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NIH provides Inviragen second major grant to develop a dengue vaccine

Inviragen has received a $600,000 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to partially support its continued efforts to develop a safe and effective dengue vaccine. The two-year grant will fund a collaborative effort led by Inviragen and involving scientists at the University of Wisconsin and Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The supported work will include additional optimization of Inviragen’s vaccine to generate more potent immune responses.

10 Sep 2009

Human neural stem cells to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) announced today that it will soon initiate with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the therapeutic potential of StemCells’ proprietary HuCNS-SC® product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a myelination disorder that primarily affects infants and young children.

10 Sep 2009

First edition: September 10, 2009

In response to President Obama's joint address to Congress last night, the headlines are chock full of news, analysis, fact-checkers and inventories of cheers and jeers.

10 Sep 2009

Health care reform should tackle food safety

Linda Rivera’s excruciating case of food poisoning (Severe Case Gives Context to Issue of Food Safety Washington Post 9/1/09) should shine some light on a crucial reality that is missing from most health care reform plans: you can’t fix America’s health care unless you provide Americans with a safe food supply.

10 Sep 2009

NovaBay begins clinical studies for treating impetigo skin infection

NovaBay(R) Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE-Amex: NBY), (http://www.novabaypharma.com), a clinical stage company developing novel anti-infective compounds for the treatment or prevention of a wide range of bacterial, viral and fungal infections, announced today the start of a Phase 2a proof-of-concept study of its lead Aganocide(R) compound NVC-422 in impetigo.

10 Sep 2009

NHSA and Together Rx Access collaborate to improve prescription access

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) and Together Rx Access announced today a collaboration to launch the Together Rx Access(R) FOR HEAD START Card to help eligible uninsured individuals and families associated with Head Start access immediate and meaningful savings on prescription medicines and products right at their neighborhood pharmacies.

10 Sep 2009

Survey reveals that hand-washing behaviors are poor despite H1N1 swine flu

With the White House estimating that 30 to 50 percent of Americans will contract H1N1 flu this season, you’d think more people would be focused on prevention.

10 Sep 2009

Allviant launches Social Media Philanthropy initiative

Allviant, Inc. today announced the launch of its Social Media Philanthropy initiative to assist local and national non-profits and communities to best leverage the power of social media in their outreach to individuals, communities, donors and partners.

10 Sep 2009

Family mealtimes promote healthy eating habits

In a new report, University of Illinois professor Barbara H. Fiese urges local, state, and federal governments, businesses, and community leaders to promote family mealtimes as a matter of public policy.

10 Sep 2009

Special issue of Optometry & Vision Development explores autism

Autism. What is its cause? How does it affect brain anatomy, electrophysiology, visual function and perception? What must we do to meet the needs of these patients? How can optometrists as health care providers be in the vanguard for screening for this spectrum of disorders?

10 Sep 2009

Heavy school bags can cause back and spine injuries

Function and comfort over fashion is the goal this year as the kids head back to school. Starting today, the British Columbia Chiropractic Association is again launching television information to educate parents and inform them about the potential health risks an overweight back pack can cause on the early development of their children's backs.

10 Sep 2009

Business operations to be hit in the event of H1N1 outbreak

In a national survey of businesses that looks at their preparations for a possible widespread H1N1 outbreak, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that only one-third believe they could sustain their business without severe operational problems if half their workforce were absent for two weeks due to H1N1 (also known as "swine flu").

10 Sep 2009

Physician groups utilize MPV Contract Management to verify reimbursement claims

Medical Present Value, Inc. (MPV) today announced new contracts with four physician groups representing more than 2,600 providers to help monitor payer compliance and automate processes related to payer adjudication management and oversight.

10 Sep 2009

'How Much Longer' campaign for promoting autism awareness

The National Autism Association (NAA) declared today as National "How Much Longer" Day for Autism, a day of letter-writing to the media, health agencies, Department of Education, lawmakers and the Obama Administration asking for such things as health insurance coverage, federal laws to protect special-ed students from dangerous restraint and seclusion practices in schools, safer vaccines, and for autism to be declared a nation health crisis.

10 Sep 2009

Instant updates to parents on H1N1 influenza

Parents of school-aged children in every public and nonpublic school throughout Missouri will be able to receive instant updates about the H1N1 (Swine) flu as a result of a new, free service provided by the Missouri School Boards’ Association in collaboration with SchoolReach, a St. Louis-based school-to-parent notification and communications company. The service is available now to schools that do not already have an alert notification in place for parents.

10 Sep 2009

Polio vaccination resumes in Pakistan's Swat Valley

"Authorities in Pakistan's Swat Valley have resumed vaccinating children for polio, an act once banned by Taliban militants, now beaten back by an army offensive," the Associated Press reports. The three-day campaign, which started on Monday, is targeting about 215,000 children, said government official Khurshid Khan.

10 Sep 2009

WHO's Chan says swine flu will 'test' world on 'fairness'

Addressing a meeting of South East Asian health ministers Tuesday, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the H1N1 (swine) flu pandemic will "test the world on the issue of fairness" and "reveal in a measurable and tragic way the consequences of decades of failure to invest adequately in basic health systems and infrastructure,"

10 Sep 2009

South East Asian health ministers adopt declaration to improve disaster preparedness, address childhood diarrhea

Health ministers from 11 member states in the WHO's South East Asian region on Tuesday at the 62nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia adopted the Kathmandu Declaration on Protecting Health Facilities from Disasters, which commits them to make health facilities better prepared for health emergencies, Republica reports.

10 Sep 2009

First trial of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine testing launched

The first trial testing a candidate 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in pregnant women is launching this week, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced today.

10 Sep 2009

Preventive-care TB therapy is cost-effective for patients

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers have found that the cost of preventive antibiotic tuberculosis (TB) therapy for patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is generally less expensive than the reported cost of treating newly confirmed TB cases.

10 Sep 2009