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Consumer-friendly "finger stick" blood test to detect cardiovascular disease is broadly available now

A new blood test, measuring the level of omega-3 fatty acids in red blood cells, is now broadly available for the first time to the public everywhere as a consumer-friendly, at-home "finger stick" test. While scientists have long known of the benefits of fish and fish oil for overall heart health, over the past decade research has proven that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish dramatically reduce one's risk for cardiovascular disease. Further, recent research indicates that omega-3 levels may be among the best predictors of future coronary heart disease - providing much stronger correlations to the risk of sudden cardiac death than traditional indicators, including HDL and LDL cholesterol.

20 Aug 2009

Pfizer collaborates with Private Access to address concerns regarding research and clinical trials

Recognizing that patient participation in clinical trials is the key to progress in medical research, Pfizer Inc announced today that it has entered into a collaboration with Private Access, the innovator in privacy-enhanced search technology, to create a new online community aimed at increasing clinical trial awareness and participation. The site will be the first to focus on patient privacy rights to connect patients, physicians and researchers with tailored information, tools and technology that will lead to more informed decisions about patient care, including clinical trial participation industry-wide.

20 Aug 2009

Study reveals that patient care is better in nonprofit nursing homes than in for-profit nursing homes

A major new statistical review of 82 individual research studies has revealed that nonprofit nursing homes deliver, on average, higher quality care than for-profit nursing homes. The findings could have a bearing on the present debate about the role of for-profit firms in U.S. health reform.

20 Aug 2009

Thyroid cancer patients treated successfully using a new robot-assisted endoscopic technique

Using a novel robot-assisted endoscopic technique, a team of surgeons at Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, has successfully treated 200 consecutive patients with thyroid cancer. The minimally invasive operation, which has several technical and cosmetic benefits that the traditional open operation does not offer, is described in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

20 Aug 2009

National Institute on Drug Abuse funds study on development of prenatally cocaine-exposed children

Teen years are filled with experimenting. Sometimes that means trying some risky behaviors.

20 Aug 2009

Study finds long-term exposure to progesterone may lead to growth of tumors

Scientists at Michigan State University have found exposure to the hormone progesterone activates genes that trigger inflammation in the mammary gland.

20 Aug 2009

Researcher of LA BioMed elected to distinguished fellow status of SVS

Carlos E. Donayre, MD, a researcher at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), has been elected to distinguished fellow status of the Society for Vascular Surgery- (SVS).

20 Aug 2009

US FDA announces establishment of the Center for Tobacco Products with Lawrence Deyton as Center Director

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement today that it is establishing the Center for Tobacco Products and has selected Lawrence Deyton, MSPH, MD, a highly respected and experienced public health leader, as the Center Director is a demonstration of its commitment to moving quickly and vigorously to implement its new authority to regulate tobacco products, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. This announcement comes just two months after Congress approved and President Obama signed into law historic legislation giving the FDA authority over tobacco products.

20 Aug 2009

Shortage of medical isotopes could affect the health of Canadians

Canada's physicians are deeply troubled about the prolonged and unpredictable shortage of medical isotopes and impact the crisis continues to have on patient care.

20 Aug 2009

U.S.District Court ruling favors Merck in patent infringement suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled in Merck's favor in a patent infringement suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. (Teva).

20 Aug 2009

Scientists develop new technique to target brain cancer cells

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago's Brain Tumor Center have developed a way to target brain cancer cells using inorganic titanium dioxide nanoparticles bonded to soft biological material.

20 Aug 2009

National Science Foundation funds CMU for developing revolutionary computational tools

A multidisciplinary team led by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Edmund M. Clarke has received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation's Expeditions in Computing program to create revolutionary computational tools that will advance science on a broad array of fronts, from discovering new cancer treatments to designing safer aircraft.

20 Aug 2009

DNA-encased carbon nanotubes used for treating human prostate cancer tumors in mice

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have destroyed prostate cancer tumors in mice by injecting them with specially-coated, miniscule carbon tubes and then superheating the tubes with a brief zap of a laser.

20 Aug 2009

Nano-bio material kills cancer cells, leaves healthy cells in unharmed

19 Aug 2009

FDA approves Hiberix Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine

In response to a U.S. shortage of a vaccine to protect infants from Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has received accelerated approval from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for Hiberix((R)) [Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine (Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate)] as a booster dose in children 15 months through four years of age. Hib is an often severe and potentially deadly bacterial infection that can cause meningitis.

19 Aug 2009

3M introduces Littmann electronic stethoscope with Bluetooth

Taking the stethoscope into the 21st century, 3M today announced the introduction of the 3M™ Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200, a next-generation auscultation device featuring Bluetooth technology that wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body sounds to software for further analysis.

19 Aug 2009

News outlets continue to explain how end-of-life care counseling works

NPR talks with Dr. David Casarett, associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who started the palliative care service at the VA hospital in Philadelphia, about "the rhetoric around the end-of-life issues addressed in some of the proposed health care legislation" (Block, 8/18).

19 Aug 2009

Nurses and clinical officers in Africa know when a person should receive antiretroviral therapy

Nurses and clinical officers (non-physician clinicians, NPCs) are capable of determining when a person should receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Human Resources for Health suggest that this should ease the strain on overstretched doctors in sub-Saharan Africa and thereby help increase access to antiretroviral therapy, particularly in rural areas.

19 Aug 2009

70 percent of specialty doctors oppose health-care reform proposals

Chairman of the ASMD, Alfred O. Bonati, M.D., said that, "As a physician, the results of this poll are not surprising to me. Any doctor who has ever dealt with Medicare knows that government coverage severely limits our abilities to deliver care that best fits the needs of the patient and the patient's family. We know that government coverage does not allow for flexibility, creativity, or, sometimes, even compassion."

19 Aug 2009

U.S. Food and Drug Administration launches new Center for Tobacco Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched its new Center for Tobacco Products in an historic effort to curb the hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by those products each year.

19 Aug 2009

Medicine News and Research

Consumer-friendly "finger stick" blood test to detect cardiovascular disease is broadly available now

Pfizer collaborates with Private Access to address concerns regarding research and clinical trials

Study reveals that patient care is better in nonprofit nursing homes than in for-profit nursing homes

Thyroid cancer patients treated successfully using a new robot-assisted endoscopic technique

National Institute on Drug Abuse funds study on development of prenatally cocaine-exposed children

Study finds long-term exposure to progesterone may lead to growth of tumors

Researcher of LA BioMed elected to distinguished fellow status of SVS

US FDA announces establishment of the Center for Tobacco Products with Lawrence Deyton as Center Director

Shortage of medical isotopes could affect the health of Canadians

U.S.District Court ruling favors Merck in patent infringement suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals

Scientists develop new technique to target brain cancer cells

National Science Foundation funds CMU for developing revolutionary computational tools

DNA-encased carbon nanotubes used for treating human prostate cancer tumors in mice

Nano-bio material kills cancer cells, leaves healthy cells in unharmed

FDA approves Hiberix Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine

3M introduces Littmann electronic stethoscope with Bluetooth

News outlets continue to explain how end-of-life care counseling works

Nurses and clinical officers in Africa know when a person should receive antiretroviral therapy

70 percent of specialty doctors oppose health-care reform proposals

U.S. Food and Drug Administration launches new Center for Tobacco Products

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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