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Psychotic depression: the reason for treatment failure with antidepressants

A new study shows that patients with depression who also have psychotic-like symptoms, feelings of being persecuted, or believing others are plotting against them or hearing voices are less likely to respond to antidepressants. The study also showed that bipolar disorder does not appear to be associated with treatment resistance in patients with depression as believed earlier.

7 Dec 2010

Report: Baltimore cardiologist inserted 'medically unnecessary' stents

Abbott Laboratories, a $30 billion-a-year, Chicago-based pharmaceutical firm, ranked [Dr. Mark] Midei among its top-volume doctors in the Northeast and made plying him with research money and 'VIP trips' part of its business plan in late 2008 — about the time Midei's usage of Abbott-brand stents soared, the report said.

7 Dec 2010

MenAfriVac to help health workers eliminate meningococcal A epidemics

The West African nation of Burkina Faso today became the first country to begin a nationwide campaign to introduce a new meningitis vaccine that promises to rid the entire region of the primary cause of epidemic meningitis. The first vaccine designed specifically for Africa, MenAfriVac is expected to help health workers eliminate meningococcal A epidemics in the 25 countries of the meningitis belt, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east.

6 Dec 2010

Texas gov. Perry backs away from Medicaid dropout threat

Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program are breaking the state's budget, but opting out of the federal programs would have a devastating effect on health care delivery in Texas, according to a state report issued Friday. The report said most of the methods for fixing Medicaid spending in Texas will require acts of Congress, not the Legislature, to give the state greater flexibility in how the programs are run and a greater share of the national Medicaid financing.

6 Dec 2010

Health insurance news: Conn. rejects Anthem BC/BS rate increase, stock prices 'steady' despite reform law

The state Insurance Department refuted charges Friday by a nonprofit health-policy research group that Connecticut insurance regulators are understaffed and approve only minor changes to health-insurance rate hikes. Acting Insurance Commissioner Barbara C. Spear reacted to a report released this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation that said the state Department of Insurance 'has only one full-time actuary on staff' assigned to review rate filings for both the individual and small-group markets. ... 'Staffing levels do not have anything to do with the thoroughness of our rate review process,' Spear said." (Sturdevant, 12/13).

6 Dec 2010

Elimination of first month purchase option for power wheelchairs will hurt Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas

For 12 years, Gerald Sloan, owner of Progressive Medical Equipment, LLC, has provided home medical equipment to Medicare patients from his retail outlets near Kansas City and St. Louis, and he is also vice president of the Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services (MAMES). Today, Sloan is concerned that the elimination of the first month purchase option for Medicare beneficiaries requiring power wheelchairs will prevent patients in rural areas from receiving the mobility assistance that has been prescribed by their physicians.

4 Dec 2010

Discovery Labs plans to file request for hearing over Nasdaq delisting notification

Discovery Laboratories, Inc., announced today that, on November 30, 2010, the Company received a Staff Determination letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that the Company has not established compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) ("Minimum Bid Price Rule") because the Company's common stock did not maintain a minimum closing bid price of $1.00 per share over a period of 10 consecutive business days ending on or prior to November 29, 2010.

3 Dec 2010

Justice Department offers expedited antitrust review for ACOs

Bloomberg: "Sharis Pozen, chief of staff of the [Justice] Department's antitrust division, told a House judiciary subcommittee" that "[t]he department intends to offer whatever guidance and clarity may be needed to ensure that providers pursue beneficial integrated ACOs without running afoul of the antitrust laws."

3 Dec 2010

At Senate hearing, Democrats blast 'mini-med' insurance policies

The New York Times: "More than a million Americans enrolled in [limited benefit, or mini med,] plans think they have health insurance to protect them from financial catastrophe if they become seriously ill or hurt, [Senator John D.] Rockefeller said. 'In fact, they don't,' he said. 'It's worse than nothing because of the false expectations and the false hope,' Mr. Rockefeller said" at the Senate hearing.

2 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 2, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include news about how the debt panel's plan would boost costs for seniors on Medicare; how parts of the GOP are making clear their positions regarding health reform "repeal and replace" strategy; and how limited health plans faced critics at a Senate hearing.

2 Dec 2010

Age-related hearing loss associated with low serum levels of folic acid in the elderly

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), one of the four most prevalent chronic conditions in the elderly, is associated with low serum levels of folic acid, according to new research published in the December 2010 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.

1 Dec 2010

Health law causing ripples in Congress, insurance industry, among doctors

The Washington Post: "One of the most significant savings envisioned in the new health- care law - limiting payments to the private health plans that cover 11 million older Americans under Medicare - is, so far, bringing little of the turbulence that the insurance industry and many Republicans predicted. ... Early clues to the actual effects have now materialized, as elderly Americans may sign up for a health plan for 2011 during an enrollment period through the end of the year, and the warnings of swift, serious damage to the program are not borne out.

1 Dec 2010

Researchers find IGF1 topical gel can treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss

A new treatment has been developed for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), a condition that causes deafness in 40,000 Americans each year, usually in early middle-age.

24 Nov 2010

DFG announces establishment of eleven new Collaborative Research Centres

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eleven new Collaborative Research Centres (CRC) as of 1 January 2011. This decision was made recently by the responsible Grants Committee at its autumn meeting in Bonn. The new CRCs will receive a total of - 94.4 million (including a 20 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs) for an initial funding period of four years.

24 Nov 2010

Loyola University professor suggests general travel tips for children with nut allergies

No matter the mode of transportation, holiday travel holds special challenged for parents. Either you're stuck in an enormous security line at an airport filled with cranky people or hearing the constant stream of "are we there yet" from the back seat of the car. It's enough to make a Scrooge out of even the most Tiny Tim of us. For many families adding to the chaos is the reality that their child has a dangerous nut allergy.

23 Nov 2010

NASDAQ issues second letter to A.P. Pharma

A.P. Pharma, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that, on November 17, 2010, it received a second letter from the Listing Qualifications Staff of The NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ) indicating that it has not regained compliance with Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), which requires the closing bid price of the Company's common stock to be $1.00 or more.

22 Nov 2010

Wrong diagnosis makes comedian spend his life savings

A British comedian ended up spending his life savings after he was wrongly told by doctors he only had three months to live.

21 Nov 2010

U.S. federal court sanction lawyers at Gibson Dunn for abusive questioning in Ecuador environmental contamination

A U.S. federal court has sanctioned Chevron and its lawyers at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher for abusive questioning during a deposition related to the oil giant's multi-billion dollar liability in Ecuador for environmental contamination, according to court papers made available today.

20 Nov 2010

Novartis gender discrimination case settlement final hearing on November 19

The final hearing for approval of the class settlement in the long-running class action gender discrimination case brought by female sales representatives at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation is set for Friday, November 19th at 10 a.m. in the courtroom of Judge Colleen McMahon of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

20 Nov 2010

NLRB issues unfair labor practice charge against NY State Nurses Association

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued an unfair labor practice charge against the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) that is scheduled for a hearing Dec. 6 for unilateral changes made to conditions of employment of the association's professional staff employees in March 2010.

20 Nov 2010