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Eisai reports new data analyses on FYCOMPA (Perampanel) at AES meeting

Today, Eisai Inc. announced that 16 abstracts highlighting new data analyses on FYCOMPA (perampanel) will be presented at the 67th annual American Epilepsy Society (AES) meeting, taking place in Washington, D.C. from December 6 – 10.

6 Dec 2013

Scientists investigate factors that influence choice of abused drugs

Prescription opioid abuse has reached epidemic levels in the past 15 years. Scientists investigating why people favor one drug over another have found that oxycodone and hydrocodone are the drugs of choice for 75% of opioid-dependent individuals.

3 Dec 2013

BMI or measure of obesity does not play significant role in weight loss operation, says study

A new study investigating why obese patients choose one type of weight loss operation over another reveals that the main factors influencing decision making are whether patients have type 2 diabetes, how much weight they want to lose, and their tolerance for surgical risk to achieve their ideal weight.

25 Nov 2013

NEXAVAR tablets receive FDA approval for treatment of patients with thyroid cancer

Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an Amgen subsidiary, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a supplemental New Drug Application for the oral multi-kinase inhibitor NEXAVAR (sorafenib) tablets for the treatment of patients with locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive, differentiated thyroid carcinoma refractory to radioactive iodine treatment.

23 Nov 2013

Research report focuses on the impact of real-time cost information within a primary care

Health care costs continue to go up, and physicians control more than 80 percent of those costs. Could providing physicians with real-time information about the cost of what they order help to restrain excessive testing? This is the question addressed in an article- in the Journal of General Internal Medicine-, published by Springer. The research project was led by Daniel Horn of the Massachusetts General Hospital's Division of General Medicine in the US, and is among the first to focus on the impact that the passive display of real-time laboratory costs can have within a primary care, non-academic setting.

22 Nov 2013

BIDMC pilot study shows promise for age-related cognitive disorders

It's well known that the brains of meditators change, but it's not entirely clear what those changes mean or how the changes might benefit the meditator. A new pilot study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center suggests that the brain changes associated with meditation and stress reduction may play an important role in slowing the progression of age-related cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

18 Nov 2013

Researchers take close look at medicine's highest volume activity

Laboratory testing is health care's single highest volume activity, with over 5 billion tests performed each year in the U.S.

18 Nov 2013

European Commission grants marketing authorization for Bayer HealthCare's Xofigo injection

Bayer HealthCare announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Xofigo (radium Ra 223 dichloride) solution for injection for the treatment of adults with castration-resistant prostate cancer, symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral metastases. This decision follows a positive recommendation from the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use in September of this year.

15 Nov 2013

Over 50% of nonsurgical patients prescribed opioids during hospitalizations, analysis finds

Amid a growing climate of concern regarding the overuse of opioid pain medications, a comprehensive analysis of more than 1 million hospital admissions has found that over 50 percent of all nonsurgical patients were prescribed opioids during their hospitalizations -- often at very high doses -- and that more than half of those exposed were still receiving these medications on the day they were discharged from the hospital.

14 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: Law is not the fault of health system's 'age-old woes;' Obama's 'empty pledge;' dysfunctional website was inevitable

The angst over the Obamacare rollout has obscured two truths: First, the computer glitches -- while deeply embarrassing -- are a tech problem that is fixable. Second, the cancellation of some Americans' insurance policies and premium hikes for others reflect longstanding problems in the health care system that weren't suddenly caused by the Affordable Care Act. The great advancement in Obamacare is that it finally provides a framework to address these flaws (11/5).

6 Nov 2013

Health anxiety therapies: an interview with Professor Peter Tyrer, Imperial College, London

Health anxiety is a relatively new diagnosis and has not been adopted fully. The nearest approximation and formal classification systems is ‘illness anxiety’ as diagnosed in DSM-5, published in May 2013 (DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, p.315).

5 Nov 2013

Blood pressure tailored treatment reduces individual's risk of heart disease and strokes

A new way of using blood pressure-lowering medications could prevent more than a fourth of heart attacks and strokes - up to 180,000 a year - while using less medication overall, according to new research from the University of Michigan Health System and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

4 Nov 2013

Study in mice may help in the development of more effective treatments for anxiety disorders

Excessive fear can develop after a traumatic experience, leading to anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. During exposure therapy, an effective and common treatment for anxiety disorders, the patient confronts a fear or memory of a traumatic event in a safe environment, which leads to a gradual loss of fear.

4 Nov 2013

RWJF president receives 2013 Gustav O. Lienhard Award for pioneering efforts to control tobacco use

The Institute of Medicine today presented the 2013 Gustav O. Lienhard Award to Steven A. Schroeder, whose pioneering efforts to control tobacco use have helped save millions from premature, smoking-related deaths. The award also recognizes Schroeder's leadership in general medicine as well as his work to improve end-of-life care.

22 Oct 2013

'Traffic light' labels can be effective method of promoting healthier food choices

A simple, color-coded system for labeling food items in a hospital cafeteria appears to have increased customer's attention to the healthiness of their food choices, along with encouraging purchases of the most healthy items.

18 Oct 2013

Liverpool Care Pathway provides little clinical benefit for dying cancer patients

The first randomised trial to test the effectiveness of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) programme, developed and implemented widely to support patients as they near death, has found little clinical benefit compared with standard care for cancer patients dying in hospital.

17 Oct 2013

Rates of hospital-acquired bedsores not accurate tool for comparing hospital quality, says report

The data Medicare uses to publicly report hospital rates of patients developing pressure ulcers (or bedsores) is not an accurate source for comparing hospitals on how well they prevent the condition, says a new University of Michigan study.

15 Oct 2013

Possible topical treatment for age-related macular degeneration identified by Tufts researchers

Researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences have identified a possible topical treatment for age-related macular degeneration in a study of mice that shows promise for clinical use.

10 Oct 2013

Bayer HealthCare receives FDA approval for Adempas tablets

Bayer HealthCare announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Adempas (riociguat) tablets for: (i) the treatment of adults with persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (WHO Group 4) after surgical treatment or inoperable CTEPH to improve exercise capacity and WHO functional class; and (ii) the treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (WHO Group 1) to improve exercise capacity, improve WHO functional class and delay clinical worsening.

9 Oct 2013

Personalised therapy can reduce risk of cardiac disease among diabetes patients

600,000 to 800,000 Austrians suffer from diabetes mellitus. Thanks to the biomarker known as NT-proBNP (a hormone specific to the heart), the sub-group of people who are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease can be determined even though their hearts appear to be healthy.

8 Oct 2013