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Court approves Abbott settlement for wrongly marketing Depakote

The pharmaceutical company will pay $1.5 billion for marketing the drug for non-approved uses.

4 Oct 2012

Circassia commences ToleroMune phase 3 trial in cat allergen-induced rhinoconjunctivitis

Circassia Ltd, a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on allergy, today announced the start of a pivotal phase 3 trial of its investigational ToleroMune cat allergy treatment for cat allergen-induced rhinoconjunctivitis.

4 Oct 2012

Simple new test can monitor treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis

A simple new test, in which the patient swallows a string, can monitor treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis as effectively as an invasive, expensive and uncomfortable procedure that risks complications, particularly in children.

4 Oct 2012

Gateway Foundation to raise awareness of synthetic drug use

In recognition of Red Ribbon Week, October 23-31, 2012, Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment is working to build awareness among communities regarding the dangerous health risks associated with synthetic drug use.

4 Oct 2012

Roche announces availability of new HIV-1 viral load test in the U.S.

Roche announced today the U.S. availability of a new HIV-1 viral load test based on the company's proprietary dual-target approach. The COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Test v2.0 for use with the High Pure System enables labs to combine an FDA-approved process for manual specimen preparation with an automated real-time PCR analyzer for amplification and detection.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 4 Oct 2012

Starting HIV-infected patients on ART reduces food insecurity, improves physical health

Starting HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy reduces food insecurity and improves physical health, thereby contributing to the disruption of a lethal syndemic, UCSF and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have found in a study focused on sub-Saharan Africa.

4 Oct 2012

First Edition: October 3, 2012

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau reports: "Medicare's new readmission penalties for hospitals just got a bit tougher. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has discovered errors in its initial calculations in August. As a result, 1,422 hospitals with comparatively high readmission rates will lose slightly more money than they were expecting, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of the revised penalties. Fifty-five hospitals will lose less than were previously told."

3 Oct 2012

‘Hygiene hypothesis’ updated to ‘Old Friends’ hypothesis

A new scientific report out today from the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) dismantles the myth that the epidemic rise in allergies in recent years has happened because we’re living in sterile homes and overdoing hygiene.

3 Oct 2012

Feed the Future video shows progress in fight against global hunger

USAID's "IMPACTblog" features a "video of the week" from the State Department's Feed the Future initiative. In the three-minute video, "narrator Matt Damon discusses U.S. efforts to turn the tide against global hunger and increase agricultural production around the world through Feed the Future," according to the blog.

3 Oct 2012

Synthetic hybrid molecules more effectively tackle chemo-resistant cancers

When Linda Tuttle was diagnosed with breast cancer, she never imagined her experience would inspire her colleagues to design new treatments to tackle the disease.

3 Oct 2012

Aid organization urges more aid focus on disaster prevention rather than reaction

Islamic Relief Worldwide on Monday "urged the U.N. to establish a global contingency fund for disaster prevention as it is cheaper to help prepare for floods and drought than spend billions on emergencies," the Guardian reports.

3 Oct 2012

Positive results from Noven’s LDMP Phase 3 clinical studies on menopausal VMS

Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., today announced positive results from two multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical studies evaluating low-dose mesylate salt of paroxetine (LDMP; 7.5 mg/day) for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (VMS) associated with menopause.

3 Oct 2012

FDA panel recommends U.S. approval for Second Sight’s Argus II bionic eye

On Friday September 28th, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Panel unanimously voted 19-0 that the probable benefit of the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System outweighs the risks to health, an important step toward the FDA market approval of this product manufactured by Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

3 Oct 2012

UCSF to create first implantable device for patients with kidney failure

A $750,000 gift from the John and Marcia Goldman Foundation is spurring a UCSF-led effort to create the first implantable artificial kidney for patients with kidney failure.

3 Oct 2012

UIC to study policy and environmental factors that influence youth behaviors

The University of Illinois at Chicago's ImpacTeen project has been awarded a $4.4 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study policy and environmental factors that influence youth behaviors related to nutrition, physical activity and obesity.

3 Oct 2012

Obesity from high-energy diets may impair brain, fuel overeating

"Betcha can't eat just one!" For obese people trying to lose weight, the Lays potato chip advertising slogan hits a bit too close to home as it describes the daily battle to resist high calorie foods.

3 Oct 2012

Human hepatitis threat present in domestic pigs

The prevalence of hepatitis E virus in domestic pigs is between 10% and 30%, with a likelihood that infected pigs enter the pork production chain thereby threatening public health, indicate Portuguese study results.

2 Oct 2012

ONE blog interviews USAID nutrition chief

In the ONE blog, Kelly Hauser, ONE's policy manager focusing on agriculture, nutrition and U.S. food aid reform, interviews Anne Peniston, head of the nutrition division at USAID. Peniston discusses "her professional and personal experiences in the U.S. and abroad, her vision for USAID's nutrition strategy, and the role of NGOs in global nutrition," according to the blog.

2 Oct 2012

VOA News reports on Syria's health crisis in midst of civil war

"The United Nations estimates the civil war raging in Syria has left more than 2.5 million people in dire need of food, water, drugs and medical supplies," VOA News reports.

2 Oct 2012

World Food Programme warns of hunger threat in Yemen

"Nearly half of Yemenis go to bed hungry every night as political instability compounds a global food and fuel price surge, giving the Arabian Peninsula state the world's third-highest rate of child malnutrition, the World Food Programme [WFP] said on Sunday," Reuters reports.

2 Oct 2012