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First Edition: January 10, 2011

Health policy headlines include reports about the decision to delay the scheduled House vote on repealing the health law.

10 Jan 2011

Food price rise will affect 'millions,' FAO economist says

Abdolreza Abbassian, an economist with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on Friday "warned of a 'worrying rise' in food prices which will affect millions of people following unexpected shortfalls in major cereals owing to bad weather in 2010," Agence France-Presse reports.

10 Jan 2011

Hospice of Michigan offers toolkit to help people on end-of-life decision making and planning

Hospice of Michigan offers a complete toolkit to empower individuals and families to take control of end-of-life decision making and planning. The free resource is the www.haveyouhadthetalk.org website from which a toolkit can be downloaded and printed for free.

10 Jan 2011

Colorectal cancer screening disparities in certain regions

Individuals from certain areas of the United States are more likely to get screened for colorectal cancer than those from other areas, particularly when comparing non-whites living in different parts of the country. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Additional research is needed to better understand how colorectal cancer screening disparities develop in some regions and not in others.

10 Jan 2011

U.N. announces members of independent panel to investigate source of Haiti's cholera epidemic

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the names of four experts to be part of an independent panel that will "investigate the source of Haiti's cholera epidemic, which some Haitians blame on U.N. peacekeepers," Reuters reports (Worsnip, 1/6). "The members of the panel have been selected based on their global stature, expertise and extensive experience working with cholera in all its aspects," according to a statement from Ban's spokesperson, U.N. News Centre reports (1/6).

10 Jan 2011

HHS grants $10 million fund for HCPG opportunity

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced up to $10 million in funding for a Health Center Planning Grant opportunity for organizations across the country that would like to become a Community Health Center.

10 Jan 2011

GOP sets stage for health reform law repeal vote; Dems fight back, citing CBO report

News outlets report that as House Republicans moved ahead to bring the repeal of the health law to a floor vote next week, political messaging wars about the law are continuing.

10 Jan 2011

Researchers demystify death of brain cells in Parkinson's patients

Just 5 percent of Parkinson's disease cases can be explained by genetic mutation, while the rest have no known cause. But a new discovery by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio may begin to explain why the vast majority of Parkinson's patients develop the progressive neurodegenerative disease.

10 Jan 2011

Male circumcision helps reduce rates of HPV transmission to women, study finds

"Among HIV-negative sexual partners, male circumcision helps prevent the transmission of human papillomavirus [HPV] from men to women," according to a study published online Thursday in the Lancet, HealthDay News/Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

10 Jan 2011

House approves rule for repeal vote; clears the way for Wednesday action

The Associated Press: "Confronting President Barack Obama, the new Republican-led House took a first step Friday toward a symbolic vote to repeal his landmark health care overhaul law." The 236-181 was a largely party line vote, is "unlikely to amount to more than a political message, since Democrats who still run the Senate have promised to block efforts to scrap the law and Obama has veto power."

10 Jan 2011

FDA approves Abstral drug for treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients

Orexo AB announces today that its partner ProStrakan Group plc has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Abstral. Abstral is licensed for the treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients, 18 years of age and older, who are already receiving, and are tolerant to, opioid analgesics for their underlying persistent cancer pain.

10 Jan 2011

House delays vote on repeal of health care law

In the wake of the shooting rampage today in Tucson, Ariz., at an event held by Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the House has postponed all legislative business for the next week. This most importantly includes the vote to repeal President Obama's health care law, which was scheduled for Wednesday and would have be the first major vote of the House since Republicans took control last week.

10 Jan 2011

New lab-on-a-chip technology detects protein in blood less than 30 minutes

While most blood tests require shipping a vial of blood to a laboratory for analysis and waiting several days for the results, a new device invented by a team of engineers and students at the University of Rhode Island uses just a pinprick of blood in a portable device that provides results in less than 30 minutes.

10 Jan 2011

Lancet World Report examines health risks associated with inaccurate TB tests, WHO's upcoming recommendations

With "scores of commercial serology tests for tuberculosis ... being sold in high-burden countries," the "WHO is due to release a negative policy recommendation - the first of its kind for the organisation" - after several reviews have "indicated poor performance of these tests," Lancet World Report writes in a piece that documents the health risks associated with a growing number of inaccurate TB tests.

10 Jan 2011

Norwest Equity Partners acquires Vista's SIS software solutions

Surgical Information Systems, a leader in perioperative information systems, announced today that Norwest Equity Partners, a leading middle-market equity investment firm, has acquired the Company from Vista Equity Partners.

10 Jan 2011

Abstral transmucosal tablets receive FDA approval, may help manage pain in cancer patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Abstral transmucosal tablets to manage breakthrough pain for adults with cancer.

9 Jan 2011

PCPs and kidney specialists favor collaborative care for progressive chronic kidney disease

Most primary care physicians (PCPs) and kidney specialists favor collaborative care for a patient with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD), but their preferences on how and when to collaborate differ, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). PCPs and kidney specialists need to partner more effectively to optimize care for patients with CKD.

7 Jan 2011

Texas Attorney General does not oppose Baylor-Select joint venture

Baylor Health Care System ("Baylor") and Select Medical Corporation ("Select") today announced that they have received notification from the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Texas that it has completed its review of the proposed joint venture between affiliates of Baylor and Select and does not oppose the joint venture.

7 Jan 2011

ADA commends HHS for reaffirming safety, efficacy of optimal community water fluoridation

The American Dental Association (ADA) today commended the Federal agencies responsible for public health and safety for recalibrating the ratio of fluoride to water that they consider optimal based on scientific evaluation and the full appreciation of fluoride received from all sources.

7 Jan 2011

Critical Diagnostics' high sensitivity Presage ST2 Assay receives CE Mark approval

Critical Diagnostics announced today that it has received CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark for its high sensitivity Presage ST2 Assay and is commencing commercialization in Europe. The product is indicated for use as an aid in risk stratification of patients with heart failure or acute coronary syndrome. This regulatory milestone marks the first time that an assay has become commercially available for the clinical measurement of the biomarker soluble ST2.

7 Jan 2011

Health Care News and Research

First Edition: January 10, 2011

Food price rise will affect 'millions,' FAO economist says

Hospice of Michigan offers toolkit to help people on end-of-life decision making and planning

Colorectal cancer screening disparities in certain regions

U.N. announces members of independent panel to investigate source of Haiti's cholera epidemic

HHS grants $10 million fund for HCPG opportunity

GOP sets stage for health reform law repeal vote; Dems fight back, citing CBO report

Researchers demystify death of brain cells in Parkinson's patients

Male circumcision helps reduce rates of HPV transmission to women, study finds

House approves rule for repeal vote; clears the way for Wednesday action

FDA approves Abstral drug for treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients

House delays vote on repeal of health care law

New lab-on-a-chip technology detects protein in blood less than 30 minutes

Lancet World Report examines health risks associated with inaccurate TB tests, WHO's upcoming recommendations

Norwest Equity Partners acquires Vista's SIS software solutions

Abstral transmucosal tablets receive FDA approval, may help manage pain in cancer patients

PCPs and kidney specialists favor collaborative care for progressive chronic kidney disease

Texas Attorney General does not oppose Baylor-Select joint venture

ADA commends HHS for reaffirming safety, efficacy of optimal community water fluoridation

Critical Diagnostics' high sensitivity Presage ST2 Assay receives CE Mark approval

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