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Pregnancy weight gain liked to childhood obesity: Study

Women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy have a greater chance their babies will be born too big. Scientists are trying to find whether this relationship of gaining too much weight by mother and baby is genetic and can predispose the child to be obese later in life.

4 Aug 2010

Parents of kids with autism spectrum disorders more likely to split: Study

A new study has found that couples who have a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an 80% risk of getting divorce. The Adolescents and Adults With Autism study involved 391 families with autistic children and compared them with other families whose children were developing normally. The families were matched based on the age, sex and birth order of the child with an ASD, as well as the age, ethnicity and education of the mother.

4 Aug 2010

Detection of Alzheimer's before symptoms occur

Research is on to detect the dreaded Alzheimer's disease even before any symptoms occur. In a newly proposed diagnostic criteria developed by experts from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association three stages of the disease viz. pre-clinical Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's dementia are described.

4 Aug 2010

Fractures are major concern for U.S. high school athletes: Study

The popularity of high school sports in the United States has continued to increase over the past decade, with more than 7.5 million athletes participating in school sports during the 2008-09 academic year. A new study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that 95 percent of fractures required costly diagnostic imaging, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, and 16 percent required surgical repair.

4 Aug 2010

Discovery Laboratories reports net loss of $6.3 million for second-quarter 2010

Discovery Laboratories, Inc., a biotechnology company developing its novel, synthetic, peptide-containing surfactant and related aerosolization technologies as first in class therapies for severe respiratory diseases, today provides an update on key pipeline and business initiatives and reports financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

4 Aug 2010

Conceptus’ Essure procedure effective for permanent birth control

According to the recently released 2006-08 National Survey of Family Growth by the Center for Disease Control, one in four women choose permanent birth control. Conceptus, Inc. wants women to know that its Essure permanent birth control procedure has been gaining in popularity, and is a safe and effective solution used by hundreds of thousands of women worldwide.

4 Aug 2010

Nuokang's product pipeline candidates advance through SFDA review process

China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc., a leading China-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, manufacture, marketing and sales of hospital-based medical products, today announced that two of its product pipeline candidates recently advanced through the next respective stages of the State Food and Drug Administration review process.

4 Aug 2010

Hillenbrand third-quarter 2010 revenue increases 30% to $205.8 million

Hillenbrand reported third quarter 2010 revenue of $205.8 million, a $47.1 million (30 percent) increase over the prior year, due primarily to the inclusion of revenue generated by K-Tron International, which Hillenbrand acquired April 1, 2010. Business acquisition costs and the impact of purchase accounting were the primary drivers of a $12.1 million (48 percent) decrease in net income from the prior year and a $0.19 (46 percent) decrease in earnings per share, from $0.41 to $0.22.

4 Aug 2010

Flow-induced polymer translocation through narrow and patterned channels

An octopus-like polymer can "walk" along the wall of a narrow channel as it is pushed through by a solvent. Now research in The Journal of Chemical Physics, which is published by the American Institute of Physics, provides a theoretical model that compares the transport characteristics of straight- and branched-chain polymers in smooth channels as well as in channels whose walls interact with the polymer -- work that could aid in the development of carrier molecules for delivering drugs at a controlled rate in the body.

4 Aug 2010

Scientists identify 95 gene loci that influence lipoprotein metabolism in humans

In a large-scale international study in which Helmholtz Zentrum München participated, scientists have identified 95 gene loci which influence lipoprotein metabolism in humans. Viewed from a long-term perspective, these findings open up new lines of research in the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease. It is the first genome-wide association study of this kind to be published in the prestigious journal Nature.

4 Aug 2010

Triple-S Management second-quarter total consolidated operating revenues up 8.2%

Triple-S Management Corporation, the largest managed care company in Puerto Rico, today announced consolidated revenues of $522.7 million and operating income of $26.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2010. Net income of $15.1 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, includes an after tax net loss of $4.5 million, or $0.16 per share, related to net realized and unrealized losses on investments and derivatives.

4 Aug 2010

Review affirms hand therapy as one of most vital treatment steps in recovery from hand injury surgery

Hand therapy is one of the most vital treatment steps in recovery from hand injury surgery, according to a literature review published in the August 2010 issue of The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In fact, many patients spend more time with the hand therapist than the orthopaedic surgeon in the effort to ensure the best results and long-term recovery.

4 Aug 2010

Insmed second-quarter net loss decreases to $0.4 million

Insmed Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, today reported results for the second quarter and six-months ended June 30, 2010.

4 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 4, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include reports about yesterday's Missouri vote on a ballot measure to challenge the health reform law and the latest on today's likely Senate consideration of Medicaid assistance for states.

4 Aug 2010

Par Pharmaceutical second-quarter total net revenues decrease 37% to $255.5 million

Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. today reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

4 Aug 2010

AMA selects NextGen Ambulatory EHR and Practice Management for new online platform

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced an agreement with the American Medical Association (AMA), the nation's largest physician organization, to offer physicians NextGen® Ambulatory EHR and NextGen® Practice Management on a new AMA online platform.

4 Aug 2010

Arthritis treatment costs more than $128 billion a year in the U.S.

Arthritis is the single greatest cause of chronic pain and disability among Americans and the treatment of arthritis costs the nation more than $128 billion a year in medical care and lost earnings. Persistent, chronic joint pain determines the choices people make and limits their ability to perform basic tasks for themselves and their family. Eighty percent of Americans either have, or know someone who has, arthritis and these numbers continue to escalate.

4 Aug 2010

New perfusion CT algorithms maintain image quality at half of the radiation dose

In recent years, advances in CT scanner technology have made perfusion computed tomography (CT) imaging an important diagnostic tool for patients with suspected stroke. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic are working to reduce radiation dosages used to acquire perfusion and other CT images. Mayo Clinic medical physicist Cynthia McCollough, Ph.D., and her group of researchers presented their findings related to CT dose reduction at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine on July 20 in Philadelphia.

4 Aug 2010

Study supports efficacy of brief intervention in reducing alcohol use, violence among adolescents

Brief interventions among adolescents reporting to emergency departments may be associated with a reduction in the experience of peer violence and alcohol misuse in this population, according to a study in the August 4 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

4 Aug 2010

Number of Cyberchondriacs increase to 175 million: 2010 Harris Poll

The latest Harris Poll, measuring how many people use the Internet to look for information about health topics, finds that the numbers continue to increase. The Harris Poll first used the word Cyberchondriacs to describe these people in 1998, when just over 50 million American adults had ever gone online to look for health information. By 2005, that number had risen to 117 million. In the new poll, the number of Cyberchondriacs has jumped to 175 million from 154 million last year, possibly as a result of the health care reform debate.

4 Aug 2010