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PLX-PAD therapy improves quality of life in CLI patients

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. today reported that data from clinical trials show the Company's placenta-derived cell therapy, PLX-PAD, is safe and improves quality of life as well as other efficacy measurements in patients with Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI), the end-stage of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).

15 Sep 2010

Berwick breaks silence, calling on insurers to join pursuit of 'shared goals'

In his first big speech as President Barack Obama's top Medicare official Donald Berwick Monday called on insurers to join in a "full partnership" with his agency to achieve a health system with lower costs that doesn't withhold care from anyone or risk harming patients, The Associated Press/Washington Post report. The remarks were delivered to a conference hosted by America's Health Insurance Plans. "The choice of the insurance lobby for his speech was unusual since the administration continues to trade verbal potshots with the industry" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/13).

15 Sep 2010

UT Southwestern receives $8 million NIH grant to study influence of brain and liver on inflammation

An $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will enable UT Southwestern Medical Center to investigate how fat tissue "talks" to the brain and the liver to promote inflammation-related disorders such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

15 Sep 2010

Wintherix announces WX04554 molecule can cause bone healing

Wintherix, LLC, a privately held biotechnology company focusing on bone healing and regenerative medicine, today announced that WX04554, a potent small molecule activator of the Wnt pathway, has been designated as a lead drug for clinical development in bone healing and repair indications.

15 Sep 2010

Researchers create artificial human ovary to yield infertility treatments for cancer patients

Researchers at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital have invented the first artificial human ovary, an advance that provides a potentially powerful new means for conducting fertility research and could also yield infertility treatments for cancer patients. The team has already used the lab-grown organ to mature human eggs.

15 Sep 2010

Medicare, Social Security grow with baby boomer retirement, joblessness

The Washington Post: Rapid growth in the number of applicants for Social Security disability benefits has soared between 2008 and 2009, threatening the solvency of the program. With an increase of 21 percent in that timeframe, "growth is the sharpest in the 54-year history of the program. It threatens the program's fiscal stability and adds to an administrative backlog that is slowing the flow of benefits to those who need them most." Broad economic problems and a flood of jobless applicants have caused the spike (Fletcher, 9/14).

15 Sep 2010

Unsuccessful gum-disease treatment linked to preterm birth

A collaboration led by a periodontal researcher from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has found a possible link between the success of gum-disease treatment and the likelihood of giving birth prematurely, according to a study published in the journal BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

15 Sep 2010

Guardian launches global development website

The Guardian on Tuesday launched a new website that will cover global development issues, such as hunger and infant mortality, according to an introductory note on the site (Bunting, 9/14).

15 Sep 2010

Mechanism linking brain activity to sleep discovered

Washington State University researchers have discovered the mechanism by which the brain switches from a wakeful to a sleeping state. The finding clears the way for a suite of discoveries, from sleeping aids to treatments for stroke and other brain injuries.

15 Sep 2010

NIH grants award to expand Human Microbiome Project

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a three-year, $1.1 million grant to a team of scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory to develop a technology for studying the link between human health and disease and the microorganisms that reside in or on the human body.

15 Sep 2010

Canadian Cancer Society, POGO collaborate to improve quality of life in childhood cancer survivors

The Canadian Cancer Society and the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO) today announced that they have joined forces to improve the quality of outcomes for children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer and their families.

15 Sep 2010

White House supports effort to scale back small business provision of health law

"Facing a backlash from small businesses over a new tax-reporting requirement in the healthcare law the president signed in March, the Obama administration is embracing the first change to the landmark legislation," the Los Angeles Times reports. "In a letter to Senate leaders, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner urged the Senate to back a proposal to scale back the new reporting mandate.

15 Sep 2010

ACT receives patent for RPE cells to treat retinal degeneration

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that it will be issued U.S. Patent Numbers 7,795,025 and 7,794,704 on Tuesday, September 14th, which continue to extend the company's patent portfolio covering its retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell programs.

15 Sep 2010

Hormone melatonin improves egg quality in IVF

Poor egg (oocyte) quality is an important cause of female infertility. Low quality eggs may have several problems, for example they may not divide properly, or they may be missing certain chromosomes. Egg quality also declines with age, and certain medical conditions, such as PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome, can lead to poor quality eggs.

15 Sep 2010

Number of people enrolled in FEHBP expected to rise

Federal News Radio: "The number of people covered by the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program is expected to jump dramatically next year and the number of people switching from self-only to family coverage will also go up. Those eligible for FEHBP coverage will include dependent children and foster children up to age 26 who are not living with their federal parents.

15 Sep 2010

microRNA 451 enhances treatment response in stomach cancer patients: Research

"The high presence of microRNA 451 enhances the response to treatment with chemo-radiotherapy and increases the survival of patients with stomach cancer", explained Dr. Jesús García-Foncillas, chief researcher of the Pharmacogenomics Laboratory at the Applied Medical Research Centre (CIMA) and Director of Oncology at the University Hospital of Navarra. This was one of the results presented at the IV Congress of the Spanish Society for Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomic, recently held at CIMA.

15 Sep 2010

Pregnant women should get immunized against flu

There will be only one flu shot needed this year and pregnant women should make sure they're at the front of the line to get it.

15 Sep 2010

Aspirin can prevent stroke and heart attacks: Study

In a large scale Australian study, researchers have found that Aspirin can save lives and drastically reduce rates of stroke and heart attack.

15 Sep 2010

USF receives grant for studying ways to protect fetal brain from maternal infection

University of South Florida (USF) neuroscientists have been awarded a $400,000 federal grant to study ways of protecting the developing fetal brain from the damaging effects of maternal infections, a suspected cause for certain types of autism.

15 Sep 2010

Legal challenge to new law gets a day in court: Today

A federal judge will preside over a lawsuit in Florida challenging the legitimacy of the health law today, "as 20 states and an influential small-business group argue that the bill amounts to a sweeping constitutional overreach, Politico reports. "The states argue that the federal government cannot impose a requirement on individuals to purchase insurance, the so-called individual mandate, and then force them to pay a fine if they don't.

15 Sep 2010