.

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that when one copy of the SHANK3 gene in mice is missing, nerve cells do not effectively communicate and do not show cellular properties associated with normal learning. This discovery may explain how mutations affecting SHANK3 may lead to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The research is currently published in Molecular Autism.

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have begun a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to test a potential drug treatment for Rett syndrome, the leading known genetic cause of autism in girls. The drug, mecasermin, a synthetic form of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), is already FDA-approved for children with short stature due to IGF-1 deficiency.

Desensitisation Approaches Effective Against Hayfever-Like Allergies: Immunotherapy given as pills or drops under the tongue is a safe and effective way to treat hayfever-like allergies caused by pollen and dust mites, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The researchers say the approach is an attractive alternative to immunotherapy injections in children.

In the first combat-zone study of its kind, a research team led by Michigan State University found that soldiers with a positive outlook in the most traumatic situations were less likely to suffer health problems such as anxiety and depression.

Share of Cost, For Autistic Children, Early Intervention May Change Development Trajectory For Later Symptoms Of Disorder: Early intervention for children with autism, as young as 6 months of age, may change the development trajectory for later symptoms of the disorder according to a research project being spearheaded by the MIND Institute at the University of California Davis Medical Center.

American soldiers with combat-related PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) seem to have a significantly higher risk of having diminished concentration, poor memory, headaches, tinnitus and irritability, researchers from Minnesota reveal in an article published in Archives of General Psychiatry. They also found no link between concussion or mild traumatic brain injuries and long-term consequences.

Newly published research led by Professor Z. Josh Huang, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) sheds important new light on how neurons in the developing brain make connections with one another.

A new treatment program teaches people who suffer from panic disorder how to reduce the terrorizing symptoms by normalizing their breathing. The method has proved better than traditional cognitive therapy at reducing both symptoms of panic and hyperventilation, according to a new study.

Vanderbilt University researchers may have found a clue to the blues that can come with the flu – depression may be triggered by the same mechanisms that enable the immune system to respond to infection. In a study in the December issue of Neuropsychopharmacology, Chong-Bin Zhu, M.D., Ph.D., Randy Blakely, Ph.D., William Hewlett, M.D., Ph.D.

The first drug to treat the underlying disorder instead of the symptoms of Fragile X, the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability, shows some promise according to a new study published in the January issue of Science Translational Medicine. Researchers from Rush University Medical Center helped design the study and are now participating in the larger follow-up clinical trial.

Share of Cost, The Importance Of Timing In Ensuring Healthy Brain Development: Work just published shows that brain cells need to create links early on in their existence, when they are physically close together, to ensure successful connections across the brain throughout life. In people, these long-distance connections enable the left and right side of the brain to communicate and integrate different kinds of information such as sound and vision.

Stateline: In Oregon, A New Health Care Debate Awaits Oregon Governor-elect John Kitzhaber, a Democrat who will be inaugurated in Salem on Monday (January 10), is no stranger to the state’s top political office: He was a two-term governor between 1995 and 2003. .