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Roundup: Ariz. lawmakers revive vetoed health care price transparency bill; Big tobacco starts health care payments to states

The Arizona Senate voted Monday to revive the major provisions of a medical pricing transparency bill that was vetoed by Gov. Jan Brewer just last week. Senate Bill 1115 by Republican Sen. Nancy Barto would have required health care providers to post prices for common medical procedures (Christie, 4/15).

17 Apr 2013

Updated labeling for Purdue Pharma's reformulated OxyContin tablets gets FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved updated labeling for Purdue Pharma L.P.'s reformulated OxyContin (oxycodone hydrochloride controlled-release) tablets.

17 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 16, 2013

Today's headlines include coverage of the Supreme Court oral arguments regarding whether patents should be granted for human genes.

16 Apr 2013

Acorda Therapeutics reports positive data from dalfampridine-ER post-stroke deficits trial

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that a proof-of-concept trial found dalfampridine extended release tablets, marketed as AMPYRA (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg, improved walking in people with post-stroke deficits.

16 Apr 2013

New research shows effects of long-term use of opioid therapy

Half of patients on high-dose, long-term opioid therapy had hormonal disturbances or signs of inflammation, while 100 percent reported improved pain control and mental outlook, new research shows.

15 Apr 2013

Most Americans concerned about misuse of pain medication to treat chronic pain

A new national public opinion poll commissioned by Research!America shows only 18% of respondents believe chronic pain is a major health problem, even though a majority of Americans (63%) say they know someone who experienced pain so severe that they sought prescription medicines to treat it.

10 Apr 2013

RUB biologists report that vitamin P ensures survival of motor neurons in culture

Biologists from the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum have explored how to protect neurons that control movements from dying off.

3 Apr 2013

Correctional policies discourage released inmates from seeking methadone therapy, researchers say

Methadone treatment for opioid dependence remains widely unavailable behind bars in the United States, and many inmates are forced to discontinue this evidence-based therapy, which lessens painful withdrawal symptoms.

30 Mar 2013

National Rx Drug Abuse Summit to make impact on America's prescription drug problem

The prescription drug epidemic continues to take lives in America, causing 100 overdose deaths daily, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

27 Mar 2013

Health Strategy Associates principal comments on impact of opioid use on workers' compensation

Opioids are the biggest problem facing workers' compensation today. This was the message Joseph Paduda, principal of Health Strategy Associates and author of www.ManagedCareMatters.com, delivered at the California Workers' Compensation Institute's annual meeting in San Francisco last week.

27 Mar 2013

Higher mortality rates among Americans younger than 50 linked to low life expectancy

Higher mortality rates among Americans younger than 50 are responsible for much of why life expectancy is lower in the United States than most of the world's most developed nations.

17 Mar 2013

Case Western Reserve University receives grant to research on glucose-responsive insulin

Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine has received a nearly $1 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust's Type 1 diabetes program.

15 Mar 2013

GABA neuronal deficits in psychiatric disorder can be prevented using N-acetylcysteine: Study

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) deficits have been implicated in schizophrenia and depression. In schizophrenia, deficits have been particularly well-described for a subtype of GABA neuron, the parvalbumin fast-spiking interneurons.

14 Mar 2013

Roundup: N.Y. psychiatrists sue insurer over parity; Calif. lawmakers hear from families of prescription drug victims

News outlets cover health care developments in California, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Missouri and New York.

13 Mar 2013

First Edition: March 12, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about this week's roll out of budgets on Capitol Hill and how Democratic and Republican fiscal blueprints will underscore key partisan differences.

12 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Congress should make CMS leader nonpartisan position; 'Extreme' attack on abortion in Arkansas; Daschle on new health workforce

Mr. Obama has nominated the acting CMS administrator, Marilyn Tavenner, to head the agency permanently. ... The Senate should move expeditiously to confirm Ms. Tavenner. More broadly, Congress should consider whether short-term political appointment remains the best way to fill this trillion-dollar post. The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation serves a 10-year term.

11 Mar 2013

Annual deaths related to heroin and morphine continue to drop in the UK

Annual deaths related to heroin and morphine are continuing to drop significantly, falling from 41 per cent of total drug-related deaths in the UK in 2010 to 32 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile, deaths from 'legal highs' - some of which have now been banned - remained steady following a large increase in the previous year.

28 Feb 2013