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Millions of Americans continue to risk losing their hearing each day, warns audiologist

May is Better Hearing Month, but millions of Americans are continuing to needlessly risk losing their hearing each day, warns audiologist Dr. Cindy Beyer. "Almost all hearing loss is due to the aging process or to noise, but only noise-induced hearing loss can be prevented," says Dr. Beyer, senior vice president of HearUSA, a nationwide provider of hearing care and hearing aids.

18 May 2010

Sonova Group financial year 2009/10 sales increase 20.1% to CHF 1,500.3 million

The Sonova Group increased its sales in financial year 2009/10 to CHF 1,500.3 million from CHF 1,249.2 million, thus posting an excellent growth rate of 20.1% in Swiss francs, despite a negative currency effect of 3.7%. The Group achieved organic growth of 18.4% in local currencies, which significantly surpassed the market as a whole. Market growth in 2009/10 is estimated at around 4% in units sold.

18 May 2010

Researchers treat undiagnosed FIM with experimental stem cell transplant

Researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital have identified a previously undiagnosed condition and successfully treated it by performing an experimental stem cell transplant.

18 May 2010

Court approves Chem Rx's first-day motions, allows normal business operations

Chem Rx Corporation, the third largest long term care pharmacy in the United States, along with certain operating subsidiaries today announced that it has received Court approval for all of its first-day motions, allowing normal business operations, including the purchase and distribution of all drugs and services to its clients.

15 May 2010

Health law raises questions about future of Florida's agencies that care for uninsured

Palm Beach County's Health Care District "hired contractors to move ahead with a $9-million purchase and renovation project for a new headquarters, even though the need that drove the district's creation in the first place -- providing health care to the indigent and uninsured -- could begin to dissolve in four years with implementation of the federal health law.

15 May 2010

New way to coax embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed adult cells to develop sensory cells

After ten years of effort, researchers reporting in the May 14th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, say they have found a way to coax embryonic stem cells as well as reprogrammed adult cells to develop into sensory cells that normally reside in the mammalian inner ear. Those mechanosensitive sensory hair cells are the linchpin of hearing and balance.

14 May 2010

Stanford researchers make hair-cell-like cells in a petri dish

Deep inside the ear, specialized cells called hair cells detect vibrations in the air and translate them into sound. Ten years ago, Stefan Heller, PhD, professor of otolaryngology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, came up with the idea that if you could create these cells in the laboratory from stem cells, it would go a long way toward helping scientists understand the molecular basis of hearing in order to develop better treatments for deafness.

14 May 2010

States take different actions in plans for implementing health overhaul law

WPRI: Rhode Island Governor, Donald Carcieri, continues to ask Attorney General Patrick Lynch to file a lawsuit against the federal health reform law. "But Lynch says he will not do it. In a statement, Lynch says he believes quality health care is a right for all citizens. He also says the law does not infringe on the rights of states" (Gouthro, 5/10).

14 May 2010

Groups plead for more health funding as Chairman warns about cuts to proposed HHS budget

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., said Wednesday that groups pressing for $14 billion more in funding for education, health and labor programs will likely be disappointed because the budget proposed by President Barack Obama already faces cuts of about $3.5 billion in those areas.

14 May 2010

Japanese MHLW approves St. Jude Medical's AnalyST ICD with ST Monitoring device

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced regulatory approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of its AnalyST™ implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) with ST Monitoring, a revolutionary device that not only provides life-saving therapy for dangerously fast heart rhythms, but also continuously monitors electrical changes (called ST segments) to help physicians monitor for cardiac problems.

12 May 2010

DOD struggles with health care costs, VA faces challenges in providing care

Defense Secretary Robert Gate spoke about the need to control soaring defense costs, especially health care expenses, while Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki responded to several health care challenges facing veterans' health care.

12 May 2010

Preterm birth rates drop for most states and ethnic and gestational-age groups: March of Dimes

For the first time in three decades, the nation - and most states - saw a two-year decline in preterm birth rates, indicating that strategies implemented over the past seven years have begun to pay off, according to the March of Dimes.

12 May 2010

Limiting fat intake to below 20% can reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence by 24%

When one of the country's foremost physicians—people like Dr. Andrew Weil—need someone to care for their friends and family dealing with cancer, the man they turn to is Keith Block, M.D. "I believe in Keith's program and would head to the Block Center if I were facing a diagnosis of cancer. It is where I have and will continue to send my friends and family," said Dr. Weil.

11 May 2010

Can familiar voices heal traumatic brain injuries?

In January 2009, Ryan, a 21-year-old college student from Huntley, Ill., was in a coma after he had been flung from his snowmobile into a tree during an ice storm. He had a traumatic brain injury; the fibers of his brain had been twisted and stretched from the impact.

11 May 2010

Asthmatx announces first U.S. patient treated with BT delivered by Alair System

Asthmatx, Inc. reported today that doctors at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., recently treated the first U.S. patient with bronchial thermoplasty (BT) delivered by the Alair® System, the first device-based asthma treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

10 May 2010

Gift of hearing to be delivered to more than 70 underserved children, adults throughout Carolinas

Speedway Children's Charities and the National Rifle Association are partnering with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to deliver the gift of hearing to more than 70 underserved children and adults throughout the Carolinas on May 10, noon to 4pm, at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

7 May 2010

Gene patenting policies affect patient access to testing for disease-causing genes: Study

Policies allowing genes to be patented can make it more difficult for patients to access testing for important disease-causing gene mutations, according to a series of papers in a special online supplement published by Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics.

7 May 2010

USAID head outlines 'core areas' for agency's reform, announces policy bureau launch

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah outlined a "broad plan" for reforming the agency and discussed the "overarching themes that will guide USAID reform under his tenure" during a town-hall meeting on Wednesday, Foreign Policy's blog, "The Cable," reports.

7 May 2010

Round-up: Minnesota budget news; Coverage expansions in S.D. and Oregon; and states' opposition to federal health reform

The Minnesota House passed a bill on health care Tuesday that readies the state for implementing the federal health care overhaul and makes $170 million in cuts to mental health and other social programs, The (St. Paul, Minn.) Pioneer Press reports. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has promised to veto the bill over what he sees as a tax increase.

6 May 2010

Investigations on Tylenol recall from House Committee

Following the massive recall of children’s and infants’ fever medicine Tylenol and other over the counter drugs (like Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec) for children a congressional committee has urged an investigation into the problem.

6 May 2010

Hearing News and Research

Millions of Americans continue to risk losing their hearing each day, warns audiologist

Sonova Group financial year 2009/10 sales increase 20.1% to CHF 1,500.3 million

Researchers treat undiagnosed FIM with experimental stem cell transplant

Court approves Chem Rx's first-day motions, allows normal business operations

Health law raises questions about future of Florida's agencies that care for uninsured

New way to coax embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed adult cells to develop sensory cells

Stanford researchers make hair-cell-like cells in a petri dish

States take different actions in plans for implementing health overhaul law

Groups plead for more health funding as Chairman warns about cuts to proposed HHS budget

Japanese MHLW approves St. Jude Medical's AnalyST ICD with ST Monitoring device

DOD struggles with health care costs, VA faces challenges in providing care

Preterm birth rates drop for most states and ethnic and gestational-age groups: March of Dimes

Limiting fat intake to below 20% can reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence by 24%

Can familiar voices heal traumatic brain injuries?

Asthmatx announces first U.S. patient treated with BT delivered by Alair System

Gift of hearing to be delivered to more than 70 underserved children, adults throughout Carolinas

Gene patenting policies affect patient access to testing for disease-causing genes: Study

USAID head outlines 'core areas' for agency's reform, announces policy bureau launch

Round-up: Minnesota budget news; Coverage expansions in S.D. and Oregon; and states' opposition to federal health reform

Investigations on Tylenol recall from House Committee

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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