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Taxol-carrying nanoparticles

Nanoparticles specially engineered by University of Central Florida Assistant Professor J. Manuel Perez and his colleagues could someday target and destroy tumors, sparing patients from toxic, whole-body chemotherapies.

17 Jun 2009

Minimally invasive treatment of brain tumors on the horizon

Duke University engineers have taken a first step toward a minimally invasive treatment of brain tumors by combining chemotherapy with heat administered from the end of a catheter.

17 Jun 2009

G.E. offers loans for e-health record purchases

"General Electric Co. said its GE Capital division will make no-interest loans to hospitals and health-care providers that purchase GE's health-care information technology," The Wall Street Journal reports.

17 Jun 2009

Telehealth interventions for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease

The use of phone and internet between patients and healthcare providers is an effective way to reduce risk factors for coronary heart disease and the risk of further events after a heart attack, according to new research published today in the June issue of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation.

16 Jun 2009

Plant microbe shares features with drug-resistant pathogen - implications for biotech

An international team of scientists has discovered extensive similarities between a strain of bacteria commonly associated with plants and one increasingly linked to opportunistic infections in hospital patients. The findings suggest caution in the use of the plant-associated strain for a range of biotech applications. The genetic analysis was conducted in part at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, and will be published in the July 2009 issue of Nature Reviews Microbiology, now available online.

16 Jun 2009

Expert physician on “meaningful use” guidelines

Jonathan Teich, M.D., is the Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of scientific, technical and medical information. He is also an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified attending physician in emergency medicine at Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston.

16 Jun 2009

Dilon Technologies delivers enhanced imaging capabilities

Dilon Technologies, Inc., the leader in molecular breast imaging, today announced the release of the newest Dilon 6800 Software update including enhancements for both breast and general nuclear medicine applications image processing. The new software functionalities complement the Slant15 Collimator for breast imaging and the Low Energy High-Resolution (LEHR) Collimator for general nuclear medicine applications, both released earlier this year as purchase options for the Dilon 6800 gamma camera.

16 Jun 2009

Genomic discovery: Protecting kidney function during heart failure

Mayo Clinic cardiology researchers have found a peptide that helps preserve and improve kidney function during heart failure, without affecting blood pressure. Earlier variations of this peptide caused blood pressure to drop limiting the potential benefits to the kidneys. The findings appear in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

16 Jun 2009

Physicians wait for health IT guidelines, officials want 'every doctor's office' online

Physicians are still waiting for clear cut rules for how they must use health information technology in order to be eligible for economic stimulus-funded incentives, American Medical News, a publication of the American Medical Association, reports.

15 Jun 2009

Many key lawmakers hold stakes in health industry

"Almost 30 key lawmakers helping draft landmark health-care legislation have financial holdings in the industry, totaling nearly $11 million worth of personal investments in a sector that could be dramatically reshaped by this summer's debate," The Washington Post reports.

15 Jun 2009

High-tech approach to combat sepsis

When Jason Martin gives a talk about his research, he begins with the dramatic story of Mariana Bridi da Costa: The young Brazilian supermodel died from severe sepsis in January after amputation of both her hands and feet failed to stop its spread.

15 Jun 2009

Discovery of key molecular target in age-related macular degeneration

A team of researchers led by Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati at the University of Kentucky has discovered a biological marker for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in older adults.

15 Jun 2009

Research leads to advanced trials of new cancer treatment

Prof. Hochberg was successful in isolating the H19 gene in humans and determining that it is significantly expressed in over 33 different forms of cancer, including superficial bladder carcinoma and pancreatic, ovarian and metastatic liver cancer, while laying dormant and non-expressed in non-cancerous cells.

15 Jun 2009

Misonix purchase patents from ProRhythm

Misonix, Inc. has announced that it has purchased three patents associated with High Intensity Focused Ultrasound ("HIFU") technology from ProRhythm, Inc.

14 Jun 2009

Prevention efforts have little success in reducing illness, cost

As health reform heats up, many lawmakers agree that the government should take a larger role in preventing disease. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that "many previous government prevention efforts aimed at costly chronic diseases have had little success in reducing illness or costs."

13 Jun 2009

Democrats prepare for health reform cost analysis while courting GOP votes

What is sure to be a staggering price tag for health reform has Senate Democrats talking about changing the chamber's normal accounting procedures, The Hill reports.

13 Jun 2009

A group of health CEOs want to end Medicare fee-for-service payments

A group of more than a half dozen CEOs from some of America's largest health care providers on Friday called for an end to fee-for-service payments under Medicare, and for incentives to create administrative efficiencies to lower costs to help pay for America's health care reform.

13 Jun 2009

Declaration of H1N1 pandemic to accelerate H1N1 vaccine production

The WHO's decision Thursday to declare H1N1 (swine) flu a pandemic will "speed the production of a vaccine against the new virus," however scientists continue to caution that "it will be fall at the earliest before the first doses are available," the Los Angeles Times reports.

13 Jun 2009

Cargo-screening ferret to detect hidden drugs and weapons

A new type of robot being developed will make it easier to detect drugs, weapons, explosives and illegal immigrants concealed in cargo containers.

13 Jun 2009

Study shows promise for new cancer-stopping therapy

Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins University have discovered that delivering a small molecule that is highly expressed in normal tissues but lost in diseased cells can result in tumor suppression.

12 Jun 2009