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Researchers follow steps that lead some tumor cells to establish metastases

Up to 25% of cancer patients develop metastases in the brain - often long after successful treatment of the primary tumor. In almost all such cases, the prognosis is poor. The mechanisms responsible for the appearance of brain metastases have long been mysterious.

21 Dec 2009

Researchers determine structures of two enzymes that customize histones

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have determined the structures of two enzymes that customize histones, the spool-like proteins around which DNA coils inside the cell.

20 Dec 2009

Distinguished Young Scholars Program completed by W. M. Keck Foundation

The W. M. Keck Foundation, a leading supporter of pioneering medical research, science and engineering, today announced the successful completion of its Distinguished Young Scholars Program, a groundbreaking initiative created to give the nation's most promising young scientists the resources they need to pursue potentially breakthrough research projects in biomedical research.

19 Dec 2009

Only half of eligible heart failure patients receive implantable devices

A study of heart failure patients who meet national guidelines for devices that stabilize and strengthen the heart's electrical system found that only half of eligible patients received the devices.

19 Dec 2009

Several maladaptive eating behaviors can affect women, says new study

Several maladaptive eating behaviors, beyond anorexia, can affect women. Indeed, some 10 to 15 percent of women have maladaptive eating behaviours and attitudes according to new study from the Universit- de Montr-al and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

19 Dec 2009

HHS announces $60M to address barriers in adopting health IT

David Blumenthal, M.D., Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, today announced plans to make available $60 million to support the development of Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP). SHARP projects will conduct focused research in critical areas where breakthrough advances are needed to address existing barriers to the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (health IT).

19 Dec 2009

AAPS: Withdraw the healthcare reform bill

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) asked Senate Majority Harry Reid to give America a real Christmas gift: withdraw the divisive healthcare reform bill.

19 Dec 2009

IRB approves Neuralstem's Phase I trial to treat ALS with spinal cord stem cells

Neuralstem, Inc. today announced that its Phase I trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) with its spinal cord stem cells has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

19 Dec 2009

Medical liability concerns lead to overprescription of antibiotics

A new study led by a team of researchers at New York Medical College suggests that that medical liability concerns may be playing a role in the increase of MRSA in healthcare settings by encouraging clinicians to prescribe antibiotics more often and more broadly than clinical circumstances and evidence-based guidelines warrant. The study appeared in the September-October issue of the American Journal of Therapeutics.

19 Dec 2009

Physicians' bedside exams superior to high-tech CT scan, study finds

Sometimes, a simple bedside exam performed by a skilled physician is superior to a high-tech CT scan, a Loyola University Health System study has found.

19 Dec 2009

CPSC announces voluntary recall of Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu Liquicaps

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using the recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

19 Dec 2009

158 of American Oriental Bioengineering's drugs included in China's 2009 NIC

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc., ("the Company" or "AOBO"), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving health through the development, manufacture and commercialization of a broad range of prescription and over the counter ("OTC") products, today announced that 158 of the Company's drugs have been included in China's National (Medical) Insurance Catalog (the "2009 NIC").

19 Dec 2009

CIGNA suggests the 'To Do' list to stay healthy during this holiday season

‘Tis the season for celebrating with family and friends -- and searching for those perfect gifts. CIGNA suggests adding another item to the top of the holiday “To Do” list: Be sure to take needed medications to stay healthy this holiday season and into the New Year.

19 Dec 2009

UCSF/SFGH project to improve health outcomes among diabetes patients honored

A UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital project that used a novel communication tool to improve health outcomes among diabetes patients was honored recently with a quality leadership award from the California Health Care Safety Net Institute.

18 Dec 2009

WHO sponsors event at Copenhagen conference to highlight climate change effect on public health

The WHO held a "side event" on Thursday at the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen to highlight climate change's effect on public health, CNN reports. "We're reminding people that climate change is not just an environmental issue or an economic issue - it's a health issue that's actually about people's survival," Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, a scientist in the WHO's Public Health and Environment department, said of the event.

18 Dec 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

A Scientific American article examines recent efforts to tackle neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The author writes "NTDs have plagued humankind for thousands of years. … What is new, however, is that donors, drugmakers, health ministries in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO), and public-private partnerships are linking their efforts to combat the NTDs in a more coordinated and systematic way."

18 Dec 2009

U.S. health officials announce shift in focus of prep trial in Botswana

U.S. health officials on Thursday announced they will shift the focus of a clinical trial in Botswana aimed at testing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) - the strategy that "a daily low dose of the drugs, which interfere with the ability of the virus to replicate, could also lower the risk of infection" - after researchers discovered they would be unable to determine the efficacy of Truvada, the medicine used in the trial, Reuters reports.

18 Dec 2009

Roundup of health policy research and analyses

Urban Institute/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: What Would Health Care Reform Mean for Small Employers and Their Workers? - "Small employers and their workers face a broad assortment of barriers to obtaining health insurance coverage today," such as "high administrative costs, limited ability to spread health care risk, and a low-wage workforce."

18 Dec 2009

Safe living guidelines for transplant recipients

Keeping pets healthy can reduce infection risks for people who have received solid organ transplants and veterinarians should be seen as an integral part of the healthcare team. That's just one of the key pieces of advice from a safe living article published in an infectious diseases supplement in the American Journal of Transplantation.

18 Dec 2009

Medela announces award recipients from November Virtual Human Milk Collection Campaign

Medela announced today the award recipients from its November Virtual Human Milk (breastmilk) Collection Campaign in honor of the March of Dimes' National Prematurity Awareness Month. More than 4,100 participated in the campaign, voting for their preferred Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

18 Dec 2009