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Regrouping Democrats consider next steps on health overhaul

Democrats are trying to regain health reform momentum during the week of the president's State of the Union address.

27 Jan 2010

Thoratec expands MCS portfolio with innovative catheter pump technology

Thoratec Corporation, a world leader in device-based mechanical circulatory support (MCS) therapies to save, support and restore failing hearts, said today that it has acquired an innovative catheter pump technology that it plans to use in the development of a minimally invasive, acute cardiac axial flow pump that can be delivered percutaneously in the cardiac catheterization lab and operating room.

27 Jan 2010

WHO rejects accusations it mishandled H1N1, updates worldwide stats

WHO spokesperson Gregory Hartl on Monday rejected accusations that the organization miscategorized H1N1 (swine flu) as a pandemic, calling such accusations "irresponsible," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. "WHO also dismissed claims it colluded with drug companies to bring economic benefit to the industry by playing up the danger of the new H1N1 [swine flu] influenza strain," the news service writes.

27 Jan 2010

Aurora physician receives Hind Rattan Award for MS research

Today the NRI Welfare Society of India recognized Bhupendra Khatri, M.D., of Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center with its prestigious Hind Rattan Award.

27 Jan 2010

Texas to invest $4.5 mn in cancer research at UT Health Science Center

Texas plans to invest $3 billion in cancer research over the next 10 years and six scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are among the first to receive grants.The researchers, whose grants total $4.5 million, are working to protect girls from cervical cancer, to interrupt tumor growth at the molecular level and to develop a new approach for the treatment of colon cancer, among other cutting-edge projects.

27 Jan 2010

Applied Biosystems signs cross-licensing agreement with Idaho Technology

Applied Biosystems LLC, part of Life Technologies Corporation, and Idaho Technology, Inc. have signed a cross-licensing agreement which covers a broad range of products including hardware, software and reagents.

27 Jan 2010

Number of Americans in excellent or good health has declined

The New York Times reports on health in the U.S. "The percentage of people who reported having excellent or very good health declined to 66.6 percent in the 2009 period, from 69.1 percent in 1998.

27 Jan 2010

Promising results in mice could prevent fatal iron buildup in humans

A new study shows that a protein found in blood alleviates anemia, a condition in which the body's tissues don't get enough oxygen from the blood. In this animal study, injections of the protein, known as transferrin, also protected against potentially fatal iron overload in mice with thalassemia, a type of inherited anemia that affects millions of people worldwide.

27 Jan 2010

Democratic leaders still pondering reconciliation pros and cons for health bill

Congressional Democrats are facing a critical decision about whether to use the procedural maneuver known as budget reconciliation to pass a health care reform bill, The New York Times reports.

27 Jan 2010

Over 125M pregnant women worldwide exposed to malaria annually, study finds

More than 125 million pregnant women worldwide are exposed to malaria each year, according to a study published Tuesday in PLoS Medicine, ANI/oneindia reports. Previously, such estimates were limited to malaria risk in Africa. "Most malarial deaths are among young children in sub-Saharan Africa but pregnant women and their unborn babies are at high risk," the news service writes, adding that "[n]early 10,000 women and 200,000 babies die every year because of malaria in pregnancy, which often leads to miscarriages, pre-term births, and low-birth-weight births" (1/26).

27 Jan 2010

Doctors react to recent health overhaul developments

Some doctors are already living in a post-health-reform world because of their own initiatives, including efforts to control costs and improve the quality of care, reports The (Riverside, Calif.) Press-Enterprise.

27 Jan 2010

Curemark commences CM-AT Phase III autism clinical trial enrollment at ten sites

Curemark, LLC, a drug research and development company focused on the treatment of neurological diseases, announced that the company is now enrolling patients in Phase III clinical trials for CM-AT, its autism treatment, at ten sites across the country.

27 Jan 2010

Ben-Gurion University lecturer honored with 2010 Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research

Dr. Anne Bernheim, a senior lecturer at the Department of Chemical Engineering of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, has been awarded a prestigious Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research 2010.

27 Jan 2010

Commissions to examine paring costs from Medicaid, Medicare

Medicaid payments are coming under review by a new commission, American Medical News reports. "MACPAC was created by a provision of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, signed by President Obama in February 2009. The act instructs the panel to examine the effect of Medicaid pay and other factors on the access and quality of care received by Medicaid and CHIP enrollees." Kaiser Family Foundation executive Diane Rowland will chair the panel. The panel has not yet gained federal funding (Trapp, 1/25).

27 Jan 2010

Researchers simplify confusing warnings labels on prescription bottles

Replacing confusing language and icons on standard warnings labels for prescription medicine and listing only the most important warnings could make a big difference in how well patients understand the instructions that are critical to their health, according to a new study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

27 Jan 2010

Bayh urges Dems to move to the center; Nelson says he cannot support national exchange

The Wall Street Journal: "Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, the very embodiment of calm understatement, seems an unlikely character to play the role of scold. But in recent weeks—particularly after last week's Massachusetts mauling—he has been scolding his Democratic Party, and sternly.

27 Jan 2010

Health IT money secured, but program faces challenges

Washington has channeled billions of dollars to help hospitals and doctors adopt electronic medical records, but obstacles remain on the horizon. One possible challenge is that no entity has yet been named to "test and certify" the records, Modern Healthcare reports. Nonetheless, one group, The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, will begin taking applications Feb. 12 from health IT vendors to do just that. The group fulfilled the certifying function for much of the Bush administration and gained the confidence of then-HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt.

27 Jan 2010

FDA approves first heart valve conduit that can delay need for open-heart surgery

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the Medtronic Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve and Ensemble Delivery System, the first heart valve to be implanted through a catheter, or tube, in a leg vein and guided up to the heart. This new approach to the treatment of adults and children with previously implanted, poorly functioning pulmonary valve conduits can delay the need for open-heart surgery.

27 Jan 2010

Doctors delay talking about end-of-life care

A study published this month finds doctors delay talking about end-of-life care, which often proves very costly. The Los Angeles Times reports: "Most doctors don't talk about end-of-life issues with their cancer patients when those patients are feeling well, a new survey has found." Physicians also tended to delay these conversations "until treatments have been exhausted. Those delays mean patients might not be able to make truly informed choices early in their treatment.

27 Jan 2010

As state legislatures gear up, federal health overhaul is on their agenda

The New York Times Prescriptions Blog: "The question of equality, or inequality, among states is a major reason President Obama's overhaul of the health care system, and the legislation in Congress to make it happen, seemed to reach the brink of collapse last week." The issue also reflects "one of the biggest challenges" the President and Congressional leaders face in their efforts to overhaul the health care system. The key question: "how to devise a national solution for a problem that varies sharply from state to state."

27 Jan 2010