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Ways to manage hammertoe pain

The pain from hammertoe, a deformity that can cause one or more toes to assume a claw shape, can curtail an evening of dancing or make a favorite pair of shoes unwearable. But, according to the June issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter, this condition often can be managed by proper footwear or simple toe coverings.

24 Jun 2010

Ingredients for an "anti-aging potion"

Aging without getting old? It's largely possible, according to the June issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

24 Jun 2010

2010 NAMI National Convention to address concerns for child and adolescent mental health

The National Alliance on Mental Illness will address concerns for child and adolescent mental health at the 2010 NAMI National Convention in Washington, D.C., July 1-3.

24 Jun 2010

New Cancer Research UK figures: Deaths from stomach cancer drop

Deaths from stomach cancer are the lowest since UK records began nearly 40 years ago, according to new Cancer Research UK figures released today (Thursday).

24 Jun 2010

Optimum radiation dose on same day as brachytherapy implant can control prostate cancer

Ensuring the optimum radiation dose on the same day as the brachytherapy implant in prostate cancer treatment manages to control the illness in about 95% of the cases. This is the result of research undertaken at the University Hospital of Navarre and published in the latest issue of Brachytherapy, journal of the American Society of Brachytherapy.

23 Jun 2010

US lags in health system performance

Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall compared to six other industrialized countries-Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom-on measures of health system performance in five areas: quality, efficiency, access to care, equity and the ability to lead long, healthy, productive lives, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.

23 Jun 2010

Pelosi issues statement on implementation of key patient protection provisions in health insurance reform

With today's announcement of guidelines for the new Patient's Bill of Rights, the Democratic-led Congress and the Obama Administration are upholding our pledge of greater access, affordability, and reliability in Americans' insurance coverage. And we are fulfilling the core promises of health reform: to protect patients, strengthen our middle class and small businesses, and put Americans and their doctor – not insurance company bureaucrats — in charge of medical care.

23 Jun 2010

Only doctors familiar with local health services should provide out of hours primary care: Experts

Only doctors familiar with local health services should provide out of hours primary care, argue two experts, following the death of a patient given an overdose of diamorphine by an out of hours doctor.

23 Jun 2010

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine develops RAALI for healthcare providers

The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the nation's leading medical school recipient of research funds from the National Institutes of Health and a recognized center for "Best Practices" by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, discussed the development of a unique medical education initiative - the Rheumatoid Arthritis Action Lab Initiative - to give healthcare providers connectivity to much-needed information on rheumatoid arthritis.

23 Jun 2010

AIDS specialist leaves Calif. practice, citing rising costs

A long-time San Francisco AIDS specialist is closing his clinic and moving to Manhattan because of frustration with the insurance industry and the rising cost of practicing medicine, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "The bottom line is, you cannot make a living practicing medicine unless you work at least 50 to 60 hours a week," said Dr. Marcus Conant, one of the first AIDS doctors in the area. "I'm not the only doctor who's getting to the point where it's not worth it."

23 Jun 2010

Health reform includes changes to denied claims, health savings accounts

News outlets examine some changes to the health care system that health reform will bring, including help for those with denied insurance claims and health savings account modifications.

23 Jun 2010

QLT reports final 24-month results from Phase II RADICAL study in patients with wet AMD

QLT Inc. today announced final 24-month results from the Phase II RADICAL study (Reduced Fluence Visudyne Anti-VEGF-Dexamethasone In Combination for AMD Lesions) in patients with exudative (wet) age-related macular degeneration. The purpose of the study was to determine if Visudyne® combined with Lucentis® reduced retreatment rates compared with Lucentis monotherapy, while maintaining similar vision outcomes and an acceptable safety profile.

22 Jun 2010

Insurance cover in "passive war" environment saves reforestation expert

Conflicts and wars not only take their toll on human lives, but also on the local environment. Whilst much publicity is focused on International efforts to help rebuild Afghanistan's economy and social structures, less well known is the - often voluntary - work going on to rebuild the environment, part of which involves the planting of millions of trees, as a more green environment helps to improve the dusty landscape damaged by years of fighting. More greenery also means cleaner air.

22 Jun 2010

NTU, Technion announce new collaboration to jointly offer PhD programme

Singapore's leading science and technology university, Nanyang Technological University, and Israel's number one university, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, today announced a new collaboration to jointly offer a Doctor of Philosophy programme.

22 Jun 2010

New $20M fund to support Haitian small-, medium-sized businesses announced after first Interim Haiti Reconstruction Committee meeting

Former President Bill Clinton along with Mexican telecom executive Carlos Slim and Frank Guistra, a Canadian "mining magnet," on Thursday announced "a $20 million fund to help support the expansion and creation of small- and medium-size Haitian businesses," the Miami Herald reports.

22 Jun 2010

Patel had the patient’s best interests in mind: Defense says

The manslaughter trial against the Bundaberg based surgeon Dr. Jayant Patel that has been going on for 13 weeks now, is in its final phases now. In Dr. Patel’s defense barrister, Michael Byrne QC completed his final address to the jury in the Queensland Supreme Court.

21 Jun 2010

Malpractice reformers get grants, but fear of lawsuits remains ER scourge

A New York judge's unusual technique — listening to the families of injured people, knowing something about medicine — for dealing with difficult medical malpractice cases will be among 20 explored with $3 million grants as part of the health overhaul, The Associated Press reports. The judge, Douglas McKeon, said, "I don't discuss settlement offers with families right away. … I just say, 'Tell me a little bit about your loved one.'"

21 Jun 2010

Ferring announces availability of LYSTEDA for cyclic heavy menstrual bleeding in U.S.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today the U.S. commercial availability of LYSTEDA™ (tranexamic acid) tablets, the only non-hormonal and non-surgical therapy indicated specifically for the treatment of women with cyclic heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB). In clinical studies, LYSTEDA significantly reduced menstrual blood loss (MBL) over three and six cycles of use with the reduction seen as early as the first cycle of use.

21 Jun 2010

Antibacterial lab coats to help prevent spread of disease in hospitals

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 99,000 people die every year from infections acquired while in hospitals. "The goal in our profession is to help cure you not introduce you to another deadly infection," said Dr. Charles Kinder, Heart Rhythm expert and Director of Heart Rhythm Program at Heart Care Centers of Illinois.

21 Jun 2010

Lawyer chronicles history, evolution of advance directives

When first developed in the 1970s, advance directives focused on providing specific legal instructions, such as a patient's wishes to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment in cases of terminal illness or incapacity. The documents helped physicians avoid legal problems associated with fulfilling the patient's wishes.

19 Jun 2010