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When the economy is tough, hospitals woo well-insured patients

A study published in Health Affairs found that during the recession, hospitals have sought to establish themselves in affluent markets.

12 Apr 2012

Act now 'to prevent tragedy' in Africa's Sahel food security crisis

"The world appears reluctant to open its wallets to relief organizations dedicated to saving the lives of Africa's children until it's official. They want the United Nations to declare a famine," a Globe and Mail editorial states.

12 Apr 2012

People with PNES do not necessarily experience more frequent or severe stressful events

Based on their clinical experience and observations, a team of Johns Hopkins physicians and psychologists say that more than one-third of the patients admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital's inpatient epilepsy monitoring unit for treatment of intractable seizures have been discovered to have stress-triggered symptoms rather than a true seizure disorder.

12 Apr 2012

Four abstracts on spatial neglect to be presented at upcoming AAN meeting

Anna M. Barrett, MD will represent Kessler Foundation's Stroke Rehabilitation Research Laboratory at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology Conference at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA, April 21 - April 28.

12 Apr 2012

U.S. spends more on cancer care, but gains time in return

A new analysis published in Health Affairs found that American cancer patients lived almost two years longer than those in 10 European countries -- leading the researchers to say that the additional expense is worth it.

12 Apr 2012

Access to modern contraceptives, family planning services is human right

"In the developing world, an estimated 215 million women who want to delay or avoid their next pregnancy cannot exercise this right as they lack modern contraceptives, resulting in unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and more than 100,000 maternal deaths," UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin writes in this Huffington Post "Global Motherhood" blog post.

12 Apr 2012

TBI can negatively affect medical decision-making capacity

A traumatic brain injury can negatively affect a patient's medical decision-making ability at a time when patients or their families must make myriad complex decisions, say researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

12 Apr 2012

Study: Health law would add $340 billion to nation's deficit

Although the health overhaul is touted by the Democrats as a means to control health care costs, a study by a Republican member of the board that oversees Medicare financing contends that it will add at least $340 billion to the federal deficit.

12 Apr 2012

Advocates urge Obama to address food security at upcoming G8 meeting

"Anti-poverty advocates are urging President Obama to 'find political will to end global hunger' during the upcoming G8 Summit at Camp David," Inter Press Service reports. Members of ActionAid last week held signs in front of the White House "that read 'Obama: Find the Will to be a Hunger Hero at the G8,' next to a cutout of the president in a superhero suit," the news service writes.

12 Apr 2012

Study: Stem cells from pelvic bone marrow may help hearts beat stronger

Stem cells from the pelvic bone may help hearts beat stronger. Doctors and other clinicians at the Orlando Health Heart Institute are researching the use of stem cells from pelvic bone marrow to restore tissue and improve heart function after muscle damage from heart attacks.

12 Apr 2012

GAVI Alliance secures deal to purchase rotavirus vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline, Merck

The GAVI Alliance "has struck a deal for bulk buying rotavirus shots from GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, which cuts the price by two-thirds and will allow poorer countries access to them at around $5 per course," Reuters reports.

12 Apr 2012

Biogen Idec launches FAMPYRA in Canada

Today, Biogen Idec Canada announces that FAMPYRA (fampridine sustained release tablets or fampridine SR) is now available for prescription for patients living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Canada.

12 Apr 2012

ST2 more specific than BNP for heart failure diagnosis

Critical Diagnostics today announced publication in the latest issue of the Journal of Heart Failure results of a study involving 995 patients who presented to the emergency room (ER) with chest pain. The study concluded that in this undifferentiated, symptomatic patient population ST2 was more specific for acute heart failure than BNP and that ST2 is independently predictive of future death and/or heart failure and has incremental utility in combination with BNP.

12 Apr 2012

HHS proposes to push back ICD-10 -- a billing system unpopular with docs

The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would push back for one year the compliance deadline for doctors to convert to the ICD-10 revision of diagnostic and procedural codes.

12 Apr 2012

The urgency of autism: Progress in combating it, even as diagnoses increase

News outlets examine progress being made in diagnosing autism and understanding its possible causes.

12 Apr 2012

Scientists transform skin cells directly into induced neurons

Until recently, the production of pluripotent "multipurpose" stem cells from skin cells was considered to be the ultimate new development. In the meantime, it has become possible to directly convert cells of the body into one another - without the time-consuming detour via a pluripotent intermediate stage. However, this method has so far been rather inefficient.

12 Apr 2012

In past campaign, Santorum played up support for Medicare drug plan

In 2006, Rick Santorum took a moderate stance on the prescription drug plan -- and cast a vote in the Senate that he has called a mistake in this presidential campaign. Meanwhile, in Maine, a Senate candidate who is running as an independent, is keeping "people guessing" about which political side he would pick.

12 Apr 2012

Participation of big pharma companies critical to success of drug patent pools

In this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, David de Ferranti, president of the Results for Development Institute, and Robert Hecht, managing director at the Institute, examine whether patent pools could help increase access to AIDS drugs among the world's poor, writing, AIDS program managers and advocates must pursue all measures that can keep the cost of treatment low and affordable.

12 Apr 2012

U.S. State Department fact sheet details bilateral health cooperation with Brazil

The State Department on Monday published a fact sheet detailing bilateral health cooperation between the U.S. and Brazil. "For several decades the United States and Brazil have participated in a bilateral dialogue that provides a formal venue for discussing our mutual interests in medical research, disease surveillance, and improving public health," the fact sheet states.

12 Apr 2012

Researchers discover a lead on the origin of chronic lymphatic leukaemia

Up until now the causes of the development of chronic lymphatic leukaemia, the most common form of cancer of the blood in Europe, have been unknown. At present a cure is not possible. A research group at the MedUni Vienna led by Christoph Steininger of the University Department of Internal Medicine I has now however discovered a lead on the origin of this disease. Says Steiniger: "This could influence the therapy approach taken in treating chronic lymphatic leukaemia."

12 Apr 2012