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New highly-accurate blood test can measure all forms of vitamin D deficiencies

Researchers from London's Kingston University have developed a new highly-accurate blood test which can detect how much a patient's diet could be responsible for a lack of the so-called 'sunshine vitamin'. Vitamin D deficiencies can weaken the immune system and increase the risk of cancer and osteoporosis.

30 Jun 2011

STSI joins JAX consortium to develop targeted cancer therapies

The Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) of San Diego, Calif., has joined a national consortium of research institutions headed by The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) that is building a library of primary human tumors with the goal of developing highly targeted cancer therapies.

30 Jun 2011

Researchers develop way to uncover evolution of human cancer cells

A team of researchers led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has developed a way to uncover the evolution of human cancer cells, determining the order in which mutations emerge in them as they wend their way from a normal, healthy state into invasive, malignant masses.

30 Jun 2011

Prevalence rate of Parkinson's is higher than previously thought

Parkinson's Disease, brought to public awareness by figures such as Michael J. Fox, is not just difficult to diagnose. It's also difficult to accurately estimate how many people actually suffer from the disease. Current statistics come from small-scale studies, usually based on information from hospital clinics, and no registries or formal databases exist to track how many people have the disease.

30 Jun 2011

Obese patients more likely to suffer complication following elective plastic surgery

Obese patients are nearly 12 times more likely to suffer a complication following elective plastic surgery than their normal-weight counterparts, according to new research by Johns Hopkins scientists.

30 Jun 2011

State roundup: Minn. officials looking at health cuts to avert shutdown

With just two days to negotiate an agreement with Republican lawmakers before a potential government shutdown, Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican leaders are trying to find additional cuts in health and human services spending, the fastest-growing part of state government.

30 Jun 2011

Hemova device can reduce risk of infection, clotting and vessel narrowing in dialysis patients

Johns Hopkins University graduate students have invented a device to reduce the risk of infection, clotting and narrowing of the blood vessels in patients who need blood-cleansing dialysis because of kidney failure.

30 Jun 2011

Early metformin treatment may prevent adolescent polycystic ovary syndrome

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that early, prolonged treatment with the diabetes drug metformin may prevent or delay the development of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in adolescence.

30 Jun 2011

Protect your ears from loud noise of fireworks, trains, and concerts

The sounds of summer can be noisy. "Fireworks, trains, concerts and road construction can be harmful to your hearing. And once hearing is damaged, it cannot be repaired," said Jyoti Bhayani, certified audiologist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of Loyola University Health System.

30 Jun 2011

Genes in Tasmanian Devil give new hope to children with cancer

Cancer researchers have generated a genetic blueprint of the Tasmanian Devil genome, revealing cancer-associated genes that may answer important questions about adult and childhood cancer.

30 Jun 2011

NLST: CT scans more effective in reducing lung cancer death rates

The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) is the first scientific study that provides clear evidence that CT screening significantly reduces the death rate due to lung cancer.

30 Jun 2011

Provectus presents additional data on PV-10 at two separate melanoma conferences

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, announced that data and study design features on PV-10 for metastatic melanoma were presented at two separate conferences.

30 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Calif.'s budget, Supreme Court drug rulings, the Avastin debate

The budget is not realistic, counting on fantastical revenue projections as well as a redevelopment gambit that's likely to be blocked in court. It makes deep cuts in state programs that will have unwelcome repercussions in years to come. And if the revenue projections prove to be as overly optimistic as they seem, there will be more damaging cuts to education, child care and health services. Nevertheless, it's a more earnest effort to clean up the state's budget mess than Sacramento has seen in a decade or more.

30 Jun 2011

NHS complaint system may need a ‘make over’

According to a committee of MPs, a “more open culture” is required to handle complaints about the health service in England. The committee has members from different political parties and said the system should be overhauled to ensure patients who complained were treated fairly. They also criticized the role of the Health Ombudsman and said it was not dealing with enough complaints.

29 Jun 2011

Doctors refuse to accept NHS reform bill

Labour warned that the health secretary, Andrew Lansley was still planning to create a “full-scale market” after Steve Field acknowledged that the government would leave hospitals vulnerable to European Union competition law due to the presence of private patients in NHS hospitals.

29 Jun 2011

Vaccines may be given in food in the near future

Soon children could be vaccinated with bacteria mixed in milk and people in the developing world given unprecedented access to immunisations under a scheme proposed by an Australian Nobel laureate, Barry Marshall.

29 Jun 2011

LVAD therapy an 'attractive option' for heart failure patients 70 years of age or older

Results of a clinical research study at Sharp Memorial Hospital indicate that patients 70 years of age or older have good functional recovery, survival and quality of life at two years when undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy for heart failure.

29 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 29, 2011

In today's news, two senators offer a new plan for Medicare cuts -- which includes increasing the eligibility age -- but top Democrats lined up against it.

29 Jun 2011

Two-pronged 'hybrid' procedure for treatment of atrial fibrillation

Doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are performing a new procedure to treat atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heartbeat.

29 Jun 2011

President steps in as debt talks remain divided — Medicare savings in exchange for added revenue?

As the high-level negotiations continue, health care advocates are stepping up their campaigns to protect against Medicare and Medicaid cuts. Meanwhile, organizations representing physicians — including the American Medical Association — maintain that a permanent fix to Medicare's physician payment formula should be included in the debt-ceiling legislation.

29 Jun 2011