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NHS hospital shows improvement three months after private firm takes over

The private sector company Circle holds on to the first £2m of any annual surplus it achieves at Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire. They will also get a proportion of any income surplus above that level with the rest going towards paying off the hospital's £40m debt. This means that Circle would need to generate a £70m surplus from the hospital - which has a £100m turnover - over a decade to bring it out of the red. Over the past 10 years, the failing hospital - which was facing closure before the deal was made - has never recorded a surplus above £600,000.

4 May 2012

Bionic eye helps two blind men see for the first time in 20 years

In a medical breakthrough two blind men have regained partial sight for the first time in more than 20 years after receiving a “bionic eye”. Scientists said the first clinical trials of the microchip eye implant, which measures just 3mm across and is fitted behind the eyeball, have proved successful and “exceeded expectations”.

4 May 2012

Nurses at Royal North Shore hospital urge for increased staffing

According to the nurses union, they are still waiting for a response from NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner nearly a week after they asked for her to resolve a dispute at Sydney's Royal North Shore (RNS) Hospital.

4 May 2012

Study finds unnecessary recommendations by physicians for additional PET/CT imaging

Radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians recommended additional imaging about 30% of the time in oncologic PET/CT reports, with about half of those recommendations being unnecessary, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

Hispanics more likely to develop precancerous colorectal polyps

Blacks and Hispanics have a significantly higher risk of developing precancerous colorectal polyps compared with whites, according to a study by researchers at NewYork - Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

4 May 2012

U of A engineers develop wireless health-monitoring system

An interdisciplinary team of engineers at the University of Arkansas has developed a wireless health-monitoring system that gathers critical patient information, regardless of the patient's location, and communicates that information in real time to a physician, hospital or the patient herself.

4 May 2012

Researchers discover two defective genes that cause auriculocondylar syndrome

Researchers at Seattle Children's Research Institute and their collaborators have discovered a pair of defective genes that cause a rare congenital malformation syndrome that can make it impossible for the child to breathe or eat properly without reparative surgery.

4 May 2012

State roundup: Pittsburgh insurer, hospital extend contract despite ongoing fight

A restaurant workers' group and a Los Angeles community clinic have launched a unique cooperative to provide health coverage to a group of people excluded from federal health care reform -- illegal immigrants. The pilot program, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, offers preventive and primary care to low-wage, uninsured workers in the restaurant industry. Legal immigrants and other restaurant workers who don't meet the criteria or cannot afford coverage under the health care law are also eligible.

4 May 2012

Accretive Health says Minnesota Attorney General misled public, acted in bad faith

The Chicago-based company says last week's report by the Minnesota Attorney General did harm, and that the company will seek legal remedies.

4 May 2012

Alnylam first quarter revenues decrease to $20.6 million

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today reported its consolidated financial results for the first quarter 2012, and company highlights.

4 May 2012

Potential ways for doctors to improve hormone receptor-positive breast cancer treatment

American and Spanish researchers have found potential ways for doctors to improve the treatment of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer even if they lack access to costly multi-gene tests, as they report at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference.

4 May 2012

Chagas disease especially harmful for expectant mothers; New, better treatments needed

"Chagas disease -- a parasitic infection transmitted through an insect commonly known as the 'kissing bug' -- is one of the most common infections among pregnant women in the Western Hemisphere," Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and director of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, writes in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

4 May 2012

Regular jogging increases life expectancy

Undertaking regular jogging increases the life expectancy of men by 6.2 years and women by 5.6 years, reveals the latest data from the Copenhagen City Heart study presented at the EuroPRevent2012 meeting.

4 May 2012

Health care quality varies widely despite high spending in the U.S.

The United States spends more on health care than 12 other industrialized countries yet does not provide "notably superior" care, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund.

4 May 2012

Researchers create new systematic assessment for malnutrition

A new systematic assessment of malnutrition, created by researchers at Penn State, will aid dietitians and other health care providers in diagnosis and treatment.

4 May 2012

Study: Breast cancer in young women is enriched with aggressive basal-like tumors

Breast cancer in young women is a biologically unique disease that requires customized management strategies, researchers report at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference, in Brussels, Belgium.

4 May 2012

Clinical trial to investigate statins in patients with acute severe respiratory failure

Queen's University and NUI Galway and are leading a clinical trial to investigate the possibility that statins, a drug commonly used to combat cholesterol, might help patients with acute severe respiratory failure.

4 May 2012

Comorbidities common among patients with COPD

Comorbidities are common among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and a number of these comorbidities are independently associated with an increased mortality risk, according to a new study.

4 May 2012

IGF-axis proteins may have a role in development of type 2 diabetes

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in collaboration with Nurses' Health Study investigators have shown that levels of certain related proteins found in blood are associated with a greatly reduced risk for developing type 2 diabetes up to a decade or more later. The findings, published today in the online edition of Diabetes, could open a new front in the war against diabetes.

4 May 2012

Scientists discover new type of dynamic change in human stem cells

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California (UC) San Diego has discovered a new type of dynamic change in human stem cells.

4 May 2012