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MountainView Hospital first in Nevada to use Xenex’s room disinfection device

In an ongoing effort to improve patient safety, MountainView Hospital today announced it is the first hospital in Nevada to use Xenex Healthcare Services' innovative germ-zapping room disinfection technology to keep patients even safer from infections.

21 Jun 2012

FDA approves CDC DENV-1-4 Real Time RT PCR Assay to treat dengue

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a new diagnostic test to detect the presence of dengue virus in people with symptoms of dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever. The test, called the CDC DENV-1-4 Real Time RT PCR Assay, has been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and can be performed using equipment and supplies many public health laboratories already use to diagnose influenza.

21 Jun 2012

Study links two specific strains of bacteria with indoor mold from water damage

Bacterial contamination in water-damaged buildings has been identified as a potential cause of health problems, including infection and respiratory conditions like asthma. Which specific bacteria contribute to these problems, however, has been unknown-making it difficult for public health officials to develop tools to effectively address the underlying source of the problem.

21 Jun 2012

Thomson Reuters study tracks current status of research on NTDs

"The Intellectual Property & Science division of Thomson Reuters on Tuesday announced the publication of a new study tracking the current status of research on neglected tropical diseases [NTDs]," a Thomson Reuters Corporation press release reports.

20 Jun 2012

Affordability of diarrhea treatment offers hope for improving child survival

In this post in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog, Doug Horswill, senior vice president of the Canadian resource company Teck, and Venkatesh Mannar, president of the Micronutrient Initiative, which works to eliminate vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the world's most vulnerable populations, examine global efforts to end child deaths from diarrhea, a campaign they say "many are calling the next revolution in child survival."

20 Jun 2012

Zimbabwe launches week-long immunization campaign with funding from Japan

"Zimbabwe embarked on a massive immunization campaign against measles and polio on Monday, targeting about two million children under the age of five," VOA News reports.

20 Jun 2012

WHO releases programmatic update on antiretroviral treatment as prevention of HIV, TB

"The potential for antiretroviral medicine to reduce transmission of HIV and tuberculosis has been demonstrated, but the challenges of using treatment to prevent infection will need to be tackled country by country, and with focus on people for whom it will have the biggest impact, the latest bulletin on HIV treatment from the World Health Organization says," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

20 Jun 2012

Al Jazeera examines Cuba's national health care system; IPS looks at HIV/AIDS in the country

In a feature story, Al Jazeera examines Cuba's national health care system, which "works -- or is supposed to work -- by emphasizing primary and preventative health care." However, after subsidies from the former Soviet Union "ended and Cuba's economy went into a tailspin, nothing was the same again," according to the news agency, which notes the system experiences drug shortages, patients have long wait times, and some hospitals are dirty or malfunctioning.

20 Jun 2012

AIDS United releases new infographic

According to a recent estimate by the Centers for Disease Control, nearly half of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States are in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee--the same region that is leading the nation in persons living with, and dying from, AIDS.

20 Jun 2012

Young men with HIV more likely to experience low bone mass

Young men being treated for HIV are more likely to experience low bone mass than are other men their age, according to results from a research network supported by the National Institutes of Health. The findings indicate that physicians who care for these patients should monitor them regularly for signs of bone thinning, which could foretell a risk for fractures. The young men in the study did not have HIV at birth and had been diagnosed with HIV an average of two years earlier.

20 Jun 2012

Researchers unlock structure of STING protein

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have unlocked the structure of a key protein that, when sensing certain viruses and bacteria, triggers the body's immediate immune response.

20 Jun 2012

Emergence of drug resistance to ARVs has potential to 'curb, and even reverse' gains against HIV

Noting that the "roll-out of antiretroviral treatment for HIV in sub-Saharan Africa has been accompanied by rising rates of drug resistance," Raph Hamers, a global health research fellow at the Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, and colleagues "call for improved patient management and the integration of population-based drug resistance surveillance into national treatment programs" in this BMJ analysis.

20 Jun 2012

State roundup: Retiree health costs soaring; Calif.'s duplicate surgical payments; Georgia's AIDS drug waiting list shrinks

Recession-plagued states diverted scarce money away from pensions to pay for more immediate concerns, leaving a $757 billion hole in the retirement funds covering millions of public employees, according to a study released Monday. … States also faced a $627 billion shortfall in health care services for retirees. Essentially, for every $1 they'll eventually have to pay out in health care, states had set aside only 5 cents.

20 Jun 2012

NCOA spearheads new initiative to help protect older adults from influenza

The National Council on Aging announced today it is spearheading a new initiative to help protect older adults from influenza this upcoming flu season. The educational program, Flu + You, in collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur, aims to educate older adults and their caregivers about the seriousness of influenza, the importance of annual influenza immunization, and available vaccine options.

20 Jun 2012

Furiex initiates MuDelta Phase III studies in IBS-D

Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced dosing of the first patient in its Phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies evaluating efficacy, safety and tolerability of MuDelta (JNJ-27018966) in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D).

20 Jun 2012

New, comprehensive approach to treating underserved South Florida patients living with HIV/AIDS

Ushering in a new, comprehensive approach to treating underserved South Florida patients living with HIV/AIDS, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has announced a partnership with Magic Johnson Enterprises and Clear Health Alliance, a Medicaid specialty plan offered by Simply Healthcare Plans, a minority owned and operated managed care plan.

19 Jun 2012

Gilead's elvitegravir MAA for HIV-1 infection receives EMA validation

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today that its Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for elvitegravir, an integrase inhibitor for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-experienced patients, has been validated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

19 Jun 2012

Skin disease shares common inflammatory pathway with metabolic disorder

Psoriasis is an independent risk for Type 2 Diabetes, according to a new study by researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, with the greatest risk seen in patients with severe psoriasis.

19 Jun 2012

Next-generation sequencing technologies for the 1,000 Rare Diseases Project

BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) today announced that they have jointly initiated the 1,000 Rare Diseases Project with the aim of accelerating the discovery of genetic variants underlying rare diseases.

19 Jun 2012

Commensal bacteria essential to fight off viral infections

Healthy humans harbor an enormous and diverse group of bacteria and other bugs that live within their intestines. These microbial partners provide beneficial aid in multiple ways - from helping digest food to the development of a healthy immune system.

19 Jun 2012