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Switching ACS patients to Effient therapy reduces Maximum Platelet Aggregation

A study evaluating the level of platelet aggregation achieved after switching from Plavix (clopidogrel) 75 mg once-daily maintenance dosing plus aspirin to Effient(prasugrel) 10 mg once-daily maintenance dosing (MD) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

14 Sep 2010

Exercise can ease arthritis pain

People with arthritis who exercise have less pain, more energy, improved sleep, and better day-to-day function, according to the American College of Rheumatology.

16 Aug 2010

Progestins have tumor-stage specific effects that determine promotion, suppression: Study

Progestins are used in hormone replacement therapies to counteract the negative effects of estrogen on the uterus and reduce the risk of uterine cancer. However, evidence in recent studies and clinical trials has demonstrated that progestins increase the risk of breast cancer. Now, University of Missouri researchers have compared four types of progestins used in hormone replacement therapies and found significantly different outcomes on the progression of breast cancer in an animal model depending on the type of progestins used.

11 Aug 2010

Pay-for-performance program may cause inequalities among healthcare providers

Pay-for-performance is an increasingly popular approach to improving health care quality. But the planned nationwide implementation of institutional bonuses mandated under federal health care reform threatens to act as a "reverse Robin Hood," potentially causing hospitals in less-advantaged regions to lose funds to health care facilities in more affluent areas of the country, according to a study published in the academic journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Patients' relationship with primary care physician improves health care quality: Study

Patients who report having a regular doctor either at a community health center or at the physician's office report receiving better quality health care, and have a better health care experience, than patients who have a regular place of care, but lack an established physician relationship. The findings are part of a study published in the May Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, and authored by Anne Beal, MD, MPH, head of the Aetna Foundation, and Susan Hernandez, MPA, formerly of The Commonwealth Fund.

19 Jun 2010

Biofeedback training on MPA decreases performance anxiety, improves performance in musicians

Traditionally, the most successful methods used to combat stage fright have been prescribed medications (beta blockers) and aerobic exercise. In the most recent issue of Biofeedback, researchers studied another technique: the effect of biofeedback training on Musical Performance Anxiety (MPA). MPA is a severe form of stage fright marked by high anxiety levels and impaired performance.

9 Jun 2010

AAPA recognizes role of PAs in transforming health care delivery with 2010 PAragon Awards

The American Academy of Physician Assistants celebrated the role of physician assistants in transforming health care delivery at its 38th Annual Physician Assistant Conference in Atlanta yesterday with its presentation of the 2010 PAragon Awards.

1 Jun 2010

Regenstrief Institute framework evaluates costs, effort and value of health internet

As the United States moves toward the goal of a secure nationwide health information network, a new study from the Regenstrief Institute provides a framework for evaluating the costs, effort and value of what is sometimes referred to as the health internet.

12 May 2010

New computer-based tool developed to benefit cancer patients

Cancer patients and doctors are finally getting on the same page about cancer survivorship, thanks to a free new tool that can benefit anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer.

12 May 2010

A new generation of cereal based products for patients with celiac disease

A wide range of gluten free cereals have been studies in detail as part of the HEALTHGRAIN project of the European Union, and their impact on product quality has been assessed. Enzyme technology, bioprocessing as well as high-pressure processing technology have been successfully applied to improve the quality, safety and nutritional attributes of gluten free cereal products.

10 May 2010

Enzyme technology developed to improve quality, safety and nutritional attributes of oat based foods

Oats is a highly nutritious cereal, which can be tolerated by large number of celiac patients. A range of commercial oat flours as well as specific oat flours produced from single varieties have been evaluated for their suitability for bread-baking. Enzyme technology, bioprocessing as well as high-pressure processing technology have been successfully applied to improve the quality, safety and nutritional attributes of oat based foods.

5 May 2010

CalMHSA announces agreement with CDMH

The California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA), a newly formed California joint powers authority (JPA) of counties focused on the efficient delivery of California mental health projects and programs, announced today it has entered into a contract with the California Department of Mental Health (CDMH) to provide program development, administrative oversight, and fiscal management services to county members and other program participants choosing to assign specifically named mental health funds to the joint powers authority.

4 May 2010

FDA approves Novartis Pharmaceuticals' Zortress for preventing rejection of kidney transplants

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zortress® (everolimus) oral tablets for the prevention of rejection of kidney transplants in adult patients at low-to-moderate immunologic risk. Zortress is to be given in combination with reduced doses of the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) cyclosporine, as well as basiliximab and corticosteroids.

22 Apr 2010

RANKL inhibition may prove effective in treatment of human malignancy, suggests study

Amgen today announced results of a preclinical study demonstrating a positive response to administration of RANK-Fc against mammary tumor formation in mouse models. OPG-Fc and RANK-Fc bind to and block the action of RANKL. These molecules have a comparable mechanism of action to denosumab. The study was presented today in a late-breaking abstract at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting 2010 in Washington, D.C.

20 Apr 2010

Prescription drug abuse reaches epidemic proportions

Poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in the U.S. While several recent high-profile Hollywood celebrity cases have brought the problem to public attention, the rates of unintentional poisoning deaths have been on the rise for more than 15 years.

6 Apr 2010

Amherst Dialysis staff honored with End Stage Renal Disease Patient Safety Improvement Award

Laura Simms has spent 12 hours a week receiving hemodialysis treatment since last fall, when her kidneys failed as a result of high blood pressure. The 50-year-old Monroe resident says the staff at University of Virginia Health System's Amherst Dialysis clinic have become like family to her.

2 Apr 2010

Regenstrief Institute awarded Recovery Act contract to automate disability case determinations

The Regenstrief Institute has been awarded a Recovery Act contract to help the U.S. Social Security Administration and Indiana healthcare providers shorten and improve the process of making disability case determinations through automation. Work is scheduled to begin March 31.

30 Mar 2010

Implementation of evidenced-based practices reduces all healthcare-associated MRSA infections

Scientists at The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center found that an emphasis on compliance with non-pathogen specific infection control practices such as hand hygiene, efforts to reduce device-related infections and chlorhexidine bathing (a daily bath with the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons to "scrub in" before an operation), is successful in reducing rates of healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

19 Mar 2010

Belatacept Biologics License Application: FDA drug advisory committee recommends approval

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee has voted 13 to 5 to recommend approval of belatacept, a selective co-stimulation blocker, for the prophylaxis of acute rejection in de novo kidney transplant patients.

2 Mar 2010

WuXi PharmaTech's Shanghai c-GMP manufacturing facility receives MPA compliance certificate

WuXi PharmaTech (WX), a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device research and development outsourcing company with operations in China and the United States, announced today that it received the formal certificate of GMP compliance from the Medical Products Agency (MPA) of Sweden, acting on behalf of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), for its c-GMP drug product manufacturing and analytical testing facilities located in Shanghai.

24 Feb 2010