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Medicare pay irks physicians, leaves some patients stranded

Doctors' payments through the Medicare program are scheduled to be lowered by 21 percent in March, prompting some physicians to drop Medicare patients or refuse taking on new ones, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

13 Jan 2010

Bevacizumab drug shows promise to slow tumor growth in lung cancer patients

Phase II study results of the agent ASA404 showed promise in patients with either squamous or non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

13 Jan 2010

Budget and cost issues continue to plague states

The (San Luis Obispo) Tribune News: In California, local programs will be hit hard under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts to plug a $20 billion budget gap. "In-Home Supportive Services would be cut entirely. Medi-Cal would be limited and participants would be called upon to share more of the costs"

13 Jan 2010

Scientists identify fast-acting compound to improve cognitive function impairments

A fast-acting compound that appears to improve cognitive function impairments in mice similar to those found in patients with progressive Alzheimer's disease has been identified by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Program in Drug Discovery.

13 Jan 2010

Caffeine abstinence: An ineffective and potentially distressing tinnitus therapy

New research has found giving up caffeine does not relieve tinnitus and acute caffeine withdrawal might add to the problem. This is the first study of its kind to look at the effect of caffeine consumption on tinnitus.

13 Jan 2010

Pediatric specialists and pharmacists may get boost from health bills

News outlets report on how the health care bill pending in Congress might affect pediatric specialists and pharmacists.

13 Jan 2010

Research suggests variation of CETP gene is linked to lowered risk of dementia and AD

Preliminary research suggests that variation of a gene for a plasma protein is associated with slower age-related memory decline and a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD), according to a study in the January 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Jan 2010

European trial casts doubt over the viability of prostate cancer screening

A large European trial has cast doubt over the viability of prostate cancer screening, concluding that one in eight men receive a positive test result when they do not have the disease.

13 Jan 2010

UNAIDS chief calls for reduction in MTCT in Africa

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe on Monday during a five-day trip in Kenya, called for a drastic reduction in mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, Capital News reports. "In our continent we still have 400,000 babies born every year with HIV and we know if we are capable of making sure that testing will become available universally to all our pregnant women, (and) that pregnant women also have access to treatment, we will prevent the transmission," Sidibe said (Karong'o, 1/11).

13 Jan 2010

NitricBio chooses Clinipace Worldwide to manage and conduct two phase 3 trials

Clinipace Worldwide, a global technology-driven clinical research organization (CRO), announced today that NitricBio has selected the company to manage and deploy multiple studies in support of medical applications of topical nitric oxide gas (gNO).

13 Jan 2010

Media outlets examine U.S. plans for leftover H1N1 vaccine, efforts to keep flu vaccine production on track

After working to ensure the U.S. had access to enough H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine, health officials may now face a new dilemma - a vaccine surplus, the Associated Press reports.

12 Jan 2010

Scientists go beyond single-gene models to probe inborn heart defects

Studying genes that regulate early heart development in animals, scientists have solved a puzzle about one gene's role, finding that it acts in concert with a related gene. Their finding contributes to understanding how the earliest stages of heart development may go awry, resulting in congenital heart defects in humans.

12 Jan 2010

Labor leaders confront Obama on 'Cadillac' tax proposal

Labor leaders were invited to the White House to discuss negotiations to merge the House- and Senate-passed health overhaul packages.

12 Jan 2010

TD2 and COTI work together to obtain approval of clinical trials for COTI-2

TGen Drug Development (TD2) and Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. (COTI) (TSXV:COT) announced today that they will work together to obtain approval of clinical trials for a promising new anti-cancer drug called COTI-2.

12 Jan 2010

TTI enters into definitive license agreement with Biogen Idec

Trillium Therapeutics Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immune-based biologics, today announced that it has entered into a definitive license agreement with Biogen Idec , granting the latter exclusive worldwide rights to one of Trillium's development programs.

12 Jan 2010

China's one-child policy creates serious demographic problem, Chinese report says

A study from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a government-backed institution, has found that "China's 'one couple, one child' family planning policy" has resulted in a gender imbalance that is the "most serious demographic problem facing" the country, the Times of London reports.

12 Jan 2010

GAO: Some meds had 'extraordinary' price hikes over past eight years

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued Monday finds that "[p]rices on a growing number of prescription medications have ballooned in recent years as consolidation in the drug industry leaves fewer companies manufacturing niche medications," The Associated Press reports.

12 Jan 2010

Abraxis Bioscience awards John Wayne Cancer Institute $1M grant for identifying new cancer biomarkers

A $1 million grant from Abraxis Bioscience, Inc. to a world-famous research laboratory at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center could help save lives of cancer patients by helping doctors more rapidly assess whether a treatment is working or not.

12 Jan 2010

Skeptics question health overhaul savings, cost-controls

USA Today reports that independent analysts are increasingly questioning whether the long-term savings promised in the health care bills being considered by Congress are realistic.

12 Jan 2010

ALS TDI to receive grant of $1.6M for research and development of potential therapeutics for ALS

In recognition of multiple studies connecting ALS to military service, the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act, signed by President Obama on December 22, 2009, provided for the grant of $1.6 million for research and development of potential therapeutics for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease).

12 Jan 2010