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New bio-coating technology could enhance long-term performance of medical implant devices

The long-term performance of medical implant devices, like heart valves and cardiac stents, could be enhanced substantially by new bio-coating technology recently licensed to University of Alabama at Birmingham spin-out company Endomimetics LLC through the UAB Research Foundation.

7 Dec 2010

Smoking is common among young adults and children with diabetes, raises risk of heart disease

Cigarette smoking is widespread among children and young adults with diabetes yet few health care providers are counseling children and young adults with diabetes to not smoke or stop smoking, according to a new report from the SEARCH Study Group, published online in the Journal of Pediatrics.

7 Dec 2010

Major depression reduces success rate of quitting smoking

Depressed smokers want to quit the nicotine habit just as much as non-depressed smokers, but a new study suggests that depression can put a kink in their success.

7 Dec 2010

Third Edition of Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines released

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has released the Third Edition of Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines to subscribers of the guideline development and content publishing platform, APG-I. The proprietary, evidence-based system provides full access to ACOEM's complete guidelines, featuring thousands of pages of the most current evidence medical treatment recommendations.

7 Dec 2010

Early physical therapy associated with fewer subsequent injections, surgery, physician visits: Study

The American Physical Therapy Association is pointing to a new study on low back pain in Medicare patients in its efforts to encourage the newly established Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to promptly launch a demonstration project on direct access to physical therapist services that was recommended in the recent health reform law.

7 Dec 2010

Pfizer CEO unexpectedly retires

As the chairman of the trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Kindler was instrumental in lining up drugmaker support for this year's health care overhaul in a deal that ultimately will bring those companies more customers and sales. The industry had helped defeat the Clinton adminstration's attempt to reform health care in 1994

7 Dec 2010

Boston Scientific's Close the Gap campaign to raise awareness of heart disease risk factors

Boston Scientific today announced that its Close the Gap campaign is partnering with the Black Coaches and Administrators and college basketball's "The Showcase" to raise awareness of heart disease risk factors for women and minorities.

7 Dec 2010

Campaign to inoculate millions across Africa against meningitis kicks off in Burkina Faso

On Monday, a campaign started in Burkina Faso to "inoculate tens of millions of West Africans with a new vaccine in what scientists hope will be the beginning of the end of ravaging meningitis epidemics" across the continent, the New York Times reports.

7 Dec 2010

East African Community leaders pledge to combat climate change to promote development, food security

Leaders of the five-nation East African Community (EAC) on Friday at the 12th Summit on Food Security and Climate Change issued a declaration pledging to combat climate change to reduce its impact on development, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

7 Dec 2010

Secondhand smoke in the home may cause ear infections in children: Study

Family members who smoke are more apt to feel it is OK to smoke indoors as their children get older. But in households with secondhand smoke, children between 12 and 17 are 1.67 times more prone to have recurrent ear infections compared to adolescents who live in a smoke-free environment, a large new study reveals.

7 Dec 2010

Research roundup: Early retiree insurance; high deductible plans and skipped care; innovation and FDA

Health Care Use And Decision Making Among Lower-Income Families In High-Deductible Health Plans - This study examines the health care experiences of lower-income families (those with incomes that were less than 300% of the federal poverty level) with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) compared to higher-income families.

7 Dec 2010

Guardian examines difficulty of delivering polio vaccines in war-torn parts of Africa, like DRC

UNICEF is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) so that polio vaccinators can access millions of children in an effort to beat back the re-emergence of the disease in several African nations, the Guardian reports. "We are calling on all parties to the conflict to respect the vaccination days and cease fighting," said Pierrette Vu Thi, UNICEF's representative in the DRC. "All children have the same right to health," Vu Thi said.

7 Dec 2010

Quantros to demonstrate new patient safety improvement solutions at IHI National Forum

Quantros, a leading provider of clinically-focused data management and decision support solutions for the healthcare industry, will demonstrate several new patient safety improvement solutions at the 22nd Annual Institute for Healthcare Improvement National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, Dec. 5 to 8 in Orlando, FL.

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

Health experts, mobile service providers discuss potential for mobile health in Africa at summit

"Some 80 health professionals and telecom operators [met last week for the mHealth Africa Summit] in the Ghanaian capital Accra to explore ways to use mobile phones for better healthcare delivery," IRIN reports in an article that details a variety of successful projects relaying health information through cell phones in Africa. The article describes how mobile phones are being used in Africa to educate populations about HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and improve maternal health, as well as to track medicines and other health supplies, including mosquito nets.

7 Dec 2010

Investigator recommends screening mammogram during first week of menstrual cycle

Try to schedule your screening mammogram during the first week of your menstrual cycle. It might make breast cancer screening more accurate for pre-menopausal women who choose to have regular mammograms. This recommendation comes from an article published online December 3 in Radiology by Diana Miglioretti, PhD, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute.

7 Dec 2010

GOP's rallying cry on health reform: states' rights

A Republican senator is planning on introducing legislation this week that would allow state officials to challenge federal regulations before they go into effect. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told The Hill that his states'-rights bill is in large part a reaction to Democrats' healthcare reform law, which Republicans claim would create 159 'boards, commissions, bureaus, programs and offices of the federal government.

7 Dec 2010

New poll reflects views on Palin and abortion; Abortion clinic protests planned

Most American women don't trust Mama Grizzly on abortion, birth control and sex ed, a new poll obtained by POLITICO shows. The survey, conducted for Planned Parenthood by Democratic pollster Hart Research Associates, found that just 24 percent of registered voters choose Sarah Palin as trustworthy on women's health issues, versus 54 percent who consider Planned Parenthood trustworthy (Kliff, 12/6).

7 Dec 2010

In Mass., health insurance program falters; Long term care costs increase

A plan to launch a comprehensive database of all federal workers' health care records is raising concerns, while in Massachusetts, state officials are disappointed that municipalities are not signing up for a new program to help cover workers' insurance needs.

7 Dec 2010

Ancora receives two federal grants to develop vaccine for malaria, staphylococcus aureus

Ancora Pharmaceuticals announced today that it received two federal grants under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Program to continue funding its groundbreaking research and development of vaccine candidates to prevent malaria and infection by staphylococcus aureus.

7 Dec 2010

Health Care News and Research

New bio-coating technology could enhance long-term performance of medical implant devices

Smoking is common among young adults and children with diabetes, raises risk of heart disease

Major depression reduces success rate of quitting smoking

Third Edition of Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines released

Early physical therapy associated with fewer subsequent injections, surgery, physician visits: Study

Pfizer CEO unexpectedly retires

Boston Scientific's Close the Gap campaign to raise awareness of heart disease risk factors

Campaign to inoculate millions across Africa against meningitis kicks off in Burkina Faso

East African Community leaders pledge to combat climate change to promote development, food security

Secondhand smoke in the home may cause ear infections in children: Study

Research roundup: Early retiree insurance; high deductible plans and skipped care; innovation and FDA

Guardian examines difficulty of delivering polio vaccines in war-torn parts of Africa, like DRC

Quantros to demonstrate new patient safety improvement solutions at IHI National Forum

Report: Baltimore cardiologist inserted 'medically unnecessary' stents

Health experts, mobile service providers discuss potential for mobile health in Africa at summit

Investigator recommends screening mammogram during first week of menstrual cycle

GOP's rallying cry on health reform: states' rights

New poll reflects views on Palin and abortion; Abortion clinic protests planned

In Mass., health insurance program falters; Long term care costs increase

Ancora receives two federal grants to develop vaccine for malaria, staphylococcus aureus

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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