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Research Roundup: 'Pay-for-performance' unintended effects; Lessons from Mass.; End of life treatment

Archives of Internal Medicine: The Quality Of Care Provided To Hospitalized Patients At The End of Life - In this study, researchers used a set of quality indicators to assess the end-of-life care and pain management received by 496 patients who died three or more days after admission at the University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center. The authors found "pain assessments (94%) and treatments for pain (95%) and dyspnea [breathing problems] (87%) were performed with fidelity."

3 Jul 2010

Heart patients treated for lymphoma at increased risk of cardiac problems

Older patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and a history of heart disease face a high risk of hospitalization for cardiac complications after completing treatment, according to research published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology. HL is a form of cancer of arising in the lymph nodes, and approximately 8,500 people were diagnosed with the disease in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society.

3 Jul 2010

Further analysis on Bcl11b gene and T-cell behaviouur from Caltech Biologists

When does a cell decide its particular identity? According to biologists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in the case of T cells-immune system cells that help destroy invading pathogens-the answer is when the cells begin expressing a particular gene called Bcl11b.

3 Jul 2010

Overweight girls less likely to develop breast cancer in later life

Women who recall carrying excess body fat during childhood and adolescence appear to be less likely to develop breast cancer in later life, a US study reports.

3 Jul 2010

Blacks five times more prone to hypertension than Whites

The hospital admission rate for Blacks with hypertension was 161 per 100,000 people in 2006 - nearly 5 times the hospitalization rate for Whites (33 admissions per 100,000), according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

3 Jul 2010

Ninth Circuit rules in favor of ACLJ in multi-million dollar fraud case against Planned Parenthood affiliates

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled in favor of the American Center for Law and Justice's (ACLJ) client in a multi-million dollar fraud case against Planned Parenthood (PP) affiliates in California. ACLJ attorneys are representing a former employee of the PP affiliate in Los Angeles, who is now a federal whistleblower. A federal district court in California had dismissed the case, but the Ninth Circuit's ruling, dated yesterday, reinstates the lawsuit.

3 Jul 2010

VA to develop fully automated, online system for handling disability compensation claims

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced today plans to develop a fully automated, online system for handling Veterans' disability compensation claims. More than a simple digitization of existing paper-based claims, the new system is part of VA's modernization of the end-to-end processing workflow. Automation will substantially reduce processing time and increase accuracy while simplifying the way that Veterans interact with the claims process.

3 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: Insurance premium caps; Doc shortage; High-risk pool

The insurer's proposed premium hikes are staggering, but the problem is that medical costs have been growing considerably faster than inflation. AB 2578 would help put a check on unjustified hikes ... The Assembly passed the bill last month, and we urge the Senate to follow suit (7/2).

3 Jul 2010

Watson Laboratories receives FDA approval for Tacrolimus ANDA

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Tacrolimus 5 mg capsules, the generic equivalent to Astellas' Prograf® capsules.

2 Jul 2010

Sensor-augmented insulin-pump therapy effective for type 1 diabetes patients

Adding a continuous blood sugar level sensor to an insulin pump helps patients with type 1 diabetes achieve better blood sugar control compared to the common standard of care, multiple daily insulin injections, concludes a study published on-line today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

ISHLT issues first international consensus formulation of standardized nomenclature for CAV

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), the major limitation to long term survival after heart transplantation, occurs when blood vessels in a transplanted heart progressively narrow and lead to dysfunction of the heart muscle or sudden death. Ascertaining benefit from appropriate treatment for this condition has been hampered in part because of the lack of a standard nomenclature.

2 Jul 2010

HL patients with heart disease at increased risk of hospitalization for cardiac complications after treatment

2 Jul 2010

SNMTS honors contributions in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at 57th Annual Meeting

SNM's Technologist Section (SNMTS)-an international scientific and medical organization-recognized the contributions and work to the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging during its 57th Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. Several awards ceremonies were held to recognize the value that SNMTS members play in advancing the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, cancer and neurological conditions.

2 Jul 2010

Cambridge Heart announces CMS reimbursement modification for MTWA test

Cambridge Heart, Inc., today announced that effective July 1, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will allow full reimbursement for both a Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) test and a stress test when both tests are performed during the same patient visit. The CMS update removes a previous restriction that substantially limited reimbursement when a patient underwent an MTWA test on the same day as the patient underwent a standard cardiac stress test, echocardiography stress test, nuclear cardiac stress test, or pulmonary stress test.

2 Jul 2010

Heart patients with transient kidney dysfunction have no serious complications

New research led by UC Health cardiologists shows that while short-term worsening kidney function is frequent among patients with heart failure, these patients also have better outcomes than those who have persistent kidney failure

2 Jul 2010

Researchers identify gene abnormality for most common congenital birth defect, clubfoot

Although clubfoot is one of the most common congenital birth defects, few genetic causes have been found. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found what they believe to be the most common cause of inherited clubfoot yet discovered.

2 Jul 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

New MRI technology may revolutionize diagnosis of medical conditions

The development of a new magnetic resonance imaging technology that could revolutionise the way medical conditions are diagnosed and treated is to take a major step forward as a £7m research centre is established at the University of York.

2 Jul 2010

Older men with high testosterone levels more likely to have heart attacks

A large U.S. multicenter study shows that older men with higher testosterone levels are more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular disease in the future. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

2 Jul 2010

Clinical study proves effectiveness of acupuncture for heart patients

Acupuncture can improve exercise tolerance in patients suffering from chronic heart failure. This was determined in a clinical pilot study by the team headed by Dr. Johannes Backs, physician and study director at the Department of Internal Medicine III (Cardiology, Angiology, and Pneumology - Medical Director: Professor Dr. Hugo Katus) of Heidelberg University Hospital.

2 Jul 2010

Heart News and Research

Research Roundup: 'Pay-for-performance' unintended effects; Lessons from Mass.; End of life treatment

Heart patients treated for lymphoma at increased risk of cardiac problems

Further analysis on Bcl11b gene and T-cell behaviouur from Caltech Biologists

Overweight girls less likely to develop breast cancer in later life

Blacks five times more prone to hypertension than Whites

Ninth Circuit rules in favor of ACLJ in multi-million dollar fraud case against Planned Parenthood affiliates

VA to develop fully automated, online system for handling disability compensation claims

Today's OpEds: Insurance premium caps; Doc shortage; High-risk pool

Watson Laboratories receives FDA approval for Tacrolimus ANDA

Sensor-augmented insulin-pump therapy effective for type 1 diabetes patients

ISHLT issues first international consensus formulation of standardized nomenclature for CAV

HL patients with heart disease at increased risk of hospitalization for cardiac complications after treatment

SNMTS honors contributions in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at 57th Annual Meeting

Cambridge Heart announces CMS reimbursement modification for MTWA test

Heart patients with transient kidney dysfunction have no serious complications

Researchers identify gene abnormality for most common congenital birth defect, clubfoot

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

New MRI technology may revolutionize diagnosis of medical conditions

Older men with high testosterone levels more likely to have heart attacks

Clinical study proves effectiveness of acupuncture for heart patients

Revolutionizing Life Science: An Interview with SCIEX on ASMS, the SCIEX 7500+ System, and AI-Driven Quantitation

From Discovery Biology to ELRIG Chair

Breathing New Life into Diagnostics: Plasmion's SICRIT Technology

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