Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for ABILIFY® (aripiprazole) for the treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in pediatric patients ages 6 to 17 years, including symptoms of aggression towards others, deliberate self-injuriousness, temper tantrums, and quickly changing moods. [More]

CVS/pharmacy kicks off its annual in store fundraiser for the sixth year to support the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Thanks and Giving campaign, beginning this Sunday and running through December 12. CVS/pharmacy store colleagues will encourage customers to add $1 to their purchase at the register to support the lifesaving research of St. Jude, one of the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. [More]

When Senate Democrats unveiled a bill meant to expand health coverage and restrain spending growth, "Republicans saw little to like," The Associated Press reports. GOP senators characterized the package Thursday "as a collection of tax increases, Medicare cuts and heavy new burdens for deficit-ridden states." Meanwhile, Republican governors fretted that the bill would expand Medicaid, a program that insures the poor, and relies on states for a portion of its funding. "We all know a sucker play when we see one," said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniel (Espo, 11/20). [More]

A specialist in caring for elderly patients, Turner-Hubbard is a geriatric nurse practitioner trained to quickly spot the sudden changes in mental status that signal the onset of the sudden, severe confusion known as delirium. She knows the hospital “triggers” that can bring on fluctuations in behavior: blood loss during surgery, anesthesia, pain medications and anti-anxiety drugs, infections, dehydration, IV lines and catheters, as well as being immobilized for an extended period of time. [More]

The U.S. is interested in potentially using more locally-produced food aid rather than U.S. grown food as a way to expand investment in agricultural development in the developing world, said Alonzo Fulgham, acting head USAID, "on the sidelines of a World Food Summit in Rome" on Tuesday, Reuters reports. [More]

Jacques Diouf, head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "is not satisfied" that the World Summit on Food Security's final declaration excludes "exact targets to reduce hunger," the BBC reports. [More]

Technology advances are making life better for the elderly and those with Alzheimer's disease by allowing the older to stay in their homes and giving the ill a way to interact with society again. [More]

Delegates at the World Summit on Food Security, which kicked off Monday, "rallied around a new strategy to fight global hunger and help poor countries feed themselves," the Associated Press reports. [More]

The Ensign Group, Inc., the parent company of the Ensign(TM) group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, hospice care and assisted living companies, announced that a group of its real estate holding subsidiaries has placed mortgages on six of the Company's 27 unencumbered properties to secure a $40 million five-year term loan from GE Capital's Healthcare Financial Services business. [More]

Former President George W. Bush will deliver a speech on Thursday marking the launch of the "George W. Bush Institute as a forum for study and advocacy in four main areas: education, global health, human freedom and economic growth," the New York Times writes. [More]

D-Link has been selected to showcase its environmentally responsible Green networking hardware as part of the Venture Green program in this year's HealthAchieve2009 conference and exhibition on Nov. 16-17 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. [More]

The vast majority of school-aged children can focus on the voice of a teacher amid the cacophony of the typical classroom thanks to a brain that automatically focuses on relevant, predictable and repeating auditory information, according to new research from Northwestern University. [More]

Sometimes patients find it uncomfortable asking a doctor of another age, gender or race for information. Hopefully virtual coaching under development through the Center of Excellence for Self-Management Advancement through Research and Translation ( SMART), a National Institutes of Health-funded Center of Research Excellence in Self-management Research at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, will improve communications. [More]

What do you get when you cross a mouse with poor hearing and a mouse with even worse hearing? Ironically, a new strain of mice with "golden ears" - mice that have outstanding hearing as they age. [More]

Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, R-La., was the only Republican to support the health reform bill, just a year after becoming a minor GOP celebrity for capturing a reliably Democratic congressional district in New Orleans, Politico reports. His defection - not his first since joining the House this year - has now made him "a bit of a cult hero on the left" and a sought-after media star. [More]