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Skin cancer drug may prolong survival in advanced cases: Study

Researchers say 132 patients in the U.S. and Australia who were given the drug vemurafenib gained several extra months of life. The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that those on the drug lived an average of 16 months, compared with nine months on conventional treatment.

26 Feb 2012

GOP presidential hopefuls face off in two battleground states

Issues ranging from plans to cap or cut Medicaid spending to voting positions on the Medicare prescription drug program are among the policies being tossed about as candidates jockey for Tea Party votes and conservative credentials.

23 Feb 2012

Vemurafenib nearly doubles survival for patients with metastatic melanoma

Investigators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) and 12 other centers in the United States and Australia have found that a new drug for patients with metastatic melanoma nearly doubled median overall survival.

23 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 22, 2012

In today's health policy headlines, the Supreme Court added 30 minutes to the time allocation for next month's health law arguments. Also in the news, the federal government announced funding awards yesterday to help launch consumer-governed health plans in eight states.

22 Feb 2012

Key regulator of lens development also controls mechanosensory neuron development

A gene known to control lens development in mice and humans is also crucial for the development of neurons responsible for mechanosensory function, as neurobiologists of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have now discovered.

22 Feb 2012

New triple-therapies found cost-effective for chronic hepatitis C patients with advanced liver disease

A towering $60,000 bill, a year of fierce, flu-like symptoms and a running risk of depression are among the possible costs of two new hepatitis C treatments. But according to Stanford University health policy researchers, they might be worth it.

21 Feb 2012

DNA ‘nanorobot’ effectively targets cancer leaving healthy cells untouched: Study

Researchers have developed ‘nano-sized’ probes built from DNA that can seek and destroy cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched. These ‘nanorobots’ release their drug payload only when they reach and identify their target and are believed to improve many treatments for disease.

20 Feb 2012

Nordion celebrates first anniversary of market launch of TheraSphere

Nordion Inc., a leading provider of products and services to the global health science market, today celebrated the first anniversary of the market introduction of TheraSphere, an innovative radioembolic liver cancer therapy, in the Republic of Turkey.

17 Feb 2012

Sandia's decontamination foam now used for meth lab cleanup

Sandia's decontamination foam, developed more than a decade ago and used to decontaminate federal office buildings and mailrooms during the 2001 anthrax attacks, is now being used to decontaminate illegal methamphetamine labs.

17 Feb 2012

Breast augmentations most common form of plastic surgery nationwide

Breast augmentations are the most common form of plastic surgery nationwide, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Loyola University Health System plastic surgeons are seeing similar trends in their practice. The number of women who are getting breast implants also is up from last year. In 2011, 307,180 women nationwide underwent a breast augmentation procedure while 296, 203 women had the same surgery in 2010.

15 Feb 2012

Air pollution may accelerate cognitive decline in older women

A large, prospective study led by a researcher at Rush University Medical Center indicates that chronic exposure to particulate air pollution may accelerate cognitive decline in older adults.

14 Feb 2012

Chemotherapy during pregnancy for cancer does not necessarily harm the baby: Study

When a pregnant woman is diagnosed with cancer, she and her family and doctors are faced with difficult decisions about her health and that of her unborn child. It is known that giving chemotherapy in the first 12 weeks, when the baby's organs are still forming, raises the chances of birth defects. Postponing the treatment, however, could allow the cancer to spread. Over the last decade, doctors have been more willing to use chemotherapy after the first trimester, but there have been worries that the child's brain and heart could suffer damage.

13 Feb 2012

Plastic surgery on the rise among Americans

13.8 million plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2011, a 5% increase on the year before. The authors added that by the end of 2011, the number of total plastic surgeries had grown for 24 consecutive months. These figures include both minimally-invasive and surgical procedures. The ASPS informs that 5.5 additional reconstructive procedures were carried out in 2011, also a 5% increase on the previous year.

13 Feb 2012

Merck's ZIOPTAN for reducing elevated IOP receives FDA approval

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ZIOPTANTM (tafluprost ophthalmic solution) 0.0015%, the first preservative-free prostaglandin analog ophthalmic solution.

13 Feb 2012

Communities with small, locally-owned businesses have healthier populations

Counties and parishes with a greater concentration of small, locally-owned businesses have healthier populations - with lower rates of mortality, obesity and diabetes - than do those that rely on large companies with "absentee" owners, according to a national study by sociologists at LSU and Baylor University.

8 Feb 2012

Scientists uncover genes that govern male and female behaviors

Hormones shape our bodies, make us fertile, excite our most basic urges, and as scientists have known for years, they govern the behaviors that separate men from women. But how? Now a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has uncovered many genes influenced by the male and female sex hormones testosterone and estrogen that, in turn, govern several specific types of male and female behaviors in mice.

3 Feb 2012

AACS 2012 announces record attendance at annual scientific meeting

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) announced its highest attendance in the Academy’s history with more than 700 medical professionals at its 28th Annual Scientific Meeting. The event was held January 18-21, 2012 at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.

1 Feb 2012

Roche’s skin cancer drug Erivedge gets FDA nod

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) this Monday approved a pill that treats the most common type of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma.

31 Jan 2012

Genentech receives FDA approval for Erivedge to treat basal cell carcinoma

Today, Erivedge (vismodegib) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adult patients with basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer. The drug is intended for use in patients with locally advanced basal cell cancer who are not candidates for surgery or radiation and for patients whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

31 Jan 2012

CDC publishes an in-depth analysis of Mogellons disease

Experts explain that Morgellons is not an official diagnosis but a syndrome of unexplained symptoms including abnormal sensations that sufferers describe as the feeling of insects crawling on the skin. Symptoms also include fatigue. And, perhaps most peculiarly, one symptom is tiny fibers found embedded in waxy scabs on the skin.

29 Jan 2012