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Despite fewer amputations, Medicare's bill for artificial feet rises 60%

The Associated Press examines the complicated issue of health costs by looking at foot amputations from diabetes.

16 Feb 2012

AHF dismayed at FDA decision to expedite review for expanded use of Gilead's AIDS drug, Truvada

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation's largest HIV/AIDS nonprofit medical provider, today expressed its disappointment and dismay at the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to grant an expedited review for Gilead Sciences' application for expanded use of its blockbuster AIDS drug, Truvada, as a means of preventing HIV infection in non-infected people.

16 Feb 2012

Study aims to eradicate the most common cause of food poisoning

Eliminating the most common cause of food poisoning from the food chain is the aim of new research funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the world-leading UK-based poultry breeding company Aviagen.

16 Feb 2012

Diet exerts a strong influence on heart health

Food is your friend and your biggest foe. A healthy diet sustains us, but a poor diet can raise blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar levels and weight and put you at risk for heart disease.

16 Feb 2012

Drugmaker warns that fake cancer drug is on the market

The Wall Street Journal reports that the manufacturer of Avastin says it has found counterfeit vials of the drug in the United States.

16 Feb 2012

Children still exposed to same level of ads for junk foods

Despite new regulations restricting UK TV advertisements for food, children are still exposed to the same level of advertising for junk foods which are high in fat, salt and sugar, researchers have found.

16 Feb 2012

Children may consume more titanium dioxide than adults

Children may be receiving the highest exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide in candy, which they eat in amounts much larger than adults, according to a new study. Published in ACS' journal, Environmental Science & Technology, it provides the first broadly based information on amounts of the nanomaterial - a source of concern with regard to its potential health and environmental effects - in a wide range of consumer goods.

16 Feb 2012

Combination of photodynamic therapy and software can treat internal tumours

Laser light in combination with certain drugs - known as photodynamic therapy - can destroy cancer tumours, but is today used mostly to cure skin cancer. The reason that internal tumours are not treated with the method is that the technology does not exist to check that the precise amount of light is administered. However, software developed by researchers in atomic physics at Lund University in Sweden looks like being able to solve the problem.

16 Feb 2012

China's SFDA approves Affymetrix GeneChip System 3000Dx v.2

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced that its GeneChip System 3000Dx v.2 (GCS 3000Dx v.2) has been approved by China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for in vitro diagnostic use.

16 Feb 2012

Seven Sahel region nations declare emergencies with at least 12M people threatened by hunger

"Seven out of the eight governments in Africa's Sahel ... have taken the unprecedented step of declaring emergencies as 12 million people in the region are threatened by hunger," Inter Press Service reports.

16 Feb 2012

Impact of child malnourishment similar to that of AIDS

"Globally, malnutrition is the most important cause of illness and death," Jeremy Laurance, health editor at the Independent, writes in this editorial. Laurance details the physical effects of malnutrition on a child and notes, "Malnutrition contributes to more than half of child deaths worldwide. ... It affects virtually every organ system," and "its impact on the immune system is similar to that of AIDS."

16 Feb 2012

One quarter of young children worldwide suffer effects of malnutrition, Save the Children survey shows

"Malnutrition is the root cause of the deaths of 2.6 million children each year, and the bodies and brains of 450 million more will fail to develop properly due to inadequate diet over the next 15 years unless immediate action is taken, according to a survey published Wednesday by" Save the Children, the Guardian reports.

16 Feb 2012

ASH addresses severe shortage of methotrexate drug

As the world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders, many of ASH's more than 16,000 members are on the front lines of dealing with the country's severe shortage of methotrexate, a drug critical in the treatment of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

16 Feb 2012

Report illustrates great potential of integrative medicine in chronic health issues

A new survey of 29 integrative medicine centers around the U.S. found that 75 percent reported success using integrative practices to treat chronic pain and more than half reported positive results for gastrointestinal conditions, depression and anxiety, cancer and chronic stress.

16 Feb 2012

WSU's novel gene-therapy for blindness receives $250,000 FFB grant

Technology to restore vision through the use of a component of green algae - developed by a Wayne State University professor and scientific director of the Ligon Research Center of Vision at the Kresge Eye Institute - has attracted additional funding for therapy development.

16 Feb 2012

U.S. FDA accepts Pfizer's tafamidis NDA for treatment of TTR-FAP

Pfizer Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the New Drug Application (NDA) for tafamidis meglumine, the company's investigational, novel, oral therapy for the treatment of Transthyretin Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy.

16 Feb 2012

Study: Diabetes may begin in the gut

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have made a surprising discovery about the origin of diabetes. Their research suggests that problems controlling blood sugar - the hallmark of diabetes - may begin in the intestines.

15 Feb 2012

Counterfeit anti-cancer drug Avastin raises concerns

The market is flooded with a counterfeit version of cancer drug Avastin worry doctors and patients. Injectable drugs have become increasingly attractive to counterfeiters, in part because they often fetch a higher price than regular pills.

15 Feb 2012

Gen-Probe receives FDA approval for PROGENSA PCA3 assay

DiagnoCure, Inc., a Quebec life sciences company that develops and commercializes high‐value cancer diagnostic tests, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Gen-Probe's PROGENSA PCA3 (Prostate Cancer Antigen 3) assay, the first molecular test to help determine the need for repeat prostate biopsies in men who have had a previous negative biopsy.

15 Feb 2012

FDA approves preservative-free drug for glaucoma

The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has approved tafluprost ophthalmic solution (Zioptan, Merck) 0.0015%, the first preservative-free prostaglandin analog ophthalmic solution for glaucoma.

15 Feb 2012