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First Edition: June 8, 2011

Health insurer Blue Shield of California, under fire for a series of recent rate hikes and the pay of its chief executive, plans to cut this year's premiums by 2.5% for many of its 3.3 million policyholders as part of a new initiative to hold down costs (Helfand, 6/8).

8 Jun 2011

New journal on multiple sclerosis and related disorders

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of a new journal, Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders with its first issue publication in January 2012.

8 Jun 2011

Rosa, Profil Institute partner to offer simulation technology for diabetes and obesity clinical trials

Profil Institute for Clinical Research, Inc., a company leading the industry in early phase clinical trials for diabetes and obesity, and Rosa & Co. LLC, a drug development advisory firm with expertise in drug-disease modeling and simulation, jointly announced today a strategic alliance to offer Profil Institute customers use of Rosa's modeling technology to simulate disease physiology, drug action, patient variability, and trial outcomes for their early phase clinical development programs.

8 Jun 2011

Stop TB partnership releases 5 TB prevention steps

Ahead of the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, the Stop TB Partnership released five guidelines aimed at preventing tuberculosis, which results in one in four AIDS-related deaths, the U.N. News Centre writes.

8 Jun 2011

IAS calls on leaders to ensure inclusion of HIV cure research into international AIDS agenda

As world leaders meet this week to review progress and chart the future course of the global AIDS response at the 2011 UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS in New York, the International AIDS Society (IAS) calls on leaders to ensure the inclusion of HIV cure research and its global strategy into the international HIV agenda and in all discussions, political decisions and funding strategies.

8 Jun 2011

NYU Cancer Institute scientists present new research findings at ASCO 2011

Experts from The Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center, at NYU Langone Medical Center presented new research findings at the 47th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2011 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.

8 Jun 2011

Global Fund's transparency is essential and saves lives

In the Huffington Post, Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, discusses the Global Fund's latest report on its investigation of its grants in Mali.

8 Jun 2011

GSK, Crucell to test second-generation malaria vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline and drug company Crucell, a division of Johnson & Johnson, will collaborate with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative to test a second-generation malaria vaccine "within the next couple of months," Reuters reports.

8 Jun 2011

Withdrawal of aid from Madagascar hitting poor hard

The Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" examines the effects of the withdrawal of international aid and debt relief from Madagascar following the country's last coup in 2009. According to the article, "80% of the population is classed as living in poverty. A household survey last year by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) found that aid sanctions are biting the wrong people: school enrolment has plummeted and health indicators are in decline."

8 Jun 2011

New research on spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the leading genetic cause of death in children under 2, with no treatment other than supportive care. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston show how loss or mutation of the SMA gene causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness, and suggest a promising approach to treating the condition, sometimes referred to as a "Lou Gehrig's disease of babies."

8 Jun 2011

European hematologists raise alarm on insufficient research money for blood disorders

European hematologists raise the alarm on the insufficient research money for blood disorders. "Blood cancers kill over 95,000 in the EU every year; the EU must be made aware that more research funds are needed", states Professor Robin Foa, President of the European Hematology Association (EHA) at their annual congress in London.

8 Jun 2011

Conference panel examines manufacturing of nutrition-rich foods

IRIN reports on a World Conference on Humanitarian Studies panel discussion about the manufacturing of nutrition-rich foods to treat malnutrition in the developing world.

8 Jun 2011

Articles on health trajectories now available in Nursing Research journal

Health care research typically focuses on final outcomes such as cure or death—overlooking the fact that health and illness are dynamic states that evolve and change over time. A special collection of articles on health trajectory research is now available in a supplement to Nursing Research, official journal of the Eastern Nursing Research Society and the Western Institute of Nursing.

8 Jun 2011

Dems push for debt deal that doesn't include Medicare cuts

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., sent an email to House Republicans Monday saying he is optmistic that ongoing budget talks will meet the standard set by Speaker John Boehner -- meaning legislation to raise the debt limit will be accompanied by deficit reduction. Some Democratic senators, though, are pressing Vice President Joe Biden, who is overseeing budget negotiations, to steer clear of the GOP Medicare plan.

8 Jun 2011

RI Hospital fellow receives TSFRE funds for cardiothoracic surgery research

Antonio Lassaletta, M.D., a fellow in cardiothoracic surgery research at Rhode Island Hospital, has been awarded a Research Fellowship from the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education (TSFRE) to support his project, "Improving Myocardial Perfusion in a Diabetic Swine Model of Chronic Cardiac Ischemia." TSFRE awarded just two Research Fellowships in 2011; Lassaletta's fellowship is for two years.

8 Jun 2011

Doctors' move to electronic records requires serious commitment

The federal stimulus and health care laws are pushing medical providers to go electronic as a way to improve patient safety and track health care quality. ... But moving away from paper files to an electronic health record system requires serious commitment on several levels. First, they're expensive. ... Second, the learning curve can be painful.

8 Jun 2011

Einstein health expert plays an important role in development of U.S. News 'Best Diets' rankings

Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Ph.D., R.D. of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University played an important role in the development of the "Best Diets" rankings, which U.S. News released today.

8 Jun 2011

Closed-loop artificial pancreas could fight against Type 1 diabetes

Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are combining automation techniques from oil refining and other diverse areas to help create a closed-loop artificial pancreas. The device will automatically monitor blood sugar levels and administer insulin to patients with Type 1 diabetes, and aims to remove much of the guesswork for those living with the chronic disease.

8 Jun 2011

Health care costs are eating away at the nation's military budget

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that pension and health care costs are eating the U.S. military alive.

8 Jun 2011

Scientists find neuronal cells die in Alzheimer's disease

In what they are calling a new direction in the study of Alzheimer's disease, UC Santa Barbara scientists have made an important finding about what happens to brain cells that are destroyed in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

8 Jun 2011