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Pawlenty seeks to stop health law as he eyes presidency

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver reports, If there was any doubt that protesting on the new health law was good politics for Republican candidates, it evaporated with the midterm election results.

16 Nov 2010

Medicare cuts looming for doctors; Debt panel's health suggestions questioned

"The scheduled cuts [to doctors' reimbursements from Medicare] -- the result of a failed system set up years ago to control costs -- have raised alarms that real damage to Medicare could result if the lame-duck Congress winds up in a partisan standoff and fails to act by Dec. 1. That's when an initial 23 percent reduction would hit. ... Doctors have muddled through with temporary reprieves for years. ... there's no agreement among lawmakers and the Obama administration on how long a reprieve to grant or whether the cost -- about $1 billion per month -- should be added to the deficit or paid for with spending reductions elsewhere" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/13).

16 Nov 2010

Scientists reveal that homeopathic consultations can reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

New evidence that homeopathic consultations can reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis has been revealed by scientists from the University of Southampton.

16 Nov 2010

Scientists discover new genetic variants linked to bowel cancer

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have discovered four new genetic variants linked to bowel cancer by combining data from three major genome studies, reveals a study published in Nature Genetics.

16 Nov 2010

Texas Republicans talk tough about dropping Medicaid; other states consider steep cuts

As the Medicaid program continues to consume more of states' budgets each year, Republican lawmakers and the just-reelected GOP governor, Rick Perry have an idea: Opting-out of the program altogether, the Houston Chronicle reports.

16 Nov 2010

FDA approves Halaven therapy for metastatic late-stage breast cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Halaven (eribulin mesylate) to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer who have received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens for late-stage disease.

16 Nov 2010

Food, drugs of abuse engage same brain systems, show studies

New animal research helps explain why some eat without hunger or to excess. The studies explore the biological effects of poor eating habits, showing that high-fat diets cause lasting brain changes that may impair healthy eating. Additional studies show that food and drugs of abuse engage many of the same brain systems. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.

16 Nov 2010

RBC boosting drugs may undermine breast cancer treatment with Herceptin

Red-blood-cell-boosting drugs used to treat anemia may undermine breast cancer treatment with Herceptin, a targeted therapy that blocks the cancer-promoting HER2 protein, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the Nov. 16 edition of Cancer Cell.

16 Nov 2010

Medicare's annual open-enrollment period starts in Idaho

Today marks an important day for roughly 15% of Idaho's population, it's the start of Medicare's annual open-enrollment period, the only time of the year beneficiaries can drop or change prescription drug and health care plans for 2011.

16 Nov 2010

Republicans increase challenges to health law, repeal rhetoric

With their eyes on the 2012 election, Republicans are preparing to maximize conflict with Democrats over healthcare in the new Congress and minimize potential compromises, according to GOP strategists, lawmakers and lobbyists. That strategy is setting the stage for a bitter stalemate on Capitol Hill over the next two years ... Republican leaders and strategists think a renewed battle over healthcare will help the party expand its electoral gains and drive President Obama from the White House.

16 Nov 2010

Elsevier announces availability of eBook collections for advance purchase

Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today its 2011 eBook collections available for advance purchase and to be released on SciVerse ScienceDirect, its online scientific knowledge platform.

16 Nov 2010

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals presents positive results of TSC study for PAD at American Heart Association

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC today announced positive results of its Phase I/II proof-of-concept study of Trans Sodium Crocetinate (TSC) in patients suffering from walking impairment due to peripheral artery disease (PAD).

16 Nov 2010

HHS seeking to publish new health insurance data

The Department of Health and Human Services is working on regulations that would allow it to publish additional in-depth health insurance data, including the number of people enrolled in each insurance plan.

16 Nov 2010

BIDMC, IPFnet to conduct clinical trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) will join the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinical Research Network (IPFnet), a clinical research network sponsored by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to conduct randomized clinical trials to evaluate new and existing medications for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The network is made up of healthcare institutions from around the United States.

16 Nov 2010

NPR reports on dengue vaccine progress

NPR's Shots blog examines progress in the search for a vaccine to protect against the dengue virus. WHO estimates that 2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of getting dengue, and most of them are in Asia and Latin America, the blog writes.

16 Nov 2010

RNA-based drugs may prevent premature birth: Research

Tiny molecules called microRNAs act together with hormones to control the onset of labor, raising the prospect that RNA-based drugs might be able to prevent premature labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a preclinical study.

15 Nov 2010

Physician-owned hospitals gear up to fight health law restrictions

Doctors are challenging provisions of the new health law that seemed to spell the demise of physician-owned specialty hospitals, a fast-growing phenomenon in states such as Texas where hospital growth is largely unregulated.

15 Nov 2010

Researchers find additional work of oxytocin hormone

New human research suggests the chemical oxytocin dubbed the "cuddle hormone" because of its importance in bonding between romantic partners and mothers and children also influences feelings of well-being and sensitivity to advertising.

15 Nov 2010

Cholera deaths in Haiti top 900; U.N. appeals for $164m to deal with outbreak that could affect 200,000

Haiti's Health Ministry on Sunday said 917 cholera deaths had been reported in the country as of Friday and more than 14,600 people had been hospitalized, according to an update on the ministry's website, Reuters reports.

15 Nov 2010

State roundup: Colorado high-risk insurance pool; Ariz. and Mich. medical marijuana issues; high-deductible insurance

Nearly 500 people in Colorado have applied for the new high-risk health-insurance pool since the program started in the state 10 weeks ago. About 430 people who already have health problems that make it difficult to get private insurance have been enrolled; 43 applications are pending.

15 Nov 2010