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DMC recommends continuation of enrollment in Celsion's Phase III ThermoDox HEAT study for primary liver cancer

Celsion Corporation, a leading oncology drug development company, announced that after reviewing data from 401 patients enrolled in its pivotal Phase III ThermoDox ® clinical study (the HEAT study) for primary liver cancer, the Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) has unanimously recommended that the trial continue to enroll patients with the goal of reaching the 600 patients required to complete the study.

1 Oct 2010

Researchers study gene interactions for personalized drug prescriptions

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will study how the genetics and diet of Yup'ik Eskimos affect the blood-thinning properties of a common drug used by heart and stroke patients.

1 Oct 2010

Health law's boost for ACOs gains momentum but faces possible legal hurdles

News outlets report on possible obstacles to the formation of accountable care organizations - hospitals and physicians working together to improve the quality of patient care while controlling costs.

1 Oct 2010

NIH funds $1.5M for research into prediction of stroke risk in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease

A researcher from the biomedical engineering department operated by Georgia Tech and Emory University has received a $1.5 million NIH Director's New Innovator Award to support a project aimed at reducing the incidence of stroke in children with sickle cell disease. Manu Platt, an assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to develop models for identifying which children with the disease are at risk for stroke.

1 Oct 2010

HHS announces $473 million grant to help people make effective healthcare decisions

HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality today announced the award of $473 million in grants and contracts to support projects that will help people make health care decisions based on the best evidence of effectiveness. The funding announced today covers all of AHRQ's allocation and $173 million administered for the HHS Secretary by AHRQ.

1 Oct 2010

New RF detection device may help eliminate retained surgical sponges in patients after surgical procedure

Using the same technology found in clothing tags used in retail store tracking systems, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that surgical sponges with implanted radio frequency (RF) tags may be an effective adjunct to manual counting and X-ray detection in preventing sponges from being left behind in patients following a surgical procedure.

1 Oct 2010

Study finds benefits of mammograms for women in their 40s, sparking disagreement

The New York Times: "Researchers reported Wednesday that mammograms can cut the breast cancer death rate by 26 percent for women in their 40s. But their results were greeted with skepticism by some experts who say they may have overestimated the benefit.

1 Oct 2010

Experts to discuss impact of health information technology on pediatric practice

David Blumenthal, MD, will discuss the impact of health information technology on pediatric practice during a "Pediatrics for the 21st Century" symposium at 1 p.m. PT Friday, Oct. 1, as part of the National Conference and Exhibition of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in San Francisco.

1 Oct 2010

Antiretroviral therapy does not reduce risk of HIV transmission

For married couples in which one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative, antiretroviral therapy (ART) does not reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to the uninfected partner, according to a study from China in the October issue of JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

1 Oct 2010

Medicare now required check for fraud before paying claims

The Miami Herald: "The behemoth Medicare bureaucracy will have to act more like a credit card company in flagging suspicious bills under a new federal law that could save taxpayers billions of dollars a year in wasteful government healthcare spending.

1 Oct 2010

Headaches, back pain and arthritis cost companies more than $61 billion per annum

Headaches, back pain, arthritis and other aches distract employees and cost companies more than $61 billion a year in lost productive time, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

1 Oct 2010

World Bank President calls for new, more open approach to economic development

"World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Wednesday called on economists to rethink the way they look at issues affecting developing nations and said he was overhauling the way his institution approached research," Reuters reports (Wroughton, 9/29).

1 Oct 2010

CSHL professor receives NIH grant to study mechanism behind autism and schizophrenia

Anthony Zador, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Program Chair in Neuroscience at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has been awarded a $2.17 million, 5-year grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s Transformative Research Projects Program (T-R01).

1 Oct 2010

Praesidian Capital invests $6 million in Meta Pharmaceutical Services

Praesidian Capital, a leading provider of mezzanine capital for small and mid-sized companies, has invested $6 million in subordinated debt in Meta Pharmaceutical Services, a leading sales and marketing data services provider. The investment supports the recapitalization of Meta Pharmaceutical Services by DFW Capital Partners and management.

1 Oct 2010

Swedish Medical Center researcher receives NIH grants to study pregnancy complications

Michelle A. Williams, Sc.D., co-director and principal investigator at the Center for Perinatal Studies at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle and Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health at the University of Washington, has received two grants totaling $5.6 million for research into complications affecting pregnancy.

1 Oct 2010

Today's Opinions: Concerns about ACOs; Obama challenged on health care claims; Scare tactics

There is a very real danger that by the time policy makers get around to reading and understanding this section of law (on accountable care organizations) that the health care marketplace will have irreversibly changed (Dustin Corcoran, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

New legislation introduced to assess critical care services in the U.S.

Yesterday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Member Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced legislation to assess and critical care health services in the United States.

1 Oct 2010

Researchers discover key leukemia defense mechanism

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researcher Steven Grant, M.D., and a team of VCU Massey researchers have uncovered the mechanism by which leukemia cells trigger a protective response when exposed to a class of cancer-killing agents known as histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs).

1 Oct 2010

Health Canada approves Meridian Bioscience's illumigene C. difficile molecular amplification assay

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., today announced that it has received an approved medical device license from Health Canada for its new molecular amplification assay, illumigene C. difficile. Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that can cause diarrhea and, in severe cases, a life-threatening inflammation of the colon.

1 Oct 2010

KHN column: The NAIC's effort to find balance in its medical loss ratio regulation

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Timothy Jost writes that the development of this draft rule is not a contest with winners and losers, but an effort to create a framework to press insurers to spend less money on bureaucracy and more on health care in a way that benefits consumers and keeps insurance markets viable (9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Medical News

DMC recommends continuation of enrollment in Celsion's Phase III ThermoDox HEAT study for primary liver cancer

Researchers study gene interactions for personalized drug prescriptions

Health law's boost for ACOs gains momentum but faces possible legal hurdles

NIH funds $1.5M for research into prediction of stroke risk in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease

HHS announces $473 million grant to help people make effective healthcare decisions

New RF detection device may help eliminate retained surgical sponges in patients after surgical procedure

Study finds benefits of mammograms for women in their 40s, sparking disagreement

Experts to discuss impact of health information technology on pediatric practice

Antiretroviral therapy does not reduce risk of HIV transmission

Medicare now required check for fraud before paying claims

Headaches, back pain and arthritis cost companies more than $61 billion per annum

World Bank President calls for new, more open approach to economic development

CSHL professor receives NIH grant to study mechanism behind autism and schizophrenia

Praesidian Capital invests $6 million in Meta Pharmaceutical Services

Swedish Medical Center researcher receives NIH grants to study pregnancy complications

Today's Opinions: Concerns about ACOs; Obama challenged on health care claims; Scare tactics

New legislation introduced to assess critical care services in the U.S.

Researchers discover key leukemia defense mechanism

Health Canada approves Meridian Bioscience's illumigene C. difficile molecular amplification assay

KHN column: The NAIC's effort to find balance in its medical loss ratio regulation

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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