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Research finding may offer future alternative to antibiotics

A team of scientists from government, academia and private industry has developed a novel treatment that protects mice from infection with the bacterium that causes tularemia, a highly infectious disease of rodents, sometimes transmitted to people, and also known as rabbit fever. In additional experiments with human immune cells, the treatment also demonstrated protection against three other types of disease-causing bacteria that, like the tularemia bacteria, occur naturally, can be highly virulent, and are considered possible agents of bioterrorism.

28 May 2010

WellPoint guidelines may bolster federal 'comparative effectiveness' investments

The health insurer WellPoint has announced guidelines for using comparative effectiveness studies to pit drugs against one another and determine which works best, the Indianapolis Business Journal reports. "Congress has also approved $4.1 billion in the past 15 months to fund comparative-effectiveness studies and a new agency that specializes in them.

28 May 2010

Report: High-risk pool funding may fall short of need

A $5 billion fund to create high-risk pools in the states as part of the health overhaul may fall short of meeting the needs of uninsured people with health problems if state and federal officials closely monitor the program, according to a new report by the National Institute for Health Care Reform, an automaker-sponsored think tank, Kaiser Health News reports.

28 May 2010

PCA-Rx represents next generation of chelation technology for ASD patients

According to the Center for Disease Control, autism has risen to an epidemic rate of 1 in 100 in the U.S., up from 1 in 150 in 2007. While controversy looms regarding its cause, many parents of autistic children believe a correlation exists with toxin accumulation. To give autism spectrum disorder sufferers a natural alternative to chelation therapy, Maxam Nutraceutics has introduced PCA-Rx.

28 May 2010

Study measures effects of BPA on male reproductive system

Increasing Bisphenol-A levels in urine are associated with worsening male sexual function, according to a Kaiser Permanente study appearing online in the Journal of Andrology.

28 May 2010

Last defendant in 6-year Calif. Medicare fraud case sentenced

The Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News: A $15 million Medicare fraud case in California has ended as the last of 17 defendants was sentenced this week to 30 months in prison.

28 May 2010

States examine costs of health law's Medicaid expansion detailed in new report

Reuters examines how Medicaid expansion might affect various states, with new findings from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: "Under conservative estimates, Maine's Medicaid spending will decrease 1.5 percent and Colorado's will slip 0.5 percent, according to the study.

28 May 2010

Hamilton Thorne announces vendor partnership agreement with Leica Microsystems

Hamilton Thorne Ltd., a leading provider of advanced laser systems and instruments for the stem cell research and fertility clinic markets, today announces a vendor partnership agreement with Leica Microsystems GmbH of Wetzlar, Germany, a leading global designer and producer of innovative high-tech precision optics systems for the analysis of microstructures.

28 May 2010

Salix Pharmaceuticals to sell $300 million of 2.75% convertible senior notes due 2015

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell $300 million aggregate principal amount of its 2.75% convertible senior notes due 2015. In addition, Salix has granted the underwriters an overallotment option to purchase up to an additional $45 million aggregate principal amount of notes on the same terms and conditions.

28 May 2010

NICE denies availability of Sorafenib liver cancer drug on NHS

Sorafenib (brand name Nexavar) will not be made available on the NHS for people with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of primary liver cancer.

28 May 2010

Some young adults must wait for new law's insurance coverage option to kick in

The new health law's requirement that young adults be able to remain on their parents' health plans until they turn 26, is raising some questions from hopeful parents: "when exactly the new benefit begins, who exactly is eligible and who decides." But the answer to all those is: "It depends. ... the decision about when to start the new benefit is being made by lots of different players in the health system.

28 May 2010

Study shows different factors related to issues of hunger, inadequate nutrition in children

Approximately 49 million people, including 17 million children, experience household food insecurity - the lack of resources required to sustain the nutritional needs of family members - according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, this number may be even higher when examining the specific food needs of children.

28 May 2010

Medicare brochure mailing draws GOP ire

Republicans are criticizing a taxpayer-funded brochure sent to 40.2 million Medicare beneficiaries explaining changes to the program under the new health law.

28 May 2010

Feds will pay the bulk of Medicaid expansion costs under overhaul, study finds

"As states complain about the burden of expanding health care to millions of poor Americans under the new federal health-care law, a study released Wednesday suggests their claims may be overstated. The issue is the cost of expanding Medicaid ... and the report from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured says states are likely to reap huge benefits for relatively little cost, and may even end up in the black."

28 May 2010

Democrats scale back 'doc fix,' COBRA subsidy in jobs bill

Without congressional action this week on a tax "extenders" and jobs bill, a number of benefits, including a subsidy for COBRA health insurance benefits for newly laid-off workers, will expire.

28 May 2010

Positron Emission Mammography helps evaluate response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Study

In a recent study presented at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed that Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) helps evaluate response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

28 May 2010

Hospitalists help coordinate care, reduce hospital costs

The New York Times reports on hospitalists, members of "America's fastest-growing medical specialty. Over a decade, this breed of physician-administrator has increasingly taken over the care of the hospitalized patient.

28 May 2010

UnitedHealth plan to boost dividends may draw criticism

The Associated Press: UnitedHealth Group has drastically raised dividends paid to shareholders - from $35 million to $560 million a year - in a move that may draw criticism for profits that rose alongside soaring health costs. "There is somewhat of a risk, especially in the current fragile reform environment, that says, 'Why is UnitedHealth declaring a dividend instead of lowering health care costs for its members?'" said analyst Tom Carroll.

28 May 2010

ARCA receives approval to begin enrollment of first therapeutic trial with GeoVax vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company that creates, develops and tests innovative HIV/AIDS vaccines, announced today The AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta has received approval to begin enrollment of the first therapeutic trial ever conducted using a promising HIV vaccine candidate from GeoVax, Inc.

28 May 2010

HeartMate II left ventricular assist device also improves right side heart function

A state-of-the-art heart pump, designed to maintain a continuous flow of blood in end-stage cardiac patients with damage to the left side of the heart, also improves function on the right side of the heart, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital's Heart and Vascular Institute.

27 May 2010