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State roundup: Mass. health spending's rise; huge Ky. hospital merger

A new report from the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy shows that: ... "Spending per member on privately insured people grew 6 percent from 2007 to 2008 and another 10 percent from 2008 to 2009. This rate of growth was substantially higher than the increase in national personal health care expenditures per capita of 4.6 percent from 2008 to 2009. Spending by private payers also grew faster than spending by public payers".

16 Jun 2011

Inviragen commences INV21 Phase 1 trial against Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Inviragen announced today the initiation of the first clinical trial of the Company's proprietary Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) investigational vaccine, INV21, a highly purified virus particle preparation designed to protect against HFMD caused by enterovirus 71.

16 Jun 2011

ProImmune introduces new uniquely powerful protein and peptide array platform

ProImmune Ltd., a leader in services for understanding immune responses, announced today that it has launched ProArray Ultra, a uniquely powerful protein and peptide array platform, which is more sensitive than optimized ECL ELISA.

16 Jun 2011

Women who make their sexual debut as young teens more likely to divorce

A University of Iowa study found that women who make their sexual debut as young teens are more likely to divorce, especially if "the first time" was unwanted, or if she had mixed feelings about it.

16 Jun 2011

Bristol-Myers Squibb receives FDA approval for Nulojix to prevent organ rejection after kidney transplant

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Nulojix to prevent acute rejection in adult patients who have had a kidney transplant. The drug is approved for use with other immunosuppressants -- specifically basiliximab, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids.

16 Jun 2011

Opening the door for a lady – benevolent sexism or chivalry?

According to a latest study by feminist psychologists, men who open doors for women are guilty of ‘benevolent sexism’. Helping the ladies choose the right computer as well as carrying their shopping are also signs of ‘unseen’ sexism in society, according to the report.

16 Jun 2011

Brain research funds crisis: Report

According to the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology there is a dramatic drop in private and public funding for research in brain diseases that has led to a “withdrawal of hope” for millions of sufferers and could delay the search for treatments and cures by 30 years.

16 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Hiaasen on 'insane' insurance; residential facilities' budget nightmares; safety at VA hospitals

If Obama's healthcare plan is struck down in court, lots of politicians will celebrate it as a victory over big government. The dubious reward for taxpayers will be to continue footing the medical bills for 50 million uninsured Americans, and watching the dangerous deficit swell.

16 Jun 2011

Cholesterol-lowering statins reduce rate of mortality and cardiovascular events

Over the long term, treatment with cholesterol-lowering statins reduces the rate of mortality and cardiovascular events such as heart attack, for people with and without heart disease. Still, it is unclear whether these drugs take effect rapidly when the risk of these dire events is highest.

15 Jun 2011

Placental growth factor also plays a role in chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a particular form of leukemia or cancer of the bone marrow, which can be treated with targeted imatinib. However, in some cases this medicine has no effect. Researchers at the VIB Vesalius Research Centre, K.U. Leuven, under the direction of Peter Carmeliet, have investigated the role of placental growth factor (PlGF) in mice with CML.

15 Jun 2011

Spectrum board authorizes $25 million stock repurchase program

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in oncology, today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the purchase of up to $25 million of its common stock through the end of 2012.

15 Jun 2011

Magnesium essential for absorption and metabolism of vitamin D and calcium

Magnesium deficiency is an important factor in the results obtained from vitamin D. According to Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, magnesium expert and Medical Director of the nonprofit Nutritional Magnesium Association, the effectiveness and benefits of vitamin D are greatly undermined in the absence of adequate levels of magnesium in the body.

15 Jun 2011

Bariatric surgery reduces incidence and severity of migraines

Bariatric surgery can lead to total or partial alleviation of migraines in nearly 90 percent of morbidly obese patients diagnosed with migraine headaches, according to a new study presented here at the 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

15 Jun 2011

Alkermes commences ALKS 5461 phase 1/2 study for treatment-resistant depression

Alkermes, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase 1/2 study of ALKS 5461 for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). ALKS 5461 is the combination of ALKS 33, a proprietary opioid modulator, and buprenorphine. TRD, which is also known as refractory depression, refers to depressive episodes that are not adequately controlled by standard antidepressant therapy.

15 Jun 2011

Overactive mTOR can result in serious disruption of kidney filter in diabetes patients

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common secondary diseases in modern society. And because it is on the rise, it is also one of the greatest challenges facing medicine today. Diabetes patients do not die as a direct result of the increase in blood sugar, but from the long-term complications of their disease, in which the increase in blood sugar causes damage to blood vessels and organs.

15 Jun 2011

NIH awards $20 million research grant to University of Kentucky

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest government funding source for biomedical research in the United States, has awarded $20 million to the University of Kentucky to move research discoveries to health care solutions more quickly.

15 Jun 2011

There is no such thing as expressive muscles

According to doctors during the interwar period, wide hips made women unsuitable for running long distances. In her recent doctoral thesis, Kerstin Bornholdt looks at how researchers reached conclusions like this.

15 Jun 2011

Childhood cancer survivors at increased risk of new cancers in middle age

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have found that survivors of childhood cancers are four times more likely than the general population to develop a new cancer. The results are published online today in JAMA.

15 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 15, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report that GOP governors are pushing back against federal Medicaid rules.

15 Jun 2011

High number of adverse patient safety events occur in doctors' offices

However, a high number of adverse events, including major injury and even death, occur in private physician offices and outpatient clinics as well. In a new study -- the first of its kind -- researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College found that the number and magnitude of events resulting from medical errors is surprisingly similar inside and outside hospital walls.

15 Jun 2011