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It is possible to reduce the risk of HIV infection with a vaccine: AVAC

"Today marks an historic milestone in the search for an AIDS vaccine; we now have evidence that it is possible to reduce the risk of HIV infection with a vaccine," said AVAC executive director Mitchell Warren, reacting to the results of the first AIDS vaccine trial to ever show efficacy at preventing HIV. "It will take time and resources to fully analyze, understand and validate the data, but there is little doubt that this finding will energize and redirect the AIDS vaccine field as all of us begin the hard work to translate this landmark result into true public health benefit."

24 Sep 2009

MetLife unveils its enhanced web-based resource for oral health care

Understanding how to maintain or improve oral health just got easier. MetLife, the largest commercial dental carrier, which administers dental benefits for over 21 million people, today unveiled its enhanced consumer resource, the MetLife Oral Health Library.

24 Sep 2009

Senators take to trenches for Finance Committee health bill mark up

As they consider chairman Max Baucus' health proposal, Senate Finance Committee Republicans and Democrats are debating costs, subsidies and the future of Medicare.

24 Sep 2009

G20 preview: Obama to propose phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies; HIV/AIDS protesters take to streets in Pittsburgh

During the G20 summit opening Thursday in Pittsburgh, President Obama will propose countries around the world phase out government subsidies that promote the production and use of fossil fuels "that spew carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas," the Associated Press reports (Borenstein, 9/23).

24 Sep 2009

States extend, create new programs for vulnerable; In Texas, home health a problem

New outlets report on a variety of health stories at the state level including a new program that provides prescription drug help and routine medical care to low-income people in Iowa, an assurance that poor children will be able to keep their insurance in California and recognition that home health agencies waste Medicare dollars in Texas.

24 Sep 2009

SPIRIT IV trial data demonstrates superior efficacy of XIENCE V stent system

Late-breaking data from the SPIRIT IV trial demonstrated that Abbott's market-leading XIENCE V(R) Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System achieved superiority in the key safety and efficacy measures of target lesion failure (TLF) and target lesion revascularization (TLR) compared to the TAXUS(R) Express2(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System (TAXUS) at one year.

24 Sep 2009

Website for family caregivers to find senior care facilities

AgingCare.com, a website and community forum for people taking care of elderly parents, has created a directory tool that lets family caregivers find senior care facilities in their local area. The directory, www.agingcare.com/Find-Senior-Care/ is free to use, and quickly connects caregivers with local senior care services and providers. The Directory includes assisted living facilities, home health care services, nursing homes, hospice, geriatric care managers and independent living residences.

24 Sep 2009

Two new studies test conventional wisdom about physician behavior

Two new studies test classic assumptions about doctor behavior, including whether fatigue, stress and even full moons impede their work. Meanwhile, separate reports investigate would-be physicians' behavior far from the exam room or operating table -- on Facebook, YouTube, and private blogs.

24 Sep 2009

NIH awards $2.5 million grant to University of Utah cardiologist

A pioneering model that a University of Utah cardiologist proposes as a cause of heart disease is the kind of creative thinking the National Institutes of Health (NIH) likes to see-and reward with one of its most prestigious honors, a $2.5 million 2009 Pioneer Award.

24 Sep 2009

Results of Phase III clinical trial of HIV vaccine released

A Phase III clinical trial involving more than 16,000 adult volunteers in Thailand has demonstrated that an investigational HIV vaccine regimen was safe and modestly effective in preventing HIV infection. According to final results released by the trial sponsor, the U.S. Army Surgeon General, the prime boost combination of ALVAC(R)( )HIV and AIDSVAX(R) B/E( )lowered the rate of HIV infection by 31.2% compared with placebo.

24 Sep 2009

NIHR to fund patient panel for skin disease research

People who suffer from skin disease are being asked to help make research more effective by joining a new 'Patient Panel'.

24 Sep 2009

Computational models form basis to design the device for recreating kidney function

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and two other academic institutions have received federal funding to systematically assemble functional human kidney tissue from tissue modeled on a computer. If successful, the research-which ties together several emerging technologies including virtual tissue modeling and nanofabrication-could lead to a more predictable way for researchers to engineer tissue outside the body and, consequently, to screen for new drugs.

24 Sep 2009

Study on leisure experiences of women with intellectual disabilities in group homes

Brenda Rossow-Kimball, who did post-graduate research with Donna Goodwin, in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, investigated the leisure experiences of five women with intellectual disabilities in two group homes. They found major differences in how leisure was experienced in each group home. In one, the women were provided with support and encouraged to make their own decisions about how they used their leisure time; there was a genuine interest in the women engaging in independent spontaneous leisure, according to Rossow-Kimball. In the other home leisure was supervised by the staff, scheduled into the activities of the home, and managed by the staff, which, the researchers say, doesn't teach the women how to discover what they like to do for leisure.

24 Sep 2009

Some states praise language to change Medicare pay formula

Some states such as Washington and Minnesota see benefit in changes to the Medicare pay formula.

24 Sep 2009

NIH Director's Pioneer Award and New Innovator Award for Duke scientists

Two Duke University Medical Center scientists have won prestigious National Institutes of Health Director's awards to pursue novel research.

24 Sep 2009

Finance senators debate issues of timing, transparency

The Finance Committee resumed its mark-up of a proposal authored by its chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., on Wednesday, with much of the debate gravitating to amendments concerning speed, timing and transparency. Republicans sought to delay the vote, while Democrats argued for a compromise that would bring the committee's deliberations to a swifter conclusion.

24 Sep 2009

LEO Pharma re-acquires product licensing rights from Warner Chilcott

Warner Chilcott plc (Nasdaq: WCRX) and LEO Pharma announced today that, in exchange for a one-time cash payment of $1.0 billion to Warner Chilcott, LEO Pharma is re-acquiring Warner Chilcott's exclusive product licensing rights in the United States to its topical psoriasis treatments Taclonex(R), Taclonex Scalp(R), Dovonex(R) as well as rights to all products in LEO's development pipeline, and acquiring all inventories of the products.

24 Sep 2009

Galapagos announces BioFocus DPI's drug discovery collaboration with SPRI

Galapagos NV announces today that its service division, BioFocus DPI, has initiated a drug discovery collaboration with Schering-Plough Research Institute (SPRI).

24 Sep 2009

Lux Biosciences announces results of its LX214 human safety study for dry eye syndrome

Lux Biosciences, Inc. a privately held biotechnology company focused on the treatment of ophthalmic diseases, today announced results from a Phase 1 human safety and an open-label pilot efficacy study of the company’s potential best-in-class therapy for dry eye, LX214 (topical mixed nanomicellar formulation of voclosporin).

24 Sep 2009

Acetaminophen can prevent age-related problems

Recent studies conducted by Dr. Eric Blough and his colleagues at Marshall University have shown that use of the common pain reliever acetaminophen may help prevent age-associated muscle loss and other conditions.

24 Sep 2009