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TU Delft's nuclear research to be used for producing medical isotopes

TU Delft's nuclear research reactor will be used as a back-up facility for the production of the radioactive isotope molybdenum-99, when supplies run out. Molybdenum-99 is widely used in hospitals in order to locate cancer.

27 Sep 2010

Calcitonin combination therapy may help treat osteoarthritis: Study

Tarsa Therapeutics, Inc. and Unigene Laboratories, Inc. today reported preclinical data showing that calcitonin may have synergistic effects in combination with other drugs in reducing the collagen degradation associated with osteoarthritis.

27 Sep 2010

Study finds inconsistent surveillance method for CA-BSI infections

A new study looking at how hospitals account for the number of pediatric patients who develop catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSIs) found substantial inconsistencies in the methods used to report the number of patients who develop these infections.

27 Sep 2010

MMRF receives contract to analyze solid-organ transplantation data

As part of the federal government's ongoing effort to improve the lives of organ transplant recipients and patients awaiting organ transplants, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded researchers at the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation (MMRF) a multimillion-dollar contract to maintain and analyze data on solid-organ transplantation in the United States.

27 Sep 2010

Dual eligible patients more likely to be hospitalized than Medicare beneficiaries: AHRQ

Americans who were eligible for coverage under both Medicare and Medicaid in 2008 were hospitalized for bed sores, asthma and diabetes at more than twice the rate of other Medicare beneficiaries, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

27 Sep 2010

Americans eating fewer vegetables and getting fatter

Despite two decades of public health initiatives, stricter government dietary guidelines, record growth of farmers' markets and the ease of products like salad in a bag, Americans still aren't eating enough vegetables. This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a comprehensive nationwide behavioral study of fruit and vegetable consumption.

27 Sep 2010

FDA approves OZURDEX implant for uveitis treatment

Allergan, Inc. today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved OZURDEX (dexamethasone intravitreal implant) 0.7 mg for the treatment of non-infectious ocular inflammation, or uveitis, affecting the posterior segment of the eye.

27 Sep 2010

Wealthy live longer than the poor: Study

According to the latest research poorer Australians die at least three years before their wealthy counterparts. The report entitled, “The Health Lies in Wealth” by the University of Canberra's National Centre for Social and Economic Modeling found that people in the lowest socio-economic group died on average at 79.6 years of age compared with 82.7 years for the highest socio-economic group. Factors that influence life expectancy include household income, work status, education level and support networks.

26 Sep 2010

New Concordia research links hormones with attention and learning

Feeling a little sluggish and having trouble concentrating? Hormones might be to blame according to new research from Concordia University published in the journal Brain and Cognition. The study shows that high estrogen levels are associated with an inability to pay attention and learn - the first such paper to report how this impediment can be due to a direct effect of the hormone on mature brain structures.

24 Sep 2010

The House approves six health-related measures, including legislation related to the disposal of unused prescription drugs

The Hill's Healthwatch Blog: "The House passed six health-related bills Wednesday evening, including efforts to combat Medicare fraud and dispose of unused prescription drugs." The measures were approved under suspension of the rules, "an expedited procedure that only allows for 40 minutes of debate followed by a voice vote."

24 Sep 2010

GOP 'pledge' to create jobs, control spending, repeal health law draws mixed reaction

The New York Times: "In the legislative blueprint that Republicans hope will serve as a roadmap to winning control of the House, they declared their two highest priorities to be creating jobs and stopping 'out-of-control spending' by the federal government." It includes a call to repeal the health law, while retaining "popular provisions."

24 Sep 2010

Insurers irked by latest draft of spending requirements

"One of the most critical aspects of the federal health overhaul for insurers is shaping up as a mixed bag for the industry, as regulators issued draft rules Thursday on how the companies must account for how much they spend directly on patients' medical care," The Wall Street Journal reports. At issue is which expenses count as medical, versus administrative.

24 Sep 2010

Congress considers setting standards to reduce football concussions

NPR: "A college player who recently committed suicide had a degenerative brain disease normally linked to much older players. It's prompting a new round of questions about safety in the dangerous game that Americans love. ... [Chronic traumatic encephalopathy] is the football concussion 'disease of the moment.' In the past couple of years, Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy has revealed that many deceased NFL players had CTE. The symptoms include depression, erratic behavior and, ultimately, dementia" (Goldman, 9/23).

24 Sep 2010

Key pathway used by malaria parasite to infect human cells identified

Development of an effective vaccine for malaria is a step closer following identification of a key pathway used by the malaria parasite to infect human cells. The discovery, by researchers at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, provides a new vaccine target through which infection with the deadly disease could be prevented.

24 Sep 2010

Maine receives federal grants to upgrade electronic public health systems, scores of criminals provide home health care in Cal.

The Boston Globe: "Caritas Christi Health Care executives have told union negotiators they will shutter St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton and Carney Hospital in Dorchester if they can't close a deal for the six-hospital chain to be bought by a New York private equity firm. The warning was made during contract talks last week with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, according to two people who attended the meeting.

24 Sep 2010

Premium rates may skyrocket for many Medicare drug plans

The Associated Press: "A new analysis of government data finds that premiums will go up an average of 10 percent among the top plans that have signed up some 70 percent of seniors. That's according to Avalere Health, a private research firm that crunched the numbers. Marketing for next year's drug plans gets under way Oct. 1, and seniors will see some of the biggest changes since the Medicare prescription benefit became available in 2006. More than 17 million are enrolled in private drug plans offered through Medicare."

24 Sep 2010

Playing video games may help children become laparoscopic surgeons

Playing video games for hours on end may prepare your child to become a laparoscopic surgeon one day, a new study has shown. Reorganisation of the brain's cortical network in young men with significant experience playing video games gives them an advantage not only in playing the games but also in performing other tasks requiring visuomotor skills. The findings are published in the October 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex.

24 Sep 2010

Researchers create device to find ways to improve commonly used treatment for 'water on the brain'

Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists participated in a study with researchers from the University of Utah that could help find ways to improve shunt systems used to treat the neurological disorder hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain," the leading cause of brain surgery for children in the United States. Researchers studied the shunt systems under a variety of conditions by creating a bioreactor that mimics the environment inside patients.

24 Sep 2010

Competition on access: A role for government in health care markets

In this Kaiser Health News column, Austin Frakt and Rexford Santerre write: "In late August, The Wall Street Journal reported that government-owned hospitals are 'drowning in debt' due to high health care costs, high rates of uninsured patients and cuts in public payments. Some government facilities are closing while others are being sold to private-sector firms.

24 Sep 2010

Mayo Clinic initiates enrollment in first U.S. clinical Hand Transplant Program

Mayo Clinic has initiated the first clinical Hand Transplant Program in the United States and is now enrolling patients. This program offers hand transplantation as a clinically available option for patients with bilateral hand injuries or amputations. This allows patients to embark on this option of reconstructive surgery without being required to enroll in experimental trials.

24 Sep 2010