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Senate passes Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; WHOA included as provision in health reform bill

The United States Senate, in a historic Christmas Eve vote, passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3590). The Women's Health Office Act (WHOA), SWHR's signature piece of legislation, was included as a provision in the health reform bill, marking a tremendous accomplishment for women's health and women's health research and an advancement of SWHR's advocacy work.

8 Jan 2010

Young men with HIV infection have coronary atherosclerotic plaques: MGH study

A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study has found that relatively young men with longstanding HIV infection and minimal cardiac risk factors had significantly more coronary atherosclerotic plaques - some involving serious arterial blockage - than did uninfected men with similar cardiovascular risk.

8 Jan 2010

Educational sessions and special workshops highlight advancements in molecular imaging

SNM's Conjoint Mid-Winter Meetings, Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2010, in Albuquerque, N.M., will bring together four scientific meetings under one umbrella. The meeting, which provides attendees with the opportunity to earn up to 25 continuing education credits, will highlight the latest advancements in molecular imaging and nuclear medicine. The educational sessions will conclude with special workshops on nanomedicine and clinical trials.

7 Jan 2010

New outpatient imaging center opened in Waukesha’s Westbrook Health Center

Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI) has opened a new outpatient imaging center in Waukesha’s Westbrook Health Center, and has relocated all of its Delafield center services to this new location. The new center allows CDI to expand services to include high-field (1.5T) MRI, multi-slice CT as well as x-ray. In addition, there are plans of offering digital mammography and ultrasound services in early 2010.

6 Jan 2010

AMICAS announces new contract with Asheville Radiology Associates

AMICAS, Inc., a leader in image and information management solutions, today announced a new contract with Asheville Radiology Associates (Asheville, NC). This agreement will allow Asheville Radiology to use AMICAS Financials(TM) for radiology billing, AMICAS Dashboards(TM) for business intelligence, and AMICAS Patient Services((SM)) and AMICAS Payer Services((SM)) for streamlining their radiology billing processes.

6 Jan 2010

Radiologists use new interventional NanoKnife technique to treat lung cancer

Interventional radiologists at BAPTIST HEALTH Medical Center - Little Rock recently became the first physicians in the U.S. to use a new image-guided interventional NanoKnife technique to treat a malignant nodule within the lung.

6 Jan 2010

Phase 2 study evaluating VBL Therapeutics' lead compound VB-201 initiated

VBL Therapeutics today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 efficacy and safety study evaluating lead compound VB-201 for the treatment of patients with psoriasis. VB-201 is poised to be a first-in-class, orally-administered immune response modifier expected to reduce inflammation in a broad range of conditions such as psoriasis.

5 Jan 2010

RFA reduces pain in bone metastases patients

Image-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA), a minimally invasive cancer treatment which can be performed in the outpatient setting, significantly reduced the level of pain experienced by cancer patients with bone (osseous) metastases, limiting the need for strong narcotic pain management, and supporting improved patient frame of mind, according to results of an American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) study published online in the journal Cancer.

5 Jan 2010

Montana high court allows physician-assisted suicide

The Associated Press/NPR reports: "The Montana Supreme Court said Thursday that nothing in state law prevents patients from seeking physician-assisted suicide, making Montana the third state that will allow the procedure. Patients and doctors had been waiting for the state's high court to step in after a lower court decided a year ago that constitutional rights to privacy and dignity protect the right to die. The Montana Supreme Court opinion will now give doctors in the state the freedom to prescribe the necessary drugs to mentally competent, terminally ill patients without fear of being prosecuted, advocates said" (1/2).

5 Jan 2010

Pueblo Radiology Medical Group signs two year contract extension with Zotec Partners

Zotec Partners, an industry leader in medical billing, practice management and Radiology Information Systems (RIS) software and services, announces today that Pueblo Radiology Medical Group, Inc. out of Santa Barbara, Calif. has inked a two year contract extension with the company.

30 Dec 2009

CSL Behring awards four advocacy grants to patient organizations in the U.S.

CSL Behring, a global leader in the plasma-protein biotherapies industry and a subsidiary of CSL Limited, has awarded four advocacy grants totaling $87,000 to patient organizations in the United States through the Local Empowerment for Advocacy Development (LEAD) program.

29 Dec 2009

Childhood ETS may lead to emphysema

Children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke at home were more likely to develop early emphysema in adulthood. This finding by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health suggests that the lungs may not recover completely from the effects of early-life exposures to tobacco smoke (ETS). The study is published in the December 2009 American Journal of Epidemiology.

29 Dec 2009

Nanoscaffolds could play a central role in tissue and organ reconstruction

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have published a study in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (18:9), now freely available on line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct, that explores ways to successfully keep stem cells "forever young" during implantation by slowing their growth, differentiation and proliferation.

28 Dec 2009

DNC Chairman's statement on health care reform legislation

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine issued the following statement after the Senate voted to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, landmark health care reform legislation. Democrats passed the bill on Christmas Eve, after overcoming a series of procedural hurdles and delay tactics by Republicans that were designed to stop the bill from ever reaching the Senate floor for a vote on final passage.

28 Dec 2009

Latest diagnosis and treatment of small and non-small cell lung cancer

Under the auspices of the 12th International Symposium on Special Aspects in Radiotherapy 2008 in Berlin, acknowledged experts presented their perspectives on small and non-small cell lung cancer, reflecting the latest standards and engaging in controversies in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

23 Dec 2009

Study reveals patient characteristics can affect image quality of MDCT scans

A large multicenter international trial found that the image quality of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scans, used for the noninvasive detection of coronary artery disease, can be significantly affected by patient characteristics such as ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), and heart rate, according to a study in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

23 Dec 2009

CT can be a preferred technique for diagnosing PE, according to study

Computed tomography (CT), a highly accurate, readily available medical imaging technique, is the overwhelmingly preferred technique of emergency physicians and radiologists for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE), according to a study in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

23 Dec 2009

Senate health bill: A tremendous step forward for Hispanic Americans

"We are on the threshold of legislation that's nearly a century in the making, finally recognizing health care as a right and not a privilege, reducing costs and ensuring that all Americans can get and keep their coverage -- even if they don't have perfect health. This is a tremendous step forward for Hispanic Americans in particular, since 1 in 3 Hispanics are uninsured. While there are many critical issues of importance to the Puerto Rican community yet to be resolved, Senate passage is needed to move the process forward, so we can remedy these issues in Conference.

23 Dec 2009

Pancreas 3-D imaging useful in preoperative assessment of pancreatic carcinoma patients

In the field of hepatic imaging in the context of living liver donors and before complex partial liver resections, three-dimensional imaging of the liver, hepatic vessels and bile ducts has managed to become established in some centers. In this case, in addition to visualization, the volumetry of various liver sections is of interest. Moreover, the three-dimensional reconstruction can be used preoperatively to consider various resection options and to evaluate their technical feasibility with regard to vascular and bile duct anatomy and to the expected liver volume after surgery.

23 Dec 2009

Researchers use hydrogels to induce significant vasculature growth in areas of damaged tissue

Regenerative medicine therapies often require the growth of functional, stable blood vessels at the site of an injury. Using synthetic polymers called hydrogels, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have been able to induce significant vasculature growth in areas of damaged tissue.

22 Dec 2009