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Novel treatment safe and effective for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage

A new treatment that treats a subset of stroke patients by combining minimally invasive surgery, an imaging technique likened to "GPS for the brain," and the clot-busting drug t-PA appears to be safe and effective, according to a multicenter clinical trial led by Johns Hopkins researchers.

30 May 2011

New positive Cimzia phase IIIb study data on rheumatoid arthritis presented at EULAR meeting

UCB today announced data which showed that the addition of Cimzia to current therapy was associated with a rapid and consistent clinical response in a diverse group of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

30 May 2011

UBC scientists to initiate $4.7M pan-Canadian clinical trial in oral squamous cell cancers

Researchers from the University of British Columbia's Faculties of Medicine, Science and Dentistry are leading a $4.7-million pan-Canadian clinical trial aimed at improving outcomes for patients undergoing surgery for oral squamous cell cancers.

30 May 2011

Flu vaccines at the ready this season

Manufacturers of flu vaccines are nearly ready with the new supply of vaccinations for this upcoming flu season in the northern hemisphere. Two weeks ago, five vaccine manufacturers announced plans to make between 166 million and 173 million doses for the coming season. That's at least 6 million more than the maximum ever produced. However they add that many might not actually need the shots.

29 May 2011

High blood pressure becoming more common in young adults: Study

According to a new study about one in five young adults may have high blood pressure. The researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed blood pressure data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, called Add Health, and compared it with data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, commonly referred to as NHANES. They focused specifically on the information about adults age 24 to 32.

29 May 2011

Rise of obesity - risks at work

A team of researchers have found that the American workplace is a significant contributor to the obesity epidemic. In the review of shifts in the labor force since 1960 it was suggested that a sizable portion of the national weight gain can be explained by declining physical activity during the workday.

29 May 2011

Research Roundup: Medicaid co-payments, access to docs causes worse health

Disparities In Child Access To Emergency Care For Acute Oral Injury -- This study looked at the "impact of insurance status on dental practices' willingness to schedule an appointment for a child with a symptomatic fractured permanent front tooth." Six researchers posed as mothers of 10-year-old boys who all had the same injury but different coverage: Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or private Blue Cross dental insurance.

27 May 2011

U.N., U.S. re-evaluate HIV/AIDS treatment targets

Ahead of the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, scheduled for June 8-10 in New York, "public-health leaders face a paradox: New evidence suggests the epidemic can finally be controlled, but that would demand increased spending at a time of severe global budget restraints," the Wall Street Journal reports.

27 May 2011

Stem cell pluripotency depends on E-cadherin molecule

Researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have discovered what enables embryonic stem cells to differentiate into diverse cell types and thus to be pluripotent. This pluripotency depends on a specific molecule - E-cadherin - hitherto primarily known for its role in mediating cell-cell adhesion as a kind of "intracellular glue".

27 May 2011

NIH awards $2.4 million, five-year grant for research on dementia and delirium

Adults with dementia and delirium may soon have a way to combat their delirium, thanks to a $2.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.

27 May 2011

First Medicare Meaningful Use incentive dollars issued to physicians using athenahealth EHR

athenahealth, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based practice management, electronic health record (EHR), and patient communication services to medical groups, today announced that the first Medicare Meaningful Use incentive payment dollars have been issued to its physician clients using athenaClinicals®, the company's EHR offering.

27 May 2011

Dynamics in the health care system trigger ACO concerns

The traditional wariness that exists between doctors and hospitals, as well as worries related to anti-trust issues, raise questions about which players have the advantage as the specifics regarding accountable care organizations take shape. Meanwhile, ACOs finally have an advocate.

27 May 2011

Preparticipation cardiac screening required for college athletes

Sudden cardiac death in young athletes who had not previously exhibited symptoms is a relatively rare yet tragic event. This occurs in around 60-80 young athletes annually in the United States.

27 May 2011

NILVAD consortium awarded €6 million grant to develop new Alzheimer's disease treatment

An international research consortium led by Trinity College Dublin that aims to develop a new Alzheimer's disease treatment has just been selected for grant funding of €6 million by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

27 May 2011

Ten changes medical oncologists can do to flatten costs, improve care

The cost of cancer care is threatening to bankrupt our healthcare system. New drugs are prolonging life, but at staggering costs. This coupled with aging baby boomers and an increasing population mean the U.S. will spend $173 billion annually on cancer care by the year 2020. This trend is not sustainable; however, there are evidence-based ways to maintain or improve the quality of care while saving money for the new therapies being discovered every day.

27 May 2011

Everyone has an opinion about Dems' NY victory impact on Medicare, politics

Sooner or later, Democrats will have to admit that Medicare cannot keep running as it is — its medical costs are out of control ... not all Medicare cuts are the same.

27 May 2011

Switching to a newer electronic health record system reduces prescription errors

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the government is investing billions of dollars to encourage health care providers to use electronic health record systems. Many providers will probably switch from older systems to new systems to qualify for the federal incentives, but whether the upgrade improves patient care and safety has remained an open question.

27 May 2011

ASH announces approval of official health care taxonomy code for Designated Specialists

Today the American Society of Hypertension, Inc. (ASH) and the ASH Specialist Program Inc. announced the approval of an official health care taxonomy code for Designated Specialists in Clinical Hypertension from the American Medical Association National Uniform Claims Committee.

27 May 2011

Lactate shuttle also exists in human tumors

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have shed new light on the longstanding conundrum about what makes a tumor grow-and how to make it stop. Interestingly, cancer cells accelerate the aging of nearby connective tissue cells to cause inflammation, which ultimately provides "fuel" for the tumor to grow and even metastasize.

27 May 2011

Recombinant partners with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in genomic research program

Recombinant Data Corp., a Massachusetts-based healthcare data warehousing and clinical intelligence solutions provider, today announced its continued contributions to innovative IT tools for clinical research, through the company's key role in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Million Veteran Program (MVP).

27 May 2011