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ApoPharma receives FDA approval for Ferriprox to treat transfusional iron overload

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ferriprox (deferiprone) to treat patients with iron overload due to blood transfusions in patients with thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder that causes anemia, who had an inadequate response to prior chelation therapy.

15 Oct 2011

Million Hearts initiative strikes at leading killer of Americans

The number of Americans who report they have coronary heart disease – which includes heart attack and angina (chest pain) – continues to decline but rates vary widely from state to state and by race and ethnicity, according to a new report published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

14 Oct 2011

Four companies receive NIAID contracts to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics

Four companies are to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics-antibiotics, antivirals and an antitoxin-to prevent or treat diseases caused by multiple types of bacteria or viruses, under contracts awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

14 Oct 2011

NICHQ receives CDC grant to accelerate number of U.S. Baby-Friendly hospitals

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded nearly $6 million over three years to the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality to help hospitals nationwide make quality improvements to maternity care to better support mothers and babies to be able to breastfeed. The goal of the project is to accelerate the number of U.S. Baby-Friendly hospitals.

14 Oct 2011

NIH awards Salk Institute $4.5M to establish new Neuroscience Core Center

The National Institutes of Health has announced that the Salk Institute will receive $4.5 million to establish a Neuroscience Core Center, a new research center intended to accelerate brain research that lays the foundation for developing new ways to treat congenital brain defects and neurological diseases.

14 Oct 2011

Pulse oximetry can detect critical congenital heart disease in infants

Pulse oximetry, a non-invasive procedure that measures the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, can be used as a screening tool to detect critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) in infants, and is more readily available than echocardiography, the current gold standard for CCHD diagnosis, according to a new research abstract presented Friday, Oct. 14, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition (NCE) in Boston.

14 Oct 2011

Potential new protein target for sickle cell disease

National Institutes of Health-funded scientists have corrected sickle cell disease in adult laboratory mice by activating production of a special blood component normally produced before, but not after, birth.

14 Oct 2011

Bonuses tied to Medicare Advantage's star system reward insurers on quality marks

For the first time, a government-backed quality rating will have a financial meaning to health insurance companies looking to attract millions of older Americans to privately run Medicare coverage next year.

14 Oct 2011

HHS: Pica eating disorder hospitalizations on the rise in the U.S.

An unusual eating disorder that many people have never even heard of is attracting attention because of a recent government study that indicated the disorder is on the rise in the United States.

13 Oct 2011

SAMHSA, BJA announce 10 new grant awards to enhance adult drug court services

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) at the U.S. Department of Justice today announced 10 new grant awards to enhance adult drug court services, coordination and treatment. Drug courts provide an alternative to incarceration for people involved with the criminal justice system and in need of substance abuse treatment services.

13 Oct 2011

Vitamin E supplements linked with increased risk of prostate cancer

Men who took 400 international units (I.U.) of vitamin E daily had more prostate cancers compared to men who took a placebo, according to an updated review of data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention (SELECT) Trial.

12 Oct 2011

HHS OIG will investigate 'incident to' Medicare billing

A watchdog agency in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wants to know how many office visits, consultations, eye exams, skin grafts, and other services are performed by unqualified nonphysicians under Medicare's "incident-to" billing rules.

12 Oct 2011

NIH, Genesis Biopharma enter Patent License Agreement for adoptive cell therapy

Genesis Biopharma, Inc., a biotechnology company developing targeted cancer immunotherapies, today announced it has entered into a Patent License Agreement with the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Public Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services

12 Oct 2011

HHS announces $82M in awards to help support facilities with nursing shortages

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced $82 million in awards to help bolster the country's nursing workforce. Administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the awards will provide financial support to nurses and nursing students in exchange for service at health care facilities with a shortage of nurses.

12 Oct 2011

SIS Anesthesia Version 5 receives Drummond Group's ONC-ATCB certification

Surgical Information Systems (SIS), a leader in perioperative information systems, announced today that SIS Anesthesia Version 5 has been certified to meet 2011/2012 Stage 1 meaningful use measures as a modular Electronic Health Record.

11 Oct 2011

Brown signs Calif. measures to aid children with autism, ban kids younger than 18 from using tanning beds

In other state news, Wisconsin last month began scrutinizing health insurance rate increases, Los Angeles County steps in ahead of health law's mandated coverage expansions and a Georgia report notes the state's progress in providing services for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities.

11 Oct 2011

The health law's future: Prose on politics and policies

Politico reports on how the elections of 2012 will dictate the future of the health law. Also, other news outlets report on states' efforts to figure out what to do if the individual mandate is struck down, the essential benefits package, the development of health exchanges and where things stand with accountable care organizations.

10 Oct 2011

Potential vaccine against trachoma

An attenuated, or weakened, strain of Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria can be used as a vaccine to prevent or reduce the severity of trachoma, the world's leading cause of infectious blindness, suggest findings from a National Institutes of Health study in monkeys.

10 Oct 2011

AAD applauds California for prohibiting indoor tanning device use among youngsters

Today California Governor Edmund G. Brown signed a bill into law that will prohibit the use of indoor tanning devices for all Californians under the age of 18.

10 Oct 2011

UMass Amherst SPHHS wins HHS award to create Public Health Training Center

Training to improve the nation's public health system by strengthening the technical, scientific, managerial and leadership competence of current and future public health workers will soon be underway in Springfield, Holyoke, Pittsfield and the Berkshires, supported by a four-year, $2.5 million grant to the School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

10 Oct 2011