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BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois adds coverage for MammoSite

BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois after meeting with experts last week has decided to cover the partial-breast radiation therapy known as MammoSite for patients with early stage breast cancer, officials for the insurer said, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

20 Sep 2006

Jury dismisses lawsuit against Wyeth in first Pempro case

A jury in a U.S. District Court in Little Rock, Ark., on Friday dismissed negligence charges in the first of about 5,000 lawsuits filed over Prempro, a combination hormone replacement therapy manufactured by Wyeth, and found the drug's design was not defective, Reuters reports.

20 Sep 2006

USAID issues $15M grant to Ugandan religious coalition

USAID through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief issued a $15 million three-year grant to the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda -- a coalition of five religious groups that promote faith-based strategies to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic, AFP/Today Online reports.

20 Sep 2006

Aromatase inhibitors improve survival of advanced breast cancer patients compared to tamoxifen

Aromatase inhibitors improve the survival of advanced breast cancer patients compared to standard hormone therapies like tamoxifen, a researchers report in the September 20 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

19 Sep 2006

Nicotinamide may help people with multiple sclerosis

Researchers have found a possible way to protect people with multiple sclerosis (MS) from severe long-term disability: increase nervous-system levels of a vital compound, called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), by giving its chemical precursor - nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3.

19 Sep 2006

Curcumin useful in the fight against colorectal cancer

Looking for a cancer cure? Try the spice rack. In the last few years, that tactic has proved productive for researchers investigating turmeric, a curry spice used for centuries in Indian traditional medicine.

19 Sep 2006

Cisplatin nanoliposomes for cancer therapy

Cisplatin is one of the most powerful and effective drugs for treating a wide variety of cancers, but many tumors develop resistance to this drug, ultimately limiting its benefits for cancer patients.

19 Sep 2006

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois coverage policy for partial-breast radiation therapy to be reviewed

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois' policy that it does not cover partial-breast radiation therapy was scheduled to be reviewed last Wednesday in Dallas during a three-day meeting of Health Care Service Corporation officials, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

18 Sep 2006

Acupuncture for low back pain provides long-term benefit

Low back pain is one of the most common medical complaints and affects millions of people, and according to researchers in the UK the ancient Chinese treatment acupuncture can help sufferers.

18 Sep 2006

Uroplasty receives FDA approvable letter for treatment of female stress urinary incontinence

Uroplasty, Inc. has announced that it has received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relating to its pre-market approval (PMA) application for Macroplastique Implants for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

14 Sep 2006

Quality indicators for gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures

Defining measurements and identifying quality standards in the delivery of colonoscopic care is a major priority for the nation's leading gastrointestinal endoscopic healthcare association.

13 Sep 2006

Australian world first in cancer therapy screening

A new approach in the treatment of breast cancer, appears to be a world first for Australian doctors.

13 Sep 2006

"Allergy cells" can aggravate cancer and psoriasis

The body's mast cells are mainly associated with allergic reaction in the way they release histamine and other inflammatory substances.

13 Sep 2006

WiCell and Advanced Cell Technology offer to distribute new stem cell lines

The WiCell Research Institute (WiCell) and Advanced Cell Technology announced today an agreement, in principle, to collaborate to jointly distribute to U.S. scientists a range of new cell lines.

12 Sep 2006

Nicotine shows potential medical benefits

Nicotine may improve the symptoms of depression in people who do not smoke, Duke University Medical Center scientists have discovered.

12 Sep 2006

First step to developing effective therapy against Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus

Biomedical researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have taken an important early step toward developing effective drug therapies against Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE) virus, a potential bioterrorist weapon.

12 Sep 2006

GRK2 protein -a potential biomarket for heart failure

A team of cardiology researchers at Thomas Jefferson University has determined that GRK2, a protein that plays an important regulatory role in heart failure, is elevated in patients with failing hearts when compared to patients with normal heart function.

12 Sep 2006

When inequality pays dividends

When there are limited treatments for serious diseases, such as bird flu and HIV-AIDS, city residents should be first in line for the drugs ahead of those in rural areas to most effectively contain the risk to the community, according to research led by a University of New South Wales (UNSW) academic.

12 Sep 2006

TV advertising of prescription drugs may increase visits to doctor not actual sales

TV advertising of prescription drugs may be prompting more people to visit their doctors rather than substantially increasing sales of advertised drugs, according to research led by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

12 Sep 2006

Zolmitriptan nasal spray may be safe and effective in treating painful cluster headaches

Zolmitriptan nasal spray, used to treat migraine headaches, also may be safe and effective in treating painful cluster headaches, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the November 2006 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

12 Sep 2006