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Study identifies venous thromboembolism risk factors after THR surgery

Risk factors for venous thromboembolism after total hip replacement (THR) surgery were identified in a new study published in the September 2010 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS). While the rate of thromboembolism has been significantly reduced through medication, understanding the risk factors could further reduce the likelihood of patients developing this potentially fatal complication.

17 Sep 2010

Researchers suggest DASH-style diet reduces kidney stone formation

Certain key ingredients of a diet designed to prevent high blood pressure can ward off kidney stones, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The results suggest how low-fat dairy products and/or plants may have potent kidney stone-fighting properties.

17 Sep 2010

New anti-pathogenic drugs render MRSA harmless without killing bacteria

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor and researcher in the department of biochemistry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has identified new anti-pathogenic drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

17 Sep 2010

Study suggests familial, contextual factors affect girls' pubertal timing

Girls in homes without a biological father are more likely to hit puberty at an earlier age, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health.

17 Sep 2010

Rural hospitals in Minnesota contribute to insurance premiums for poor patients

News outlets report on rural hospitals in Minnesota, a new insurer contract for a Florida hospital and possible restrictions on a pending for-profit hospital system in Massachusetts.

17 Sep 2010

Aetna extends contract with University of Pennsylvania Health System

Aetna announced today that it has signed a five-year contract extension with the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), assuring continued in-network access for its members in the Philadelphia area.

17 Sep 2010

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center research team wins 2010 BioFlux Innovation Award

Fluxion Biosciences, Inc. announced today that a research team from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has won the 2010 BioFlux Innovation Award competition. Laura Sycuro, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research fellow in the lab of David Fredricks, M.D., authored the winning submission which focuses on screening and characterizing bacterial strains involved in biofilm-related infections known to affect women's reproductive health.

From Fluxion Biosciences 17 Sep 2010

Pall launches GeneDisc Rapid Microbiology System for advanced microbial quality monitoring

Pall Corporation, a global leader in filtration, separation and purification, today announced the introduction of the GeneDisc® Rapid Microbiology System for advanced microbial quality monitoring. This system represents Pall's latest quality assurance innovation for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

From Pall Corporation 17 Sep 2010

Researcher discover enzyme for brain tumor malignancy

Tom Wurdinger, a Dutch researcher who is connected to Harvard (Boston) and the VUmc Cancer Center in Amsterdam, has discovered the enzyme playing a very important role in the return of malign brain tumor after surgery and radiation. By making this enzyme inactive, the cancer cell can become disorganized and blow itself up.

17 Sep 2010

FEMR and State of Illinois proclaim first-ever Fall Prevention Awareness Day

The Foundation for Education and Musculoskeletal Research (FEMR) and the state of Illinois officially proclaimed the first day of autumn, September 22, 2010, as Fall Prevention Awareness Day. FEMR will be raising awareness for fall prevention and the need for osteoporosis screening and treatment in an effort to reduce the incidence of fragility bone fractures among older residents of Illinois.

17 Sep 2010

Haitian Prime Minister cites rebuilding progress, lack of aid

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive "insisted Tuesday that progress is being made in his devastated homeland despite the trickle of international aid," the Miami Herald reports.

17 Sep 2010

Metabolism imbalance increases asthma risk in children: Research

Even children of a healthy weight who have an imbalanced metabolism due to poor diet or exercise may be at increased risk of asthma, according to new research, which challenges the widespread assumption that obesity itself is a risk factor for asthma.

17 Sep 2010

Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy for severe epilepsy receives CE Mark approval

Medtronic, Inc. today announced that the company has received CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark approval for Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Therapy in Europe as adjunctive treatment for partial-onset seizures in adults with medically refractory epilepsy. DBS therapy for epilepsy delivers controlled electrical pulses to a target in the brain called the anterior nucleus of the thalamus, which is part of a circuit involved in seizures.

17 Sep 2010

AdvaMed fights back against increased FDA scrutiny

A report issued Wednesday by the industry's main trade association Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) "found that there were 101 of the most serious kinds of recalls of medical devices from Jan. 1, 2005 to May 1, 2010, a record that AdvaMed senior executive vice president David Nexon called 'remarkable' considering the number of devices on the market," CQ HealthBeat reports.

17 Sep 2010

FDA grants AGTC $1M for Phase II human clinical trial in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, a privately-held, clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel systems to deliver human therapeutics, announces that it has received a grant of $1 million from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA Orphan Drugs Program) to fund a Phase II Human Clinical Trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a treatment for Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AAT), a genetic disease known to result in serious lung and/or liver disease.

17 Sep 2010

Continuum of Care program redesigns workflow, delivery of hospital-based care to maximize clinical effectiveness

The program named "Continuum of Care," and led by co-author Cordelia Sharma, M.D., a Geisinger critical care physician, involves redesigning the workflow and delivery of hospital-based care to maximize clinical effectiveness. Similar to the "patient-centered advanced medical home" model, the program emphasizes timely comprehensive and coordinated care that is personalized to the patient's needs and makes use of Geisinger's advanced electronic clinical information system.

16 Sep 2010

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals delivers poster presentations on Aganocide compound at ICAAC Conference

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, anti-infective compounds for the treatment and prevention of antibiotic resistant infections, delivered four poster presentations on its Aganocide compounds at the 50th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in Boston, MA.

16 Sep 2010

Advocacy For Patients files free insurance appeals for consumers with chronic illness

Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness, Inc., one of the only organizations in America that files free insurance appeals for consumers with chronic illness nationwide - today filed comments with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, and Internal Revenue Service both complimenting the Agencies for "the thoughtful approach taken by the Agencies in formulating these complex rules," and suggesting numerous improvements that should be made.

16 Sep 2010

Premier ranks 72 on 2010 InformationWeek 500 list

The Premier healthcare alliance and 26 of its more than 2,400 member hospitals have been named to the 2010 InformationWeek 500, a list of the top technology innovators in the nation. Premier was ranked 72 on the 2010 list, which was revealed last night at the InformationWeek 500 Conference in Dana Point, Calif.

16 Sep 2010

Velico Medical sells royalty rights to OrbiMed Advisors

Velico Medical, Inc. announced that it has sold to OrbiMed Advisors, LLC certain royalty rights Velico Medical has under an exclusive license agreement with a large biosurgical products company. Velico Medical retains all rights to use its technologies in its own business, the development of products for transfusion medicine.

16 Sep 2010