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Harkin to take the helm of Senate health committee

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that Sen. Tom Harkin — a progressive liberal and ardent supporter of President Barack Obama's plan to create a public insurance plan — will take over the health and education committee."

10 Sep 2009

Roche Group and ImmunoCellular Therapeutics sign research agreement regarding ICT-69 antibody

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing immune based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers, announced today that it has entered into a research and license option agreement regarding its ICT-69 antibody with Roche Group (SWX: ROG.VX; RO.S, OTCQX: RHHBY), one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

10 Sep 2009

Lead exposure may result in cardiovascular mortality

Growing evidence shows that exposure to lead in the environment is associated with cardiovascular disease, including increased risk of hypertension. However, those studies have looked at lead concentrations in blood, not bone lead, a better indicator of cumulative lead exposure over time.

10 Sep 2009

Dodd rejects HELP chairmanship, skeptical Dems sound off on reform

The Washington Post: "Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) has decided against succeeding his close friend and mentor, the late Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) as chairman of the Senate's health committee, a senior Senate aide said Tuesday night. ... Dodd's decision leaves the chairmanship of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who follows Dodd in seniority. Multiple sources in the Harkin orbit, requesting anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said that he is certain to take over the HELP committee" (Kane, 8/8).

10 Sep 2009

Oral and throat cancers linked to human papilloma virus

Infection by the human papilloma virus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease, has been linked to more than one third of all oral and throat cancers according to Dr. Solomon Hamburg, president of the prestigious Tower Cancer Research Foundation.

10 Sep 2009

OSI Systems signs partnership agreement with Irish software firm, dabl

OSI Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIS), a vertically-integrated provider of specialized electronic products for critical applications in the Security and Healthcare industries, today announced that its Healthcare division, Spacelabs Healthcare, has entered into an agreement with Irish software firm, dabl® Ltd.

10 Sep 2009

South East Asian health ministers adopt declaration to improve disaster preparedness, address childhood diarrhea

Health ministers from 11 member states in the WHO's South East Asian region on Tuesday at the 62nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia adopted the Kathmandu Declaration on Protecting Health Facilities from Disasters, which commits them to make health facilities better prepared for health emergencies, Republica reports.

10 Sep 2009

Newly formed Med-Vet-Net Association to be launched

To celebrate and reflect on the scientific achievements of one of Europe's most successful Networks of Excellence, and to launch the newly formed Med-Vet-Net Association — the future incarnation of the Med-Vet-Net partnership that will forge ahead with research tackling the zoonoses and food-borne diseases that threaten the public health of the European Community.

10 Sep 2009

Bioalma introduces customized portal for biomedical community

Bioalma today announced mynovo|seek, the industry’s first customized portal for users that enables a more personalized user interface. In response to user feedback, mynovo|seek allows for saved searches and search results, chronicled search history, the ability to create email alerts on new published research and the ability to export citations from Medline - in full text or from grants – all in one place.

10 Sep 2009

Genomic technologies to improve wine production techniques

While the art of fine winemaking is a beautiful thing, winemakers are increasingly turning to the power of science to give them the tools they need to ensure a high quality pour each and every time.

10 Sep 2009

In congressional speech, Obama reaches for game-changer

"Reaching for a game-changer, President Barack Obama is beset by conflicting goals in a prime-time address Wednesday expected to detail just how he wants to expand health care coverage and lower medical costs while signaling to a deeply divided Congress that he's ready to deal. And show the public he's in control," The Associated Press reports.

10 Sep 2009

Preventive-care TB therapy is cost-effective for patients

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers have found that the cost of preventive antibiotic tuberculosis (TB) therapy for patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is generally less expensive than the reported cost of treating newly confirmed TB cases.

10 Sep 2009

Hospital executives weigh benefits, risks of health reform

Hospital executives are balancing their hopes that expanded coverage will provide a windfall for facilities now burdened by uncompensated care with their fears that government intervention, such as the possible creation of a public insurance option, could cut into their revenues, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

10 Sep 2009

Federal judge finds New York State discriminated against mentally ill

The New York Times reports: "New York State discriminated against thousands of mentally ill people in New York City by leaving them in privately run adult homes, which effectively replaced state-run psychiatric hospitals more than a generation ago but turned out to be little more than institutions themselves, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday."

10 Sep 2009

Clinical study investigates laboratory and clinical implications of proton pump inhibitor drugs

Fears about the cancer causing effects of the second most prescribed group of drugs in the Western world have been put to rest, following the largest ever study into their use.

10 Sep 2009

Obesity experts call on policymakers to adopt obesity recommendations

The Obesity Society and other steering committee members of the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, and two former US Surgeons General, join together today to develop effective recommendations to urge policymakers to act on the inclusion of obesity as the largest and most urgent driving factor in healthcare reform.

10 Sep 2009

Prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct with adults is higher according to a study

Baylor University's School of Social Work today announced that findings from the nationwide study of the prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct (CSM) with adults have been accepted for publication later this year in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

10 Sep 2009

Miracles of the immune system discussed at the 2nd European Congress of Immunology

"I think it will not surprise you if I say that the immune system is one of our most important organ systems. Its relevance is obvious if only for the fact that it has been reinvented several times throughout the evolution of life," says Professor Andreas Radbruch, President of the German Society of Immunology and Director of the Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum, Berlin. He lectured about the miracle of our immune system at the Opening Press Conference of the 2nd European Congress of Immunology.

10 Sep 2009

Merck's GARDASIL receives approval from FDA Advisory Committee

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee agreed that efficacy, immunogenicity and safety data from clinical trials in males support the use of GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] in boys and men 9 through 26 years of age for the prevention of genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11.

10 Sep 2009

Newspapers examine drought, famine in East Africa

According to Canada's National Post, a humanitarian coalition "warns East Africa faces 'a perfect storm of crop failures, a multi-year lack of rain, conflicts and political turmoil,' which now threatens 20 million people with severe hunger." Fighting in Somalia has driven 1.55 million people to internal camps outside the capital of Mogadishu as well as refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, where the unsanitary conditions of one camp led Oxfam to label it "barely fit for humans."

10 Sep 2009