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Senate Democrats hang hopes for state Medicaid money on Maine Republican votes

On Wednesday morning, the Senate took up a state aid package, which includes Medicaid assistance. What follows are summaries of the news coverage in advance of a vote scheduled to begin at 10:40 a.m.

5 Aug 2010

West Michigan Business Review names DCC as 2010 Michigan Innovator

Dynamic Computer Corporation was named a 2010 Michigan Innovator by the West Michigan Business Review on July 28th for their Hand-Hygiene Compliant solution using Radio Frequency Identification. This HHC solution was developed in an effort to reduce the number of healthcare-associated infections that the US healthcare industry is pained with annually.

5 Aug 2010

Amputation can be prevented when patients are treated by podiatric physicians: Study

Amputation, one of the most devastating and costly consequences of diabetes, can be prevented when patients are treated by podiatric physicians. That's the finding of a national, large-scale study co-authored by Dr. James Wrobel, DPM, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

5 Aug 2010

HF-WBI effective for patients with early stage breast cancer

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has released evidence-based guidelines to define appropriate fractionation of whole breast irradiation (WBI), finding that hypofractionated (HF) WBI is effective for many patients with early-stage breast cancer. These guidelines are published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of ASTRO.

5 Aug 2010

Scientists discover Deep Brain Stimulation as potential treatment for early Alzheimer's

In a world first, Dr. Andres M. Lozano and his team at Toronto Western Hospital has shown using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) on patients with early signs of Alzheimer's disease is safe and may help improve memory. The phase one safety trial of six Ontario patients took place from 2005 to 2008. All patients left hospital within 2 to 3 days of surgery, and continue to participate in regular follow-up cognitive assessments.

5 Aug 2010

Andy Griffith Medicare ad prompts showdown with GOP

Veteran television star Andy Griffith appeared in a new commercial for Medicare that promotes health law changes the administration says should help seniors, such as free wellness visits and lower drug costs, U.S. News & World Report writes. "The commercial, launched on the 45th anniversary of Medicare last week, is part of a public education campaign about changes to Medicare benefits. Retirees' knowledge about the health reform law's impact on Medicare remains mixed.

5 Aug 2010

Scientists invent Global Focus microscope for tuberculosis diagnosis

A compact microscope invented at Rice University is proving its potential to impact global health. In a paper published online today in the journal PLoS ONE, Rice alumnus Andrew Miller and co-authors show that his portable, battery-operated fluorescence microscope, which costs $240, stacks up nicely against devices that retail for as much as $40,000 in diagnosing signs of tuberculosis.

5 Aug 2010

Roche inaugurates National Infusion Site Awareness Week to promote diabetis management

Roche Diabetes Care, makers of the ACCU-CHEK portfolio of diabetes management products and services, is pleased to announce the inaugural National Infusion Site Awareness Week, Aug. 30-Sept. 5. Roche made the announcement during the 37th annual American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) conference to highlight the important role that certified diabetes educators and other health care professionals play in promoting better site management for the 400,000 people in the United States with Type 1 diabetes who use an insulin pump.

5 Aug 2010

Parents of kids with autism spectrum disorders more likely to split: Study

A new study has found that couples who have a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an 80% risk of getting divorce. The Adolescents and Adults With Autism study involved 391 families with autistic children and compared them with other families whose children were developing normally. The families were matched based on the age, sex and birth order of the child with an ASD, as well as the age, ethnicity and education of the mother.

4 Aug 2010

Fractures are major concern for U.S. high school athletes: Study

The popularity of high school sports in the United States has continued to increase over the past decade, with more than 7.5 million athletes participating in school sports during the 2008-09 academic year. A new study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that 95 percent of fractures required costly diagnostic imaging, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, and 16 percent required surgical repair.

4 Aug 2010

New perfusion CT algorithms maintain image quality at half of the radiation dose

In recent years, advances in CT scanner technology have made perfusion computed tomography (CT) imaging an important diagnostic tool for patients with suspected stroke. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic are working to reduce radiation dosages used to acquire perfusion and other CT images. Mayo Clinic medical physicist Cynthia McCollough, Ph.D., and her group of researchers presented their findings related to CT dose reduction at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine on July 20 in Philadelphia.

4 Aug 2010

Number of Cyberchondriacs increase to 175 million: 2010 Harris Poll

The latest Harris Poll, measuring how many people use the Internet to look for information about health topics, finds that the numbers continue to increase. The Harris Poll first used the word Cyberchondriacs to describe these people in 1998, when just over 50 million American adults had ever gone online to look for health information. By 2005, that number had risen to 117 million. In the new poll, the number of Cyberchondriacs has jumped to 175 million from 154 million last year, possibly as a result of the health care reform debate.

4 Aug 2010

USN-DAAT to collect unused, expired prescription and OTC drugs from public

Following the overwhelming success of Southern Nevada's first Operation Medicine Cabinet event in February, University of Southern Nevada's Drug Abuse Awareness team and a coalition of local organizations have come together for a second event to collect unused and expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs from the public.

4 Aug 2010

Research examines effects of orthostatic hypotension in adults, children

A simple variation to the tried and true method of checking blood pressure can reveal startling information about both older and younger persons, new research suggests.

4 Aug 2010

New MIC platform measures cell-signaling pathways in brain tumor samples at single-cell level

New technologies for the diagnosis of cancer are rapidly changing the clinical practice of oncology. As scientists learn more about the molecular basis of cancer, the development of new tools capable of multiple, inexpensive biomarker measurements on small samples of clinical tissue will become essential to the success of genetically informed and personalized cancer therapies.

4 Aug 2010

National Research Corporation second-quarter revenue increases to $14.1 million

National Research Corporation today announced results for the second quarter 2010.

4 Aug 2010

New law to increase employment-based coverage for children

A recent law that requires group health plans and insurers to make dependent coverage available for children until they attain the age of 26 will increase employment-based coverage by estimates ranging from 680,000 to 2.12 million individuals, according to recently released regulations.

4 Aug 2010

MAKO Surgical second-quarter total revenue increases 151% to $10.3 million

MAKO Surgical Corp., a medical device company that markets both its RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic surgical platform and proprietary RESTORIS® implants for minimally invasive orthopedic knee procedures known as MAKOplasty®, today announced its operating results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

4 Aug 2010

Special issue on new developments in vestibular rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is essential for patients with disabling symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, and unsteadiness caused by disorders of the vestibular system. A special issue of The Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy (JNPT) presents an update on new and emerging vestibular rehabilitation techniques, highlighting the physical therapist's role on the multidisciplinary teams providing patient care and research.

4 Aug 2010

Carfilzomib could become new option for patients with relapsed myeloma, IMF says

The International Myeloma Foundation, the oldest and largest foundation dedicated to improving the life and care of myeloma patients, today said promising data suggest a new drug called carfilzomib could become an important new option for patients whose myeloma stops responding to other therapies.

4 Aug 2010