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First U.S. transcatheter aortic heart valve implant performed at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center today became the first in the United States to implant the SAPIEN transcatheter aortic heart valve as an FDA-approved standard of care.

5 Nov 2011

'Medicine that grows' confronts antibiotics resistance

It's been called "the trots," "Montezuma's Revenge," "the runs" and worse. But no matter the name, when it strikes, victims wish for a medicine that could go straight to the offending bacteria to quickly knock it dead.

4 Nov 2011

Vitamin D levels not related to acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Vitamin D levels are not related to acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in patients with severe COPD, according to a large prospective cohort study involving 973 North American patients. The findings were published online ahead of the print edition of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

4 Nov 2011

Stimulus funds will help build health IT systems, but not sustain them

iWatch News reports on how this finding is raising concern among state officials about how they will keep paying for these systems when the federal money is gone. Meanwhile, KHN - in partnership with NPR and Oregon Public Radio - takes a look at how electronic medical records can be used.

4 Nov 2011

Nanocomposite brain probe induces less scarring after implantation

A hard probe inserted in the cerebral cortex of a rat model turns nearly as pliable as the surrounding gray matter in minutes, and induces less of the tough scarring that walls off hard probes that do not change, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found.

4 Nov 2011

Asuragen announces data from microRNA biomarker study on pancreatic cancer

Asuragen, Inc. announced today that data from a collaborative study with Johns Hopkins regarding microRNA biomarkers for use on pancreatic cyst fluid specimens was presented at the American Pancreatic Association Annual Meeting being held November 2-5, 2011 in Chicago.

4 Nov 2011

Health law's reproductive health provisions continue to draw criticism

At a Wednesday subcommittee hearing, faith-based providers and some House Republicans lamented new federal rules that they say could erode long-standing "conscience clauses."

4 Nov 2011

Kenyan company receives WHO prequalification for generic ARV

"The cost of HIV/AIDS medicine is expected to drop by 30 percent in Kenya, enabling more people to access life-prolonging drugs, after the World Health Organization (WHO) gave the green light to a local company manufacturing generics, The Star newspaper reported on Wednesday," AlertNet reports.

4 Nov 2011

Commercial disease management models do not reduce Medicare costs in America

At a time when everyone is looking for ways to reduce health care costs in America, using commercial disease management programs to reduce the fee-for-service Medicare costs associated with chronic conditions among senior citizens seems like a practical approach.

4 Nov 2011

Inserm researchers successfully rejuvenate cells from elderly donors

Inserm's AVENIR "Genomic plasticity and aging" team, directed by Jean-Marc Lemaitre, Inserm researcher at the Functional Genomics Institute, has recently succeeded in rejuvenating cells from elderly donors.

4 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: The campaign against birth control; paying for N.Y.'s autism mandate

What if there were a solution to many of the global problems that confront us, from climate change to poverty to civil wars? There is, but it is starved of resources. It's called family planning, and it has been a victim of America's religious wars.

4 Nov 2011

CRF summit to examine importance of gender in cardiovascular disease research

"In Pursuit of Excellence: Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Women" will be held on Friday Dec. 9, 2011. The meeting, which will bring together top national experts in research, academia, and health policy to examine the importance of gender in cardiovascular disease research, will take place at The Princeton Club in New York City. Roxana Mehran, MD will Chair this important meeting.

4 Nov 2011

New way to screen hirsutism among women

Examining the chin and upper and lower abdomen is a reliable, minimally invasive way to screen for excessive hair growth in women, a key indicator of too much male hormone, researchers report.

4 Nov 2011

Avoiding sun may increase risk of vitamin D deficiency in light-skinned people

Light-skinned people who avoid the sun are twice as likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency as those who do not, according to a study of nearly 6,000 people by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

4 Nov 2011

Cancer drug shortage relates to economics

A perspective in this week's New England Journal of Medicine outlines this connection. Meanwhile, a House Democrat ramps up his investigation into the "gray market" and how it is contributing to the shortage.

4 Nov 2011

Einstein scientists receive two NCI grants to study cancer metastasis

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University two grants totaling $8 million to study the microenvironments that drive the spread of cancer from the primary tumor to other parts of the body in the process known as metastasis.

4 Nov 2011

NEJM publishes 'The 2010 Dietary Guidelines -- The Best Recipe for Health?'

USDA's interest protects that of Industry -- not the American public, conclude leading researchers Water C. Willett, MD, PhD, and David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD in their article, "The 2010 Dietary Guidelines -- The Best Recipe for Health?" published in the prestigious peer-reviewed The New England Journal of Medicine.

4 Nov 2011