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Merck receives FDA approval for Oxytrol to treat overactive bladder in women

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Oxytrol for Women, the first over-the-counter treatment for overactive bladder in women ages 18 years and older.

28 Jan 2013

HFES releases preliminary program for symposium on human factors & ergonomics in health care

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has just released the preliminary program for the 2013 International Symposium on Human Factors & Ergonomics in Health Care: Advancing the Cause, to be held March 10-13, 2013, in Baltimore MD USA.

28 Jan 2013

Takeda receives FDA approval for Nesina, Kazano and Oseni to treat type 2 diabetes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved three new related products for use with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes: Nesina (alogliptin) tablets, Kazano (alogliptin and metformin hydrochloride) tablets, and Oseni (alogliptin and pioglitazone) tablets.

28 Jan 2013

Novartis receives FDA approval for Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new use of Gleevec (imatinib) to treat children newly diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

27 Jan 2013

Prenatal inflammation associated with increased risk of autism in children

Maternal inflammation during early pregnancy may be related to an increased risk of autism in children, according to new findings supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found this in children of mothers with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), a well-established marker of systemic inflammation.

25 Jan 2013

Bloodstream infections in newborns reduce significantly

Central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in newborns were reduced by 58 percent in less than a year in hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) participating in an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety program.

25 Jan 2013

Employer-insurer coalition asks HHS to pare essential benefits

Employers, insurers and health providers worry that requiring expansive coverage in the policies sold in health insurance markets could make insurance unaffordable.

25 Jan 2013

Clinical trial to evaluate cyclodextrin against Niemann-Pick disease type C1

A clinical trial to evaluate a drug candidate called cyclodextrin as a possible treatment for Niemann-Pick disease type C1 (NPC), a rare and fatal genetic disease, will start today, researchers announced.

24 Jan 2013

NIH panel recommends name change for polycystic ovary syndrome

An independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health has concluded that the name of a common hormone disorder in women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), causes confusion and is a barrier to research progress and effective patient care. The current name focuses on a criterion - ovarian cysts - which is neither necessary nor sufficient to diagnose the syndrome.

24 Jan 2013

NIH's candidate vaccine safe in treating dengue

A candidate dengue vaccine developed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been found to be safe and to stimulate a strong immune response in most vaccine recipients, according to results from an early-stage clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH. The trial results were published online on January 17 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

23 Jan 2013

Novartis receives FDA approval for Exjade to treat chronic iron overload in NTDT patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Exjade (deferasirox) to treat patients ages 10 years and older who have chronic iron overload resulting from a genetic blood disorder called non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT).

23 Jan 2013

State abortion restrictions having impact

In Kansas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Texas, new laws limiting abortion providers spur changes for clinics and patients.

23 Jan 2013

Administration unveils new set of medical privacy rules

The Obama administration released a new set of rules and protections designed to govern patient privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

23 Jan 2013

AANS, CNS join other medical societies in endorsing Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) joined 24 other medical societies in endorsing the "Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act." Sponsored by Reps. Phil Roe, MD (R-TN) and Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), this bipartisan legislation would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), thereby protecting seniors from Medicare cuts that could threaten their access to care.

23 Jan 2013

Health law's new spending offers tempting target for lawmakers in search of savings

The overhaul includes $1.7 trillion in new spending over the next decade -- which is being eyed by members of Congress for various reasons. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports on a mental health coverage gap in the health law's effort to expand access to health care, and The Washington Post reports on how employer challenges to the law are taking shape.

23 Jan 2013

UCLA to participate as a Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the UCLA Health System has been selected to participate in the federal government's Medicare Shared Savings Program as an accountable care organization.

21 Jan 2013

Early treatment during primary HIV infection shows promise

Two papers in The New England Journal of Medicine suggest that starting antiretroviral treatment early after HIV infection is diagnosed may improve patients’ immune response, boosting the initial recovery of the immune system and delaying progression of the disease.

21 Jan 2013

As Obama takes oath again, health law's fate rest with others

Obamacare is going into effect next year for real - but what happens with President Barack Obama's signature achievement in his second term is largely out of his hands. The biggest piece of the law - the expansion of coverage to as many as 30 million uninsured Americans - will begin in 2014. Obama may not say a word about that in his inaugural address.

21 Jan 2013

Federal gov't. awards health exchange grants to some states

The federal health department announced $1.5 billion in new grants Thursday for states to continue building their insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. California, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Vermont received funding - either one-or multi-year awards based on their progress in creating the marketplaces.

20 Jan 2013

Checklists can help surgical teams perform better during emergencies

When doctors, nurses and other hospital operating room staff follow a written safety checklist to respond when a patient experiences cardiac arrest, severe allergic reaction, bleeding followed by an irregular heart beat or other crisis during surgery, they are nearly 75 percent less likely to miss a critical clinical step, according to a new study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

19 Jan 2013