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Research reveals that 21% of death claims are rejected by California's largest private insurers

More than one of every five requests for medical claims for insured patients, even when recommended by a patient's physician, are rejected by California's largest private insurers, amounting to very real death panels in practice daily in the nation's biggest state, according to data released today by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee.

3 Sep 2009

Alloantigen-specific Treg cells targeted for organ transplantation

An increased understanding of the role of the body's immune system in the development of diseases such as prostate cancer, squamous cell carcinoma (a type of skin cancer), type 1 diabetes, autoimmune liver disease, and in the rejection of transplanted organs by some transplant patients, has paved the way for a pioneering research programme which aims to develop 'enhanced' cells as therapies.

3 Sep 2009

Innovative way for culturing liver cells improves drug toxicity screening

A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has developed an innovative way to culture liver cells for drug toxicity screening. In a report to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that has been released online, the investigators describe how liver cells grown in a high-oxygen environment and in a culture medium free of animal-derived serum quickly begin to function as they do within the liver.

2 Sep 2009

FDA: Randomized clinical trial necessary to better interpret Clolar’s efficacy and safety in adult AML

Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced today that the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9 to 3 that a randomized, controlled trial is needed to support the currently proposed label expansion for Clolar® (clofarabine) in adult myeloid leukemia (AML). The committee found that the single-arm clinical study results submitted to support the label expansion showed Clolar was an active agent in acute AML patients, but concluded that a randomized clinical trial should be necessary to better interpret Clolar’s efficacy and safety in the proposed patient population.

2 Sep 2009

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital uses CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery system for treating tumours

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital is the first hospital in Houston to feature the CyberKnife((R)), a noninvasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors.

2 Sep 2009

CardioWest Total Artificial Heart recipient going strong for more than 10 months

Over the last five years, Jim Hennigan has had four different hearts beating in his chest… the heart he was born with, two donor hearts and a Total Artificial Heart.

2 Sep 2009

Government, medical and community experts to discuss about prevention and detection of viral hepatitis

To address this public health challenge, government, medical and community experts will meet September 10-11 in Washington, D.C. to plan an improved national response to viral hepatitis. The conference "The Dawn of a New Era: Transforming our Domestic Response to Hepatitis B & C" will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions and scientific poster sessions focused on enhancing the prevention and detection of viral hepatitis and improving care for people who are already living with the disease.

2 Sep 2009

$Prolonged surgery should be avoided in trauma patients with multiple fractures$

Prolonged surgery should be avoided in trauma patients with multiple fractures

Trauma patients who sustain multiple fractures are often in serious condition when they arrive at the emergency department. A review article published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) explains that trauma patients who have several orthopaedic injuries and are considered to be in unstable condition should only have a few hours of surgery when first arriving at the hospital. This principle is known as 'damage control'.

2 Sep 2009

Paper discussing the mechanism of the selective TGR5 agonist INT-777 published in Cell Metabolism

Bile acids are known to be key regulators of lipid, glucose and overall energy metabolism. Bile acid activation of the G protein-coupled receptor TGR5 has been shown to induce energy expenditure in muscle and brown fat, thereby conferring resistance to weight gain.

2 Sep 2009

Angel MedFlight helps liver transplant patient claim insurance for life flight transportation

Last year, Sally (a patient suffering from end stage liver failure) was in need of life flight transportation to be evaluated for a liver transplant. Her doctors told her she needed to receive the evaluation in order to get on the transplant list. Travel by ground ambulance or commercial flight were not an option due to her condition. Her health insurance company told her they would not cover the air ambulance medical transport. But last week, after four appeals and countless hours of work by Angel MedFlight's patient advocates, that decision was reversed.

1 Sep 2009

Race, gender and insurance status influence liver transplant decisions

Patient race, gender and insurance status influence decisions about who will go on to receive liver transplants, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study.

1 Sep 2009

Health Net urges Americans to have their blood cholesterol measured

Tomorrow, September 1, marks the start of National Cholesterol Education Month. In support of this educational effort, Health Net, Inc., (NYSE: HNT) is encouraging those who haven't yet done so, to have their blood cholesterol measured and, if it's high, to embark on a cholesterol-lowering program.

31 Aug 2009

Doxorubicin granted orphan drug designation by the FDA

Delcath Systems, Inc., a medical technology company testing its proprietary treatment method for primary and metastatic cancers to the liver, announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted Delcath's request for orphan drug designation for doxorubicin for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), also known as primary liver cancer. Clinicians in the U.S. diagnose nearly 20,000 cases of HCC annually.

31 Aug 2009

FDA approves the usage of Valcyte for preventing CMV disease in pediatric patients

Roche announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Valcyte(R) (valganciclovir hydrochloride) for the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in pediatric kidney and heart transplant patients (4 months to 16 years of age) at high risk of developing CMV disease.

31 Aug 2009

High dosage of ursodeoxycholic acid does not help PSC patients

A national team of researchers led by scientists at Mayo Clinic has found that a common treatment for primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver disease, is not helpful for patients, according to a study published this month in the journal Hepatology.

29 Aug 2009

Caucasians have a higher rate of HBV recurrence compared to Asian Americans and African Americans

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1.5 to 2 million Americans are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Prior studies have shown there to be significant racial differences in access to and outcomes of liver transplantation. Recently, doctors from across the U.S. conducted a multicenter retrospective-prospective study of the waitlist status and outcomes of liver transplant patients with HBV infection.

28 Aug 2009

Resonant Medical's multi-anatomy Clarity System to be exhibited at ESTRO, Netherlands

Resonant Medical, an innovator in soft tissue planning, image-guidance and adaptive radiotherapy products, today announced that the Company will be exhibiting the next generation of its multi-anatomy Clarity System at the 10th Biennial Meeting of The European Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncologists (ESTRO), being held in Maastricht, Netherlands.

27 Aug 2009

QRxPharma completes its pilot evaluation study investigating the efficacy of MoxDuo capsules

QRxPharma Limited and announced today successful completion of its pilot study to evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety profile of MoxDuo(TM) IR (immediate release) capsules in patients with moderate to severe pain following total knee replacement surgery.

27 Aug 2009

Research study indicates that liver regeneration could affect the metabolism of tacrolimus in LDLT

Several studies have shown that living donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients required smaller doses of tacrolimus compared with deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT) patients, which indicated that liver regeneration could affect the metabolism of tacrolimus in LDLT.

27 Aug 2009

Relationship between the CD14 variation and the formation of portal lymphoid aggregates discovered

It is still unknown why the natural history of chronic disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), which currently infects 3% of the world's population, varies from mild in some patients to rapidly progressing in others. Age, sex, alcohol consumption and liver sensitivity to gut-derived bacterial endotoxins, were the early factors defined to enhance the risk of fibrosis progression.

27 Aug 2009

Liver News and Research

Research reveals that 21% of death claims are rejected by California's largest private insurers

Alloantigen-specific Treg cells targeted for organ transplantation

Innovative way for culturing liver cells improves drug toxicity screening

FDA: Randomized clinical trial necessary to better interpret Clolar’s efficacy and safety in adult AML

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital uses CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery system for treating tumours

CardioWest Total Artificial Heart recipient going strong for more than 10 months

Government, medical and community experts to discuss about prevention and detection of viral hepatitis

Prolonged surgery should be avoided in trauma patients with multiple fractures

Paper discussing the mechanism of the selective TGR5 agonist INT-777 published in Cell Metabolism

Angel MedFlight helps liver transplant patient claim insurance for life flight transportation

Race, gender and insurance status influence liver transplant decisions

Health Net urges Americans to have their blood cholesterol measured

Doxorubicin granted orphan drug designation by the FDA

FDA approves the usage of Valcyte for preventing CMV disease in pediatric patients

High dosage of ursodeoxycholic acid does not help PSC patients

Caucasians have a higher rate of HBV recurrence compared to Asian Americans and African Americans

Resonant Medical's multi-anatomy Clarity System to be exhibited at ESTRO, Netherlands

QRxPharma completes its pilot evaluation study investigating the efficacy of MoxDuo capsules

Research study indicates that liver regeneration could affect the metabolism of tacrolimus in LDLT

Relationship between the CD14 variation and the formation of portal lymphoid aggregates discovered

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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